Shaun Ryder has got people calling him “TV gold” after his hilarious appearance on daytime show This Morning.
The legendary frontman of iconic 80s Manc band Happy Mondays was on the ITV show earlier on today to chat with hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield about his personal experiences with UFOs and alien encounters.
And viewers were understandably left pretty perplexed.
The 59-year-old said he was just 15 when he first spotted a UFO while he was working as a delivery boy, and made sure to clarify to Phillip and Holly in true Shaun Ryder style that this sighting was “long before my encounters with hallucinogenics”.
He did however explain that he started to grow concerned that it was “all in his nut” when his sightings became more regular.
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“When I started seeing other things, I nearly went to get things checked out because when you start hallucinating on things you could be losing your eyesight,” he said.
Listen up Earthlings! Did @officialswr see something out of this world? He joins us to share his own UFO sightings and alien encounters 👽 pic.twitter.com/vHANJNyIPm
Shaun also spoke about a sighting he had shortly after he had finished making a UFO documentary.
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He originally thought it was a production company was playing tricks on him, explaining: “I looked out in my back garden and over my apple tree was this big plastic air fix looking wobbly thing that looked like it was hanging in the air on strings because it was moving.
“I’m slapping myself stupid.”
Phillip wasn’t so convinced though, appearing rather sceptical about Shaun’s claims, and after sitting there open-mouthed for a bit, he eventually challenged him saying: “The way you describe it sounds like the Del Boy of aliens, some ramshackle air fix thing around a tree.”
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Later on the show, Shaun then hosted This Morning’s phone in session, where viewers shared their alien and UFO stories – and this was when fans of the show branded it “TV gold”.
“God I love Shaun Ryder so much. What a legend,” one person tweeted.
A second added: “This is TV gold. A phone in about UFO’s and Aliens with Shaun Ryder couldn’t make this up.”
Featured Image – ITV This Morning
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Lola Young shares first public statement since cancellations and stepping away from the spotlight
Danny Jones
UK pop star Lola Young has shared her first public statement since cancelling the remainder of her tour and stepping away from the spotlight.
Lola Young, 24, took a break from her still-burgeoning career after numerous concerning incidents on stage, including throwing up and even passing out in the middle of a performance.
The BRIT School graduate announced the unfortunate cancellation of her upcoming shows “for the foreseeable future”, including a gig here in Manchester, at the end of September.
Breaking her silence after the best part of three months, the London-born singer-songwriter took to social media in a fairly brief but heartwarming statement.
As you can see, the time away from the public eye certainly seems to have been beneficial, telling her followers that “it has helped more than you will ever know”.
In addition to embracing ADHD – even labelling her hit song ‘Messy’ as an “ADHD anthem” in multiple anthems – she was also diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder at just 17.
The latter can include symptoms such as psychosis, hallucinations, intense mood swings, bipolar mania, depression and more.
All that being said, we’re glad to hear that she’s on the mend; we saw her back in March, and you could tell from the crowd that she’s already got a very passionate cult following.
Both conditions and their associated obstacles have obviously affected her, but have equally helped influence her music and lyrical material, certainly, too.
Responding in the comments, fellow artist SZA wrote: “Love you, starfire angel. Your music is FULL of longevity and substance! We’re so grateful for you”.
Joining in support, ‘dark pop’ musician Carter James added, “Your wellbeing comes before anything. So excited for your next chapter whenever it arrives!”
We hope she’ll be doing better enough soon to get back on stage when she’s ready.
Nathan Aspinall urges PDPA to improve mental health support within the sport
Danny Jones
Local sports personality Nathan Aspinall has urged the Professional Darts Players Association (PDPA) to provide better mental health support moving forward.
It’s not the first time ‘The Asp’ has called for more awareness and provision when it comes to player welfare and mental wellbeing, specifically, which remains a prevailing societal problem in general.
The Greater Manchester native has opened up about his own struggles many times in the past and has made a public plea for the PDPA to intervene and offer more help.
Speaking at the 2026 PDC World Darts Championships after his opening round victory, the 34-year-old instead chose to focus on more important issues than his strong start.
As you can see, Aspinall began by stating that “the PDPA now need to step in and help these guys because there’s a lot of guys suffering.”
Having long been an champion for male mental health, in particular – supporting the local Healthy Minds practices in his hometown of Stockport, for instance – he’s been one of the outspoken player on the subject for some time.
Noting that there are at least “two or three people” he refused to name, his message was simple: “There’s a lot of fantastic dart players in our sport, but it’ll be a shame to see so many of them go because of mental health”
The 2019 UK Open and 2023 World Matchplay winner has battled with multiple obstacles, including an ocular condition known as bilateral traumatic Brown’s syndrome, as well bursitis, which causes inflammation around key joints.
But it’s not necessarly injuries and the physical side of things that have been his biggest concern.
𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗨𝗽 𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁
"I really do not care anymore.
"I do everything I can to be a good sportsman and you still get s**t. So you know what? I don't care. Say what you want." pic.twitter.com/mCBjQ6kvyj
One of the biggest and most recurring challenges for him has been ‘dartitis’, which many players within the discipline wrestle with the more their careers progress.
Aspinall has confessed to suffering almost chronic panic attacks due to the mental blocks (also commonly known as ‘the yips’) brought about by the intense pressure of playing on stage/live on TV.
With that in mind, it’s great to see him not only back on form and pulling impressive performance such as his ‘big fish’ finish on Friday night, but continuing to draw more attention to the underlying mental health crisis, especially among men. Well played, Nath.
You can watch his post-match interview in full down below.
Emily Sergeant -
29th September 2021 
