Tough to swallow: Happy Mondays to reissue ‘Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches’ with unique gold pill edition
Happy Mondays are set to reissue their iconic album Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches, alongside a competition for a fan to win a unique gold pill.
The 1990 album became iconic for setting the precedent of the Madchester scene, and is celebrated as one of The Happy Mondays’ most beloved records.
Subsequently, 36 years on from its original release, the band are set to reissue Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches in a special series of editions next month.
This will include a five-LP super deluxe edition, as well as four-CD, two-CD, one-LP, picture disc, and cassette formats, released via London Records on August 21st.
In addition to this, fans can now enter into a ballot to win a coveted gold pill by pre-ordering any format of the album from The Happy Mondays’ official website. Those who have already placed an order will be automatically entered.
One winner will take home the gold capsule, created using a bespoke dual-colour silk gold PLA filament, and if that wasn’t enough, they’ll also have their name engraved on a bespoke 0.5mm polished brass, gold-anodised aluminium credit card.
It marks a particularly lavish turn of events for the Happy Mondays, who played a large part in cultivating the iconic but equally frantic Madchester scene during the 1990s.
However, when they celebrated the 35th anniversary of the album last year, frontman Shaun Ryder told the Brighton Journal that he didn’t view the achievement as a particularly big milestone.
“To me, they’re just our tunes. But it still sounds good — proper good — like it could’ve been made today. I don’t really notice the years on it because we’ve never stopped playing the bloody thing. It’s part of the furniture now,” he said at the time.
To this end, Ryder also said in an interview with Far Out that he has moved on from this phase of his life, noting, “I’m comfortable with what I’m doing, there’s no sort of fucking madness of youth, all the crazy bollocks that you go through. So I’m just happy with everything at the moment.”
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.