Happy Mondays have released a new EP in memory of their late band member Paul Ryder, with all profits going to charity.
The bassist for the iconic Madchester band, and brother of frontman Shaun Ryder, was sadly confirmed to have suddenly passed away at the age of 58 on 15 July – with his surviving bandmates describing him as “a true pioneer and legend” who will be “forever missed”.
Now, in a tribute to his legacy and to raise funds for a very worthy charity, the band has decided to release a new three-track EP named after and containing two previously-unreleased live versions of ‘Tart Tart’ – the lead single off their debut studio album ‘Squirrel And G-Man…’, which was released back in 1987 to critical acclaim.
The first ‘Tart Tart’ recording is from a 1989 John Peel session on BBC Radio 1, and the second was recorded at a live show at Sheffield University that same year.
“This special release of Tart Tart showcases the unique musical talent of our brother Paul Ryder who passed from this world … we will all miss you Horse…he brought the funk and the rock n roll to Happy Mondays … love you long time R Kid.” https://t.co/h1tXfH4Gq4pic.twitter.com/aVvT33wOJq
“This special release of ‘Tart Tart’ showcases the unique musical talent of our brother Paul Ryder who passed from this world… we will all miss you Horse,” his brother Shaun Ryder said on the EP’s release
“He brought the funk and the rock n roll to Happy Mondays… love you long time R kid.”
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As well as being able to find the the EP on all downloading and streaming platforms, fans can even pre-order a special seven-inch vinyl edition of ‘Tart Tart’ from Happy Mondays’ official store, with the physical version due to arrive on 18 November.
All profits from the release of the EP will be donated to MusiCares – a charity chosen by Paul’s daughter Amelia that “helps people in the music industry who are struggling with addiction issues”.
Amelia explained: “Fourteen years ago, Paul was given help and support from the organisation who helped fund extended outpatient care and therapy that enabled him to have 14 subsequent happy and productive years.”
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She added: “Just two weeks ago, he mentioned them in an interview and often expressed his gratitude and desire to pay their support forward so others could be helped too.”
Featured Image – Paul Husband Photography / Happy Mondays (via Facebook)
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Five Greater Manchester-based artists we’ve been listening to this month | December 2025
Danny Jones
This is it: the last Greater Manchester music round-up of the year, only a couple of days late due to a mix of the post-NYE 48-hour hangover and quite possibly still being in a largely mince pie-induced food coma.
In all seriousness, 2025 has been an absolute belter not just for music but the North, in particular, and especially here in Manchester.
We know we say it all the time, but we really are blessed and well beyond lucky to live in one of the creative and audio capitals on planet Earth.
So, for one last time (an Audio North encore, if you will), please give it up for the amazing musicians based in and around Greater Manchester that we were listening to in December.
Five local artists we’ve been listening to this past month
1. Concrete Club
First off is some deeply satisfying British indie in the shape of Concrete Club – a fitting name for a band based in an ever-growing metropolis, swept up in a sea of cranes and never-ending construction. Intentional? Unsure, but given they formed in 2022, it makes sense and sounds as good as they do.
Vocally, it can take a minute to get used to frontman and bassist Jonny Brewster’s approach, as it swings between everything from Fran from Red Rum Club, Brandon Flowers and White Lies’ Harry McVeigh. There’s some serious range on show, and it makes seeing where each track goes next exciting in itself.
Not only is it extremely impressive, but once you get used to the minor whiplash, it can often feel like you’re getting an ever-so-slightly different singing style each time. In terms of tracks to start with, we’d recommend ‘Relentless’, ‘Jackie Don’t Mind’ and ‘Electric Sunrise’, but there’s plenty of breadth to enjoy in their easily-digestible discography. They even got the nod from the late, great Mani. RIP to a legend.
This one's for Mani. Our mentor, our champion and our friend. We can't describe how much we'll miss him – and we'll leave it at that.
Next up is some unapologetic girl rock, which may have been born in the West Midlands, but solo artist Lissy Taylor is fast taking her music all over, with the ride so far taking her across the UK, Europe and even the United States, before posting up here in Manchester.
We’ll admit that seeing any musician donning a Stoke City shirt whilst performing live on BBC coverage was always going to catch our eye, but after we learned she had also become the first woman from the area to ever be signed by Universal, she held our attention. She might not be the finished article just yet, but you can tell she’s a woman on a mission.
More than a decade into her career, and now based in our fair city, you can tell that Taylor has more confidence and conviction than ever: you can hear it in her music. It started in 2023 with our fave, ‘Feel For Me’, and has spread into tunes like ‘Life Changing’ and her latest single ‘Jealous’. Give them a go.
3. Plastic Heart
They say three is the magic number, and judging by what we’ve heard so far from Manc alternative rock outfit Plastic Heart, they just might be on to something. Even with just a few properly studio-produced and finished tunes on the internet, they already have a very well-defined sound, and it’s got us hyped.
A five-piece from in and around Greater Manchester, these lot look like they’re off on the right foot, as they’re not just getting themselves about on social media but, most importantly, they’re clearly busy at work writing, rehearsing and recording a solid first batch of material.
In terms of what is out there so far, you’ll get hints of Vukovi/PVRIS in ‘Hear My Call’ and ‘Tension’; plus, based on their little teaser on Instagram, we’re looking forward to the fully-fledged version of another as-yet-unreleased song, ‘Ashes’. Get on board from the start and thank us later when that first EP drops.
From yet another female-led group to another fun, albeit very kind of vocalist, but one that we have been left very intrigued by, to say the least. We’ll begin by assuring that, yes, this is their name, and no, there are no typos in the spelling; this Manchester-based project isn’t like much you’ll have heard before.
We came across them via their show alongside equally unique poet and musician Edward Barton, as they joined up with the veteran artist and all-round eccentric at The Yard, as well as having written with each other earlier in the year. At first glance, they seem just as idiosyncrantic, charmingly unserious and entirely singular as he is, but we suspect there’s more to come.
The lyrics are arguably even more anecdotal and amusing, and rather conveniently, we can only find two tracks on Spotify, so you can similarly get up to speed on this very intriguing concept before falling into what we can only imagine will go on to be a pretty wild Bandcamp wormhole.
5. Chloe Slater
One more fantastic artist doing wonders for women in music, for good measure, shall we? Plenty of you will have no doubt heard of Bournemouth-born singer-songwriter and 0161 adoptee, Chloe Slater, but we’ll confess it’s taken us far too long to dive deep into her full catalogue.
It was probably one of the biggest musical mistakes we made this past 12 months, but we will be rectifying it as one of our first New Year’s Resolutions. Going from a somewhat disaffected uni dropout to an opinionated, outspoken and politically charged lyricist – she’s been a Northerner in spirit, alright.
Touching everything from regional and generational challenges, we struggle to play favourites, but sod it: ‘Price On Fun’, ‘Harriet’, ‘Nothing Shines On This Island’, ‘Death Trap’, ‘Tiny Screens’. Just trust us and listen to every second of this up-and-comer who’s already supported fellow rising alt-pop star Role Model and, coincidentally, is a dead ringer for actor Daisy Edgar-Jones…
So that’s it for another year, only the best part is we’ll be keeping this show on the road all throughout 2026 as we hunt for more local music legends in the making.
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With that in mind, if you’ve got suggestions for Manchester-based bands we should listen to next or know a native who you believe is the next best thing, please do drop them in the comments.
Oh, and if you want even more of our favourite artists over the past year, why not check out the list of what The Manc, HootandThe Sheff team named as the top albums of 2025?
Sankeys shares sneak peek at new venue as legendary Manchester nightclub gears up for return
Daisy Jackson
Sankeys has given Mancs a glimpse inside its new venue as the legendary nightclub gears up for its return.
The club was one of Manchester’s top nightlife spots for years, before shutting down seemingly for good almost a decade ago.
Set within Beehive Mill in Ancoats, Sankeys was a true icon of Manchester’s global nightlife scene.
And while the old Sankeys Soap nightlife space is now full of co-working spaces, the spirit of Sankeys is about to be reborn.
The exact location of the new club is still being kept under wraps ahead of its reopening at the end of January, but new renderings have been released to give us a glimpse of how it will look.
Sankeys is promising ‘A reimagined space. New energy. Same legendary nights’.
The new Sankeys Manchester will be a 500-capacity venue, designed to ‘capture the raw underground energy that made Sankeys one of the most iconic club brands in the world’.
It will feature an LED matrix grid installation that will immerse clubbers in ‘light, sound and atmosphere’.
Sankeys Manchester officially opens on 30 January – you can see a glimpse of how it will look below and grab tickets HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
1st August 2022 
