When The Happy Mondays fell apart in 1992, no-one expected to ever hear from Shaun Ryder again. It was commonly accepted that he (or at least his career) probably wouldn’t survive his various drug addictions. So, it was quite a surprise to see Ryder – in fairly healthy shape – return to the top of the charts three years later, with a new band: Black Grape. A band he formed with ex-Ruthless Rap Assassins frontman Paul ‘Kermit’ Leveridge (not the green one).

Black Grape’s debut album It’s Great When You’re Straight… Yeah was nothing less than a master piece and, although commercially less successful, I love 1997’s follow-up record Stupid Stupid Stupid as well. No link there, as it’s officially missing from streaming services, but *cough* YouTube *cough*. Worth the effort, though…

You can imagine that after 20 years of silence, the announcement of a new Black Grape album was even a bigger surprise than the band’s debut in 1995. But you’d better believe Pop Voodoo will be out 17 July. And since it’s 2017, new tracks off it are being released each week now, to give the album release as much momentum as possible. Nine Lives is my favourite so far!

Werner Schlosser

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.