Shaun Ryder spills the beans at the Stratford Play House tonight (Friday) as part of his book tour

Shaun Ryder spills the beans at the Stratford Play House tonight (Friday) as part of his book tour. He tells Herald Arts about his life and his literary endeavour.

He’s the wild man of rock, a guy who makes Mick and Keith look like wannabes, a star whose appetite for sex’n’drugs’n’rock’n’roll is as fulsome as an alcoholic’s desire for whisky.

Shaun Ryder, frontman of The Happy Mondays and Black Grape, and the star of more-TV-shows-than-anyone-has-a-right-to-feature-on – including Celebrity Gogglebox, and I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, among many others – redefined the sex’n’drugs’n’rock’n’roll lifestyle during the halcyon age of Madchester.

And now he’s spilling the beans, and the secrets, and the celebrity juice.

Shaun William Ryder’s new book, Happy Mondays - and Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays, contains a carnival of excess, wild tales, and improbable truths - and has seen him dubbed Britpop's answer to WB Yeats.

Shaun is on good form: “Life begins at 60. It used to be 40, but not anymore.”

So tell us, Shaun: what’s it all about: “I’ve got the attention span of a goldfish, an inability to plan too far ahead, but an opinion I’m prepared to share on pretty much everything. And thankfully we still have free speech in this country of ours, don’t we?

“My new book and tour is an epic journey from Madchester to Mastermind, Brazil to Barbados, Spanish sunburn to the sewers of Salford. I’ll tell you some truths which are so improbable you’ll know they can’t possibly have been made up.”

So who exactly is Shaun Ryder?

“Well, if you believe Wikipedia, I’m an English singer, songwriter and poet – a leading figure in the Manchester cultural scene of the late 1980s and 1990s.

“But that was over 30 years ago now – so there’s a lot more to this long and winding story than that. I’ve grown up… a bit!

“There used to be a time when I was just the mad rocker who went onto TV shows off my head on heroin. I’m still having great fun in the spotlight, whether that’s with the Happy Mondays, Black Grape, or as a solo performer, but these days you’re just as likely to find me blowing off the cobwebs on a bike ride, watching telly with my best mate Bez, or catching up on Corrie in my slippers.”

All night parties?

“They’re in the past. If I’m not out working, I’m tucked up in bed by 11pm these days. Well, we all have to grow up a bit sometimes, don’t we? Do I miss the old days? They were brilliant times that I certainly wouldn’t have missed for the world, but no I don’t. That was then, but this is now. I’ve been off the drugs for more than 10 years now, and I’ve never been happier.

“A lot of my pals who refused to change are either dead, or locked up in prison. Never mind twisting your melons, there are places I’ve been and things I’ve seen that will completely blow your mind.

“I’ve met and worked with some fabulous and fascinating people; many of who have become good friends, but some of who we’ve now sadly lost.

“I was so sorry and sad, for example, to hear about the death of the brilliant Steve Wright. He was a Happy Mondays favourite from the 80s, making us all laugh while we drove around Manchester on the dole.

“Yet another reminder of how time is ticking on. I tell it how it is; I’ve been around far too long to bother wasting time and energy beating round the bush. It’s an approach which has got me banned from TV shows and provoked hundreds of complaints to Ofcom for talking honestly about drugs.”

He continues: “Let me tell you one thing right from the outset. My new book isn’t one to read soothingly to your grandkids at bedtime. It’s a boys’ own adventure which is about as far removed from Enid Blyton as you can get.

“So if you’re faint-hearted or easily offended, I’d suggest you jog on, make yourself a milky cup of cocoa, and binge the latest series of Antiques Roadshow instead.

“Because I’ll be visiting Caribbean crack dens, encountering extra-terrestrials, and leading you through my hedonistic, hectic and sometimes hell-raising life in the music and entertainment business.

“This is me at my most honest; nothing is off the table – so expect the unexpected.

“I might not have any hair, eyebrows or eyelashes these days. I might be on so many pills that I rattle when I walk. But I’m still brimming with energy and excitement for whatever’s coming next.

“This is my journey, my memories, my views… presented in my own unfiltered words.”

Behind Shaun’s more genteel approach to life is his wife, Joanne Ryder.

“My wife Joanne is an amazing woman,” he says. “I’ve been with her since 2004, and she’s definitely saved my life.

“She recognised straight away when we got together that I’d got some sort of condition. Her background is working as a teaching assistant with special needs children, which probably helped. But I also like the fact that she is someone who takes no nonsense.

“I met her first at the Hacienda years and years earlier when she was a teenager – she binned me then though, because the band was just starting to take off and I think she thought I’d just be jetting off everywhere and sleeping around all over the place.

“She didn’t want to risk me taking it out of her, but we stayed in each other’s circles though and I always had feelings for her.

“When I hit 40, she reeled me back in.”

And now he’s hitting the road, this autumn, with a tour to go with his book. Can we expect mad scenes and late nights? “No chance. As soon as I’m off the stage I’ll be back to my hotel room to watch the news and get a good night’s sleep.”

For full tour dates visit www.awaywithmedia.com/tours/shaun-ryder