Happy Mondays stars Shaun Ryder and Bez give thoughts on Oasis and dynamic pricing: ‘We used to tout our own tickets’
Happy Mondays stars Shaun Ryder and Bez have joked about being their own ticket touts back in the band’s heyday.
Pioneers of the “Madchester” sound of their home city in the 80s and early 90s, they rose to fame alongside the likes of The Stone Roses and Inspiral Carpets, a few years before Oasis.
The pair are now Gogglebox favourites and live a quieter life. But back in the day, Happy Mondays were known for their hard partying and not always doing things by the book – including the time they headlined Glastonbury Festival in 1990 when they infamously printed out their own backstage passes to squeeze as many mates in as they could.
‘Manchester royalty’ Bez and Shaun Ryder were VIP guests at the MTV Europe Awards
Happy Mondays stars Bez (left) and Shaun Ryder performing at Glastonbury in 2000. Pic: Toby Melville/PA
Sky News caught up with Ryder and Bez, whose real name is Mark Berry, at the MTV Europe Music Awards, which were held in Manchester for the first time this year.
They talked pop and politics, as well as Taylor Swift – and following the dynamic pricing controversy surrounding the Oasis reunion tickets earlier this year, we wanted to get their thoughts.
“It’s like being your own personal tout, isn’t it?” Bez said. “It’s like touting your own tickets. Which is better than the touts doing it.”
“We used to tout our own tickets,” added Ryder. “Do side merch and all that lot, print out passes backstage.”
“Don’t tell everyone,” Bez joked.
Liam and Noel Gallagher, pictured in 2000, announced the Oasis reunion earlier this year. Pic: PA
Following the backlash over the dynamic pricing surrounding the initial Oasis reunion ticket sale, the band put a stop to it for extra dates added to the tour.
In October, promoters warned that thousands of tickets being listed on unauthorised sites, to sell for a profit, would be cancelled.
The repercussions from the ticket-buying process have led to a proposed new law to improve pricing transparency and prevent fans from being ripped off.
The UK competition watchdog is also looking at the dynamic pricing system, which sees prices change according to demand.
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Despite Liam Gallagher winning an award at the MTV Awards for best rock act, he was not there in person to collect his prize.
“I love and adore you,” he told fans the following day in a message on X.
Ryder and Bez were there to represent their home city, though, hailed as “Manchester royalty” by host Rita Ora during one segment.
The night’s big winner was Taylor Swift, who did not attend the event but picked up four awards, including best artist.
Ryder told Sky News he is a fan. “She’s great,” he said. “An excellent songwriter.”
And on politics, the Happy Mondays frontman said he did not usually get involved, but following Donald Trump’s re-election, said: “I think we should do with that lunatic getting back in, because the world’s going to go f***ing mad”.
Dean Cain has been branded the “worst superman ever” as he announced he will join the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “ASAP”.
The 59-year-old, who was cast as Superman in the TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, announced he had joined the team amid the federal agency’s unprecedented immigration raids.
He told Fox News on Wednesday his recruitment video on Instagram had gone viral and since then, “I have spoken with some of the officials over at ICE and I will be sworn in as an ICE agent ASAP”.
“You can defend your homeland and get great benefits,” he said in the Instagram post where he appealed for his followers to join ICE.
Speaking with the Superman theme song in the background, he said “hundreds of thousands of criminals” had been arrested since US President Donald Trump took office.
He then told his followers they would get a series of benefits if they joined ICE, including a $50,000 (£37,407) signing bonus and student loan repayment.
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“If you want to help save America ICE is arresting the worst of the worst and removing them from America’s streets,” he said, before adding: “I voted for that.”
ICE agents are under pressure from the White House to boost their deportation numbers in line with Mr Trump’s campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration.
Cain’s post on Instagram received some backlash, with one user commenting: “Worst superman ever”.
Another said: “Shame on you Dean – that’s the most un-Superman thing you could possibly advocate.”
One fan turned against him and said: “Until I saw this I was such a fan. What a sad human being you must be.”
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Oasis gig at Murrayfield in Edinburgh beats Taylor Swift for most ‘ground-shaking’ concert
Oasis provided the most “ground-shaking” performance at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium when they last performed there in 2009, according to analysis of seismic data.
The Gallagher brothers’ last Scottish gig has topped the chart for the most powerful seismic concert at the venue in the past 20 years, the British Geological Survey (BGS) said.
Oasis’ June 2009 gig beat the Red Hot Chili Peppers in June 2004, Kings of Leon in June 2011 and Taylor Swift in June 2024 – when measuring the peak earthshaking power of each event.
Noel Gallagher. Pic: PA
The measurements were taken from a seismic monitoring station, some 4km from the venue.
At peak power of 215.06kW, the Oasis gig was more than twice as powerful as the next strongest one by the Red Hot Chili Peppers at 106.87kW.
Murrayfield Stadium’s most seismic concerts:
• Oasis: 17 June 2009, 215.06kW
• Red Hot Chili Peppers: 14 June 2004, 106.87kW
• Kings of Leon: 26 June 2011, 96.18kW
• Taylor Swift: 8 June 2024, 82.56kW
• Foo Fighters: 8 September 2015, 78.65kW
• Harry Styles: 26 May 2023, 65.38kW
• Beyonce: 20 May 2023, 29.31kW
• Robbie Williams: 31 May 2025, 14.18kW
• Bon Jovi: 22 June 2011, 13.20kW
• Spice Girls: 8 June 2019, 10.63kW
• One Direction: 3 June 2014, 6.82kW
The rankings were revealed ahead of Oasis’ return to the Scottish capital this weekend as part of their comeback tour.
The power output is not related to the volume of the band or the crowd; rather, it is the movement of fans jumping and dancing in time to the music, with the height of the jumping and weight of the crowd also potential factors.
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BGS seismologist Callum Harrison said: “In 2009, seismic signals generated by Oasis fans were consistent with a crowd energy of 215kW at its peak – enough to power around 30 of the scooters featured on the iconic Be Here Now album cover.
“Our network of sensors around the country is sensitive enough to pick up ground movement from a source miles away that may not be detectable to humans – and precise enough to register exact timestamps for when the events occur.
“The peak energy reading was recorded around 8.30pm on that June evening back in 2009, which correlates to the time the band first took the stage and performed Rock ‘N’ Roll Star, which couldn’t be more fitting in terms of topping our seismic music chart.”
The BGS keeps an archive of continuous ground motion recordings from seismic sensors around the country, dating back several decades.
Mr Harrison said: “Improving our understanding of historical earthquakes is an important part of BGS research in trying to understand and mitigate the seismic risk around the country.”
Oasis will take to Murrayfield’s stage on Friday, Saturday and Tuesday, so there is potential for another “shakermaker”.
Mr Harrison said it is “certainly possible” the band could top their 2009 gig, adding: “We’ll just have to wait and see.
“The main contributing factors are going to be how energetic the crowd is. If they’re jumping along with the music, how high or how fast are they jumping?”
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