Sadly, Northside had to pull out of tonight’s show following lead singer Dermo suffering a heart attack but the show must go on and both The Happy Mondays and The Farm made sure a good time was had by all.

Tonight’s set was their classic album Pills, Thrills and Bellyaches played in full, followed by half a dozen more Mondays’ classics. Given that the album was released 35 years ago, anyone buying it in their teens would now be 50+ yet the crowd was a pleasing mix of young and old, who were absolutely mad for it.

A lengthy intro of keys and drums was followed by drums and bass and backing singer (and Mrs Bez) Firouzeh Berry sounded great, giving it large with her soulful “hey yeahs”. Suddenly Shaun Ryder and Bez were on stage with Bez doing what he does best, maracas a go go. Ryder stayed in the background, encouraging his partner-in-crime with “go on Beswick”.

The opening lines of the album’s first track were a perfect summation of their outlook and attitude, with everyone joining Ryder to sing “Son, I’m thirty, I only went with your mother ’cause she’s dirty. And I don’t have a decent bone in me, What you get is just what you see”.

Ryder seemed happy to let Bez take the lead in getting everyone going but thankfully he was still able to deliver solid vocals and was word perfect. Throughout the set the band remained tight and together, ensuring a solid basis for the two frontmen to do their thing.

Donovan was dedicated to the band, with Ryder pleading with them to “make me levitate baby”. Ryder remained surprisingly good throughout while Bez dominated the stage as a two legged groove machine. Three songs in and Ryder asked “what is this one for fuck’s sake?”, raising the question, was he really unsure of the setlist or just toying with us? Whichever, Grandbag’s Funeral sounded sweet with scratchy funk guitar over solid bass and drums.

Firouzeh returned for Loose Fit and the tempo slowed slightly for Dennis and Lois, their tribute to the New York-based, Manchester music scene superfans. Bez stayed front and centre, dancing over the funky guitar and shared a nice cuddle with Ryder after.

Ryder and Firouzeh went head-to-head on Bob’s Yer Uncle while Bez continued to work his magic with boundless energy. Ryder looked on with admiration at his backing singer’s prowess and there was space to let the band stretch out and show their skills. Although the balcony wasn’t too busy the dancefloor was heaving with people in various states of consciousness as Ryder shouted “It’s time to call the cops!” Phones quickly came out and in the air, while others got their groove on to Step On’s iconic keyboard riff.

Holiday stands with Duran Duran’s Rio as a classic holiday song, complete with a similar guitar sound but no private yacht aspirations. Bez nicked the mic from Ryder’s hand to thank Brighton and then it was the celestial guitar intro to Harmony, the final track on the album. Soon Bez was up on the speaker stack, conducting the crowd, as Ryder left the stage.

He was soon back to retrieve the mic and, as he launched into Hallelujah, it was amazing to think that they’re still alive and able to perform at this level. Bez remained the main focus as Ryder continued his stellar job on vocals, with Firouzeh stepping up to centre stage.

24 Hour Party People remains a stone cold classic but strangely not everyone was dancing as Ryder effed and jeffed his way through the club banger. This was to be the last official song of the set but Ryder commented that “it don’t say Shaun walk off stage” so Bez led the chant of one more tune. And so it was, with Wrote for Luck closing the show as it started, with an absolute anthem. Ryder introduced the band who’d played a blinder all night, very tight and very funky.

Bez reappeared from the side stalls to give his wife a hug and a thank you. The band was the engine that drove the show but Bez was the energy that sustained momentum. From start to finish he seemed genuinely happy, if not euphoric, as he traversed the whole of the stage while Ryder, also seemingly enjoying the occasion if a little befuddled by the set list, mostly remained rooted to his spot at the back by the drum riser. As Shaun Ryder’s other band, Black Grape, said “It’s Great When You’re Straight…Yeah”.

From the start it was time to party like it was 1990. The Farm walked on to a big cheer followed by Peter Hooton wearing his trademark cagoule jacket and then another bigger cheer when the guitar refrain of Groovy Train, that still sounded like the sun rising in a field after an all-night rave, kicked in.

Hooton’s voice sounded superb, strongly backed by Alex Goatly’s powerful backing vocals. The crowd were dancing from the get-go, as you’d expect and Hooton gave a quick back story for how the song’s title came about.

Mind followed, a wistful reminiscence backed by wah wah guitars and Carl Hunter’s Rickenbacker basslines after which we learned that the band had spent the afternoon in The Basketmakers pub and enjoying the happy smiling faces when wandering around our beautiful city.

Let The Music (Take Control), from their last album, had a bouncy disco throb with Hooton alternating between gripping on to the mic stand or hands behind his back and telling us not to listen to it on Spotify but to buy the record.

Alex Goatly got to shine on Love See No Colour as her voice soared over Balearic guitar licks and this was followed by a song that was born out of Hillsborough and encouraged by Mick Jones. The Clash’s Bankrobber became The Farm’s theme tune and was very true to the original, complete with great drumming and hi hat frills as the crowd ‘aah aahed’ along.

Another new song, Moment in Time, proved they can still write and deliver a great song. A chippy number with trademark lead guitar picking out the groove as Hooton and Goatly sang the chorus together.

Following in the footsteps of the great Liverpool songwriters who don’t write songs but create anthems that transcend time and fashion, their short set ended with, of course, All Together Now. It was arms aloft for the singalong chorus, segueing into Sister Sledge’s We Are Family for the final chorus, with the band rocking out and speeding up to the end of a perfectly paced, short but sweet set.

Happy Mondays and The Farm,
Brighton Dome Concert Hall
Thursday 2nd April 2026

Photos by Jeff Pitcher