Shaun Ryder (aka X) (born Shaun William Ryder on August 23, 1962, in Little Hulton, near Salford, Lancashire) is an English singer and songwriter and an ex postman who became famous in the "Madchester" era.
The film 24 Hour Party People, starring Steve Coogan who played Tony Wilson, was loosely based on Shaun Ryder and the Happy Mondays while they were signed to Factory Records in the late eighties and early nineties.
Despite rumours of how his substance abuse had finally caught up with him, Ryder returned to the spotlight in 1995 with his new project, Black Grape, an immediate success whose first release, the ironically named It's Great When You're Straight... Yeah, topped the British album chart and spawned several hit singles. The follow up album, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, did not achieve the same critical or commercial success, and the group split in 1998.
Ryder wrote a column for the Daily Sport newspaper in which he gave his own take on current news events and celebrity goings-on...
Created by dipity
on Jan 30, 2008
Last updated: 11/12/09 at 03:16 AM