Shaun Ryder has said that he would be dead now if he had become a successful Hollywood actor in the 1990s.
The Happy Mondays frontman appeared in the 1998 spy comedy The Avengers, but in a new interview, Ryder has said that had he pursued acting further, he might not be here today.
Speaking on The Chris Moyles Show, Ryder said: “Listen, it’s a good job I blew Hollywood, right, and I don’t mean it like that. It’s a good job I messed up. My first movie for Hollywood was with [Ralph Fiennes] and Uma Thurman, Eddie Izzard, Sean Connery. That was my first launch and I blew it.”
“I blew it because I was off me nut, said some silly things and Eddie Izzard went to Hollywood and Shaun went back to Salford… But if I’d have not blown it, I’d have been dead!”
Last year, Ryder formed a new band, Mantra Of The Cosmos, alongside rummer Zak Starkey (The Who, Oasis), guitarist Andy Bell (Oasis, Ride) and Bez (Happy Mondays, Black Grape). They went on to release their first singles, ‘Gorilla Guerrilla’ and ‘X (Wot You Sayin?)’.
Speaking to NME, Ryder opened up about how the band have been getting on so far. “I love it cos we’re quite new to each other, we’re still going in the studio with a band and putting the old band comfy slippers on and I feel very good with the guys I’m working with,” he said.
“Zak’s the one who’s got our beats together, and then I come in and add vocals and Andy adds his guitar. To me, you could say [adopts aloof posh accent] it’s ‘solemn, a bit experimental right, but really it’s just what’s going on’. Nah, it’s just really relaxed, you know what I mean? When you’re making music, it can be very anal but with us, we basically do what the fuck we want. And Zak records it all and then fucks about with it.”
On top of his work with Mantra Of The Cosmos, Ryder has also recently been on the road with his other group Black Grape. That band released their new album ‘Orange Head’ in November.
Speaking about the new record, Ryder explained that it ushered in “the next chapter in our musical journey, and it’s packed with the energy and innovation that our fans have come to expect”.
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