Hacienda Tour Dates

Happy Mondays are set to have a great Christmas with the band set to star on a series of Hacienda tour dates, it has been announced.

A host of musical legends are set to re-visit the spirit of Christmas past with a very modern take on the legacy of The Hacienda. The legendary Manchester club has had an incalculable affect on dance music, acting as an inspiration to Soma Records, The Chemical Brothers and many more.

The new tour has been running for most of the year, with a number of very special one off dates. With a revolving bill fans are treated to a cross spectrum of talent, including 808 State, Hacienda DJs such as Graeme Park and of course the original Factory party crew The Happy Mondays.

Forthcoming dates include a stunning show at Glasgow with New Order's Peter Hook in attendance as well as a very special homecoming date in Manchester.

Clash caught up with Happy Mondays drummer Gaz Whelan for a brief chat about the dates...

What’s it like working with the Mondays now compared to then?

“Well it’s obviously well different to back when we first started, like I’m the youngest in the band by a few years and I was still at school when we first started. It’s a lot more controlled now, everyone has their own space. It was more of a gang before. Yeah we’re still mates but we’ve all got our own gangs now so we just meet up and it’s all a lot more controlled.”

And you’re also returning to Glasgow, reportedly one of your favourite places to play?

“Scotland’s always a great gig, Japan’s always really good, Japan and Scotland but we’ve always love playing in Scotland. The first Barrowlands gig on the way there, the tour bus broke down in the middle of nowhere and we went to this farmhouse and there was this farmer, his family and his wife and they ordered us a load of taxis to get there, we were about thirty miles outside Glasgow. We only just made it, the equipment turned up at the last minute, we went on without a real soundcheck and it was one of the best gigs that we’d done up to then.

What was the best time you has recording a Mondays album?

“Y’know what every one of em, every one of them we’ve had a good time, every single one. Bummed with Martin Hannett was really good because it was around the time The Hacienda was exploding and we were up in some village up in North East Yorkshire (Great Driffield). We picked Martin Hannett up and arrived there and it was before all day drinking hours and the pubs were open all day. We were like “How come?” and it was like Market Day so that was marvellous. Martin hadn’t had a drink for three years and we drank for twelve hours.“

Looking towards 2009, what are the plans for the Mondays. We have heard that the new album’s already been demoed?

“We’re gonna be touring abroad and it looks like we’re gonna concentrate on the States and Canada next year. Partly cos I’m over here, living in Canada. Also the album’s pretty together. We’ve got eight songs done so far, samples, vocals and that and Shaun’s taking it over to LA with Sunny, they’re gonna strip it down, take it to pieces and build it so it should probably surface next summer.”

The Hacienda tour takes place in the following venues:

December 27th - Carling Academy, Glasgow
December 28th - Warehouse Project, Manchester

Click here to buy tickets for the Hacienda tour!