Happy Mondays announce ‘Pills ‘N’ Thrills And Bellyaches’ 35th anniversary UK tour for 2026 with The Farm and Northside

Happy Mondays have announced a new tour celebrating the 35th anniversary of their ‘Pills ‘N’ Thrills And Bellyaches’ album, taking place in 2026. Check out the details below.

The album marked the third LP from the pioneers of the Madchester movement, and arrived in 1999. It follows on from their breakthrough debut album, ‘Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out)’, which dropped in 1987, and their sophomore album ‘Bummed’, which arrived the following year.

To celebrate 35 years since album three was shared, Shaun Ryder and co. will be heading on tour to perform highlights from the LP, as well as a variety of hits and fan favourites from elsewhere in their discography.

The tour kicks off in Newcastle on March 13, and includes dates in Leeds, Nottingham, Cardiff and Liverpool on March 14, 15, 20 and 21 respectively. Other shows include gigs in Sheffield, Cambridge, London, Southend, and Norwich throughout the month.

The remainder of the live shows take place in April and include stops in Birmingham, Manchester, Brighton, Bournemouth, Belfast, and three shows at Glasgow’s Barrowland. Support will come from The Farm and Northside – recreating the line-up from Happy Mondays’ 1991 show at Elland Road in Leeds.

For the tour, Shaun Ryder and Bez will be joined by Mark Day on the guitar, Gary Whelan on drums, Dan Broad on guitar and keys, and Firouzeh Berry, who is Bez’s wife and will be providing backing vocals.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back on tour with the Mondays in 2026, especially with our old mates The Farm who are touring with us,” said Ryder, while Bez added: “Really excited to be going back on tour again in the UK next year! I love being on the road with the Mondays, there is no better feeling than playing to the fans of live music. I’ll see you all next year.”

Tickets go on sale on Friday (September 19) at 9am. Visit here to buy yours and check below for a full list of new dates.

Happy Mondays 2026 tour dates are:

MARCH
13 – Newcastle, O2 City Hall
14 – Leeds, O2 Academy Leeds
15 – Nottingham, Rock City
20 – Cardiff, DEPOT
21 – Liverpool, Mountford Hall
22 – Sheffield, Octagon
26 – Cambridge, Corn exchange
27 – London, Roundhouse
28 – Southend, Cliffs Pavilion
29 – Norwich, UEA

APRIL
2 – Brighton, Dome
3 – Bristol, Beacon Hall
4 – Birmingham, O2 Academy Birmingham
5 – Bournemouth, O2 Academy Bournemouth
9 – Margate, Dreamland
10 – Guildford, G Live
11 – Manchester, O2 Victoria Warehouse
16 – Glasgow Barrowland
17 – Glasgow, Barrowland
18 – Glasgow, Barrowland
22 – Dublin, Vicar Street
24 – Belfast, Mandela Hall

When it was shared, ‘Pills ‘N’ Thrills And Bellyaches’ peaked at Number Four on the UK Albums Chart, selling 400,000 copies and spending 28 consecutive weeks on the chart. NME hailed it as “a tremendous record, and a gauntlet chucked at the feet of all the other would-be legends in town.”

Singles from the album included ‘Step On’, ‘Kinky Afro’, ‘Loose Fit’, and ‘Bob’s Yer Uncle’, which arrived as a US-only single. ‘Step On’ charted at Number Five in the UK, as did ‘Kinky Afro’. ‘Loose Fit’ charted at number 17 in the UK.

The celebration of their third album comes after Ryder and Bez spoke to NME about the band’s plans to get “back at it” with music at the end of 2024, and then went on to tease plans for a new Happy Mondays album – their first since 2007’s ‘Uncle Dysfunktional’ – earlier this year.

Before then, vocalist and percussionist Rowetta parted ways with the band after 34 years.

She joined the band in 1990 and was featured on ‘Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches’ and the follow-up album, ‘Yes Please!’. She also joined the band for three world tours.

At the time of her departure, things seemed amicable, with the band sharing a statement that said: “Happy Mondays thank Rowetta for her services and wish her the best for the future.” Later though, Rowetta accused Ryder of punching her during an incident that allegedly occurred in 2000; Ryder has denied the claims.

In March this year, Paul ‘Wags’ Wagstaff, the Manchester guitarist who formed Paris Angels and later joined Happy Mondays and Black Grape, died. He was aged 60.

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