In Conversation: Happy Mondays’ Bez on being lucky ahead of his Glasgow show tonight

Mark Berry was born in Bolton, the son of parents from the Norris Green district of Liverpool His father was a detective inspector. He first came to prominence at the turn-of-the-1990’s as Bez, the maraca-wielding dancer with Madchester giants Happy Mondays.

After Black Grape, the second band he co-fronted with the Mondays’ Shaun Ryder, he has had a second act as a media presence via Gogglebox, MasterChef, Celebrity Big Brother, and Dancing on Ice.

Bez is in Glasgow tonight to talk about his life and career at Saint Luke’s. Limited tickets are available on the door tonight or you can book here.

In Conversation with Bez

The thoughts and recollections of Mark Berry

All my memories of Glasgow are always good.I love Glasgow. I love the people. We’ve got a lot in common. We’re like working class salt of the earth type people. I will never forget our first Glasgow gig. It was at the Barrowlands. We played with New Order and the reception we got was unbelievable.

I think a younger Bez would think all this is great. It wouldn’t have been in my wildest imagination to imagine the life I live now. I could never have thought it for myself. I was like a delinquent when I was growing up, spent time in juvenile detention centres, and I actually thought then that I had no future.

You’ve got to pursue your dreams and never hold back. It’s like my wife, you know what I mean? She’s always wants to be a singer in a band. And when she finally got her head round the fact  that you’ve got to pursue your dreams and create it yourself, it started happening for her later in life. She’s always saying, ‘why didn’t I do all this when I was younger instead of doubting myself?’ I agree with that. You’ve got to live in that moment and go for it. Otherwise you could go to the grave full of regrets.

The Happy Mondays were rubbish when we started out but we always believed we were the best thing since sliced bread. Even though we wasn’t very good in the beginning, we had that belief.

Last time I was on an ice rink I was doing pirouettes. We just went out on the ice and everyone else was out holding onto the sides mostly and I was in the middle giving it all that. Someone came up and said ‘Bez, you looked really graceful.’

I’m not allowed in the kitchen at home because of the mess I make. I started cooking years ago because my two boys were looking for their tea and I’d try to rustle up something other than a takeaway. I do really enjoy eating food, it’s one of the greatest pleasures in life isn’t it. And I’ve been lucky enough, since being in the Happy Mondays, we’ve got our chance to eat cuisines that you never would have dreamt of eating as a young man.

I sometimes wake up in the morning and I push the curtains open and I say to the wife, how f****** lucky are we? I would consider ourselves to be really lucky to have got the chance to live the life and do the things that we’ve done, it’s absolutely incredible. We’ve been able to see that dream through and to have actually done something in our life, because we know our stuff now and we had our moment back in the day and that’s something you’ll never forget and appreciate for the rest of your life.

I don’t have a television. The only time I really watch it is sometimes if I’m on tour and I might watch it at night, watch a film before I go to bed.

I’m in my third band with Shaun after Black Grape and Happy Mondays. We are called Mantra of The Cosmos and Zak Starkey and Andy Bell are in it. We’ve got some unbelievable tunes in the bag at the moment. I think we’ve actually been dropped now off the record label and we’ve had no radio play whatsoever but we are going to continue. It was nice that I got asked along, because I’m not really a musician. I just do what I do and I’ve been riding on everyone’s coat-tails and to get another chance is amazing for me. I think we’ve still got things to do. We’ve not given up the chase and like every other band you’ve got to work for your success. I feel passionate about the music.

Me and Shaun were talking to each other yesterday. We’re always sending each other new music. We get together every now and then - I don’t like in Manchester any more - but we talk on the phone, it’s nice. I’m getting close to retirement age now and we’re still out there doing what we’re doing, enjoying what we’re doing as well. No matter how old you get, you’ll always love music.

There’s some rock n roll stories. I’m not short of a few stories. I remember being in Glasgow and I joined this crowd and I ended up with the maddest people you could imagine and I got swept up, my feet were barely touching the ground. I ended up at Celtic Park, they were playing Aberdeen. They took me back up to East Kilbride after that. It was a good night.