‘It explains why drugs made me feel normal’: Shaun Ryder on ADHD diagnosis

Published

4 years ago

August 3, 2021

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Shaun Ryder is talking TV. As one of Gogglebox’s resident celebrity armchair critics, alongside partner in crime Bez, he’s happy commentating on the small screen.

The X Factor (RIP) had its place for family viewing, he reckons – it’s good if you “sound like Frank Sinatra and can do a dance”, although he knows Happy Mondays “wouldn’t have made it through auditions” – but he has no patience for Love Island: “I can’t watch a load of adults with minds of babies.”

Ryder also keeps up with the news, especially in the 18 months since COVID-19 first hit. “The problem is, though, I don’t retain stuff, like that’s just on and done, so I’ve got to be constantly told what’s going on. Otherwise, it’s just gone.”

At 58, Ryder now, finally, has discovered the reason for his short attention span, previously blamed on his well-documented years of excess as the Madchester era’s most recognisable party animal. He was diagnosed with ADHD earlier this year, which was “like a light bulb going on” in his brain.

“It explains everything,” he says in that unmistakable Mancunian accent. “I went and got tested because out of my four daughters I had two that had [been] diagnosed with ADHD. My youngest girl was finding difficulty with the education side of things and everything. And then I went and got tested and it’s all come from me.

“But as soon as I got the result… one, it told me why my life’s been so chaotic, you know, why I didn’t learn the alphabet till I was 28 years old. Why I find things like just paying bills difficult and lots of other stuff… why as a young man, a young kid, you know, when I took drugs, I felt normal. I didn’t feel like my underpants was on back to front, you know? I felt like I was in my own skin.”

ADHD is not the only diagnosis Ryder has received recently, having caught COVID-19 in the early stages of the pandemic in 2020. He thinks he is suffering from long COVID, although it is getting better. “I’d be guaranteed once or twice a week I’d go completely under and have to go to bed, but over the months and months now that’s got less and less,” he says. “I’ve not had another episode for quite a few months now but I do still get one every now and then I’ll just end up floored.”

He pauses before adding: “I could breathe, though. Main thing with me is I’ve got a fixation about breathing, so as long as I could breathe, it was all right… yeah, it’s not a good idea not to breathe, is it?”

Ryder has also had to deal with his hair falling out, the result of a change in his treatment for an underactive thyroid a few years ago. Now, it looks like it’s starting to grow back. “No, that’s a tattoo!” he says. “That’s called skin pigmentation, that, so are my eyebrows, same thing.”

The doctor told him the reason for losing his hair was stress, he says. “But to me, I’ve been the least stressful in the whole of my life.”

He certainly seems content, and has long extolled the virtues of clean living after his years of taking heroin and other drugs. He is still working with the Happy Mondays and his second band, Black Grape, and is also just about to release a solo album, Visits From Future Technology, which comes almost 20 years after his first, Amateur Night In The Big Top, which was released in 2003.

The songs on this album were actually written years ago, before he reinvented himself in the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! Jungle in 2010, and then put on the shelf while he continued to build on the nation’s newfound appreciation. During lockdown they were discovered “down the back of a sofa” and he decided to do something with them. Did he have to rewrite much to bring them up to date?

Not really, he says. “I mean, I’m always writing about the same old crap. I write about the same stuff I did back in ’88, which is like anything, madness, what I see on television, or conversations with people, or escapades that Bez gets up to and, you know, all the same stuff that I’ve wrote about for years, really. Nothing really changes in my mind. I’ve got about a million things going on at once, they all get to come out in songs.”

Fittingly, the first single is called Mumbo Jumbo. There’s also a track called Popstars Daughters, which is a tongue in cheek warning, he says. “A long time ago when I was a good looking young pop star – I could have been called a pop star, I don’t suppose now – but I’ve got four daughters, and I’ve also dated a couple of pop stars’ daughters, so… the song really I wrote for my girls is a bit of a tongue in cheek sort of thing.”

As well as his solo work, he’s also been collaborating with artists including Noel Gallagher and Robbie Williams during lockdown, which “kept me busy”. He’s enjoyed his time at home, though.

“I know people have had a really bad time and people [have been] locked up on the 24th floor of the tower blocks and that, but I had an all right, er, lock up… what was it called again, when we all stopped doing it? Lockdown, yeah! I had a pretty all right lockdown. I haven’t spent that amount of time at home in the last 25 years. I got to spend a lot of time with the wife and the kids and the family.”

But now Ryder, and his family – “they’ve had enough of me now” – are ready for live gigs once again. He has a tour with Black Grape coming up and later plans to tour the solo record; the singer is double jabbed and ready to go, he says.

How does he feel about the idea of vaccine passports potentially being needed for nightclubs and gigs? “Whatever [the government] is gonna do they’ve got to do it quick and it needs doing now, whatever they’re going to do,” he says. “There’s no reason why it’s… if we’re all supposed to be vaccined up and everything then they should be opening up, stop messing about, open everything up.”

He thinks the government’s handling of the pandemic has been “a bit of hit and miss” but “I suppose whatever government would be in power, they wouldn’t have got it right, straight away”.

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On the Matt Hancock affair scandal, he laughs. “Well, what’s new there? It’s always been one law for one lot of people and another law for another lot of people. I wouldn’t expect anything else.”

Ryder has performed two shows already since restrictions lifted, one with Happy Mondays and one with Black Grape, which were great, he says. Some people chose to wear masks, others didn’t. No one was “mithered about anybody else”. He has plans in place for touring and making music over the next few years at least. “I don’t have hobbies,” he says. “I get asked what my hobbies are and my hobby is making music and playing music and being involved.”

The only thing that will stop Ryder, he says, is “doing a Tommy Cooper or whatever”. (Cooper died on stage live on television in 1984). “Look at all the ones that I grew up with, like the Stones and Tom Jones and all those guys, and The Who and Roger Daltrey. I mean, Roger Daltrey is fit as a butcher’s dog. You seen him? If you enjoy what you do you don’t stop, you just do it.”

So that’s the plan for Shaun Ryder, along with Gogglebox and his other ventures, which continue to see him living his best life, reinvented as a national treasure. How does he feel about the term?

“Well, you know…” For just a brief moment he seems lost for words. “It’s better than n**head, isn’t it? So, you know… I can live with it.”

Entertainment

Stephen Graham on how the rise of incel culture influenced new Netflix show Adolescence

Published

1 hour ago

March 14, 2025

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Stephen Graham on how the rise of incel culture influenced new Netflix show Adolescence

Stephen Graham says the rise of “misogynistic tendencies” is concerning and we’re “all accountable to an extent” to finding a solution.

His new limited series Adolescence looks at the impact of social media on children and the accessibility to radicalised views online.

Speaking to Sky News, Graham says there was a certain moment for him that inspired him to create the show.

“I read an article about a young girl who was stabbed to death by a young boy, and then a few months later, on the news there was a young girl who, again, had been brutally stabbed to death by a young boy in a completely different part of the country.

“If I’m really honest with you, that hurt my heart and I just thought, why? Why does this kind of thing happen? What is this society? Why have we reached this point where this kind of thing is happening? What was the reason?”

The four-part drama, he says, doesn’t have the answer but instead holds a mirror up to society asking how can the growing presence of incel culture be quashed?

“You look at it and you see that we’re kind of all accountable to an extent. There’s failings within the school system, there’s situations where the education system can look at this, look at what’s happened with that kind of rise in these misogynistic tendencies.

“The society as a whole can look at this, parents obviously can look at this, and the government in many ways.”

What is the term incel?

Derived from the phrase “involuntarily celibate”, an incel culture in its simplest is someone who deems themselves unable to find a romantic partner despite desiring one.

A more radicalised sub-culture of incels has surfaced online in recent years which includes individuals who dislike feminism and believe that women have become too sexually selective.

They believe men are the superior sex and men have the right to objectify and criticise women as a result.

Influencers like Andrew Tate have been connected to the growing corner of the internet in which young boys are being radicalised from the certain viewpoint.

Actor Ashley Walters, who stars alongside Graham in the series, says reading into the existence of the misogynistic group came as a bit of a shock and it worries him about the world children are growing up in.

“I’d seen bits of the Andrew Tate stuff kind of popping up online or whatever, but I never really delved into it. And for me, this was the first real experience.

He adds: “I do sometimes feel sorry for [kids]. When I was growing up, I was in a bubble. I didn’t have a clue what was going on in the States and other parts of the world.

“It was just kind of in my little area that I grew up in with my family… I wasn’t seeing Bentleys and designer clothes and all of this stuff. It’s like I was happy with what I had. And now you’re exposed to everything. It’s no wonder that kids mentally grow up quicker.”

The Top Boy actor believes it can be hard for young boys to talk about their emotions.

“It’s really important that we have these conversations and we make it normal to have discussions just like women and young girls do about feelings and whatever they’re going through.

“That was one of the big reasons why I wanted to be a part of this conversation that we’re creating, because I’m a strong advocate for, as a man, being vulnerable, crying in front of my friends, and just saying how I feel.

“It’s even difficult for me at times, so I can’t imagine how young men are at the moment… everything that’s going on around social media in their lives, how difficult it is for them to start this conversation.”

‘This government needs to do something’

Co-creator and writer Jack Thorne agrees and says the government should step in and guide children and their parents to the correct use of social media.

“I think this government needs to do something. And there’s a private members’ bill going through the Commons on Friday that has been watered down quite extensively by this government because they’re frightened of big tech.

“And we need to be having conversations like Australia’s having conversations, whether they’re actually putting in legislation about restricting social media access.

“We need to be having those conversations in this country and we’re not. And if we don’t have these conversations, it is going to get worse.”

He adds: “Doing this show I spent a lot of time in a lot of dark places. I saw where the web went and where the web goes. And it’s not about Andrew Tate. Andrew Tate is the shorthand for adults.

“There’s much worse stuff out there. And it teaches kids a logic… that makes sense of the world for them in a really distorted and ugly way. And unless we look at that and talk about that, things are only going to get worse.”

A government spokesperson said: “We are committed to keeping young people safe online.

“Starting next week, Ofcom can begin enforcing the Online Safety Act’s illegal content duties, targeting the most harmful material.

“By summer, children will be protected from harmful content, and platforms must take steps to ensure age-appropriate experiences online.

“These protections will act as the foundation and our priority is implementing them quickly and effectively.

“We also know there will be more to do and have already acted, including commissioning a study to assess current research on the impact of social media and smartphones, strengthening the evidence base on their impact on children’s wellbeing.

“This will enable us to swiftly consider all options to inform our next steps in the safety of children online.”

Adolescence is out on Netflix on 13 April.

Entertainment

Remember Monday: Meet the Eurovision hopefuls who sing their trollers’ insults

Published

2 days ago

March 12, 2025

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Remember Monday: Meet the Eurovision hopefuls who sing their trollers' insults

You have to have a thick skin to take part in Eurovision which might be why last year’s UK entrant, singer Olly Alexander, has already reached out to this year’s hopefuls to talk about the pitfalls of putting yourself out there.

Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull, and Charlotte Steele – members of the country-pop girl group Remember Monday – say they plan to get a drink date with the Years And Years singer before they perform in the contest in May.

Lauren says they had a “lovely chat” with Olly, and “drinks are pending” after he “reached out to us and has sent his well-wishes and given us some advice”.

Of course, positivity is a must if you are the UK’s Eurovision entrant (Olly only managed 18th place) and thankfully Remember Monday have quite a history of setting their critics to music, performing medleys on TikTok of some of their trolls’ funniest comments.

“Some people, you just won’t be their cup of tea, so, yeah, we started kind of singing those insults,” Lauren explains.

Holly-Anne says the overall reaction to their song What The Hell Just Happened has been “overwhelmingly positive”, admitting they have been “taken aback by how kind and positive everyone’s been”.

So who are this trio? Well, they have a background in musical theatre and have known each other for years.

As Holly-Anne explains: “We met at sixth form college, we were all in the same performing arts class.

“We were kind of known as the three girls that constantly sang every genre, everything, and I guess that’s kind of still what we’re doing.

“Our teachers constantly would knock on the door. I think we had an A level final paper due or something… which was not even slightly a priority. The priority was getting an incredible cover of My Milkshake Brings All The Boys To The Yard down pat,” she laughs.

Like former UK runner-up Sam Ryder, they have already got a huge fanbase of over half a million followers on TikTok, which has to be a help in terms of winning votes.

Although the girls are big fans of Bucks Fizz’s “iconic” 80s performance, they say they’ve no plans to rip off their skirts on the big night.

Charlotte refuses to say much about the staging itself, but adds that “we are all from theatre backgrounds and I think that you can definitely expect some theatrics”.

Holly-Anne says they have “some incredible people working with us in terms of creative direction and styling.

“We just can’t wait for everyone to see it.”

Eurovision being non-political did not stop politics creeping its way into last year’s event with several of the finalists referring to ongoing global disputes in the build-up.

This year, between the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, it’s hard to imagine we will not see similar scenes.

But Lauren hopes the peaceful message at the show’s heart remains the focus, as Eurovision “was designed to bring people together and bring countries together and celebrate artists from all around the world.

“So we’re just really looking forward to doing that and celebrating, you know, the music and the artistry that we get to kind of witness.”

Around 200 million viewers are expected to watch the competition in the Swiss city of Basel, where Remember Sunday take on 36 other hopefuls.

The band has two months to hone their performance and perhaps the faces they will have to make when the votes come in, too.

While they look cool, calm and can’t stop singing now, Charlotte says to start worrying if they go quiet nearer the time, as the marker of them feeling nervous is “we go completely silent, like right before we go on stage.

“If we’re nervous, you will be able to tell…but hopefully not on stage.”

Entertainment

Hollyoaks and reality TV star Paul Danan died from cocktail of drugs, inquest hears

Published

3 days ago

March 11, 2025

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Hollyoaks and reality TV star Paul Danan died from cocktail of drugs, inquest hears

Hollyoaks star Paul Danan died from a cocktail of drugs including cocaine and heroin, an inquest has heard.

Danan, 46, was found dead at his Bristol home in January.

The actor and reality TV star was best known for playing bad boy Sol Patrick in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks from 1997 to 2001. He later appeared on the celebrity versions of Love Island and Big Brother.

An inquest into Danan’s death was this morning opened and adjourned at Avon Coroner’s Court, Bristol.

Danan was pronounced dead by emergency services at his home on 15 January and his body was identified at the scene by his partner, Melissa Crooks, the inquest heard.

His provisional cause of death has been recorded as combined toxicity of heroin, methadone, codeine, pregabalin, cocaine and zopiclone, contributed to by benzodiazepine use, the court heard.

“I understand there are no family concerns,” coroner’s officer Alexis Camp said.

She added: “No note was left.”

Danan’s GP and family members will be asked to provide statements, as will police officers and ambulance service members, Ms Camp said. Inquiries are also ongoing with Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust.

The provisional date for the full inquest hearing is 28 May.

Danan had been due to appear for a plea hearing on 16 January after being charged with possession of cocaine and cannabis.

He had also been accused of driving while under the influence of drugs in October last year.

Danan had been open about his struggles with substance abuse, which he said began when he was a teenager.

In 2019, he said on ITV’s The Jeremy Kyle Show that he had to “work hard at it every day to keep in recovery”.

Paying tribute to Danan after his death, fellow Love Island star Calum Best wrote on Instagram: “Life wasn’t always easy for him, but he faced it with such heart and courage, and that inspired so many of us.

“We shared many laughs, chats, and unforgettable moments. My heart goes out to his loved ones right now. Rest easy, brother.”