Paul Anthony Ryder (24 April 1964 – 15 July 2022) was an English musician. He was a bass player and a founding member of the Manchester band

Happy Mondays Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up was Shaun Ryder (vocals), his brother Paul Ryder ( bass), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry later joined t ...

with his brother

Shaun Ryder Shaun William George Ryder (born 23 August 1962) is an English singer/songwriter and poet. As lead singer of Happy Mondays, he was a leading figure in the Madchester cultural scene during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1993, he formed Bla ...

Early life

Paul and Shaun are the two sons of Derek Ryder, a postman, and his wife Linda, a nurse.

Happy Mondays

Ryder was an active member of the band through most of its history from its inception in 1983 through to his death. His bandmates include his brother Shaun, Gary Whelan, Mark "Bez" Berry, Paul Davies and Mark Day. It was during his tenure with the band that it had its biggest successes with albums such as ''

Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches ''Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches'' is the third studio album by English rock band Happy Mondays, released on 5 November 1990 by Factory Records. DJ Paul Oakenfold and collaborator Steve Osbourne were previously enlisted by the band for remixe ...

'' which sold more than 400,000 copies in the UK. The Ryder brothers fell out in the 1990s as Paul struggled with heroin addiction, but he rejoined the band for their 2012 comeback.

Acting

Ryder appeared in the films ''The Ghosts of Oxford Street'', ''Losing It'', and ''

24 Hour Party People ''24 Hour Party People'' is a 2002 British biographical comedy-drama film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Win ...

'', where he played the part of a gangster.

Other projects

Ryder left Happy Mondays to write music for several television shows, and formed a new band, Big Arm, who released an album in 2008 titled ''Radiator''. Ryder lived in Los Angeles where he continued to write music. He supported

Tom Tom Club Tom Tom Club is an American new wave band founded in 1981 by husband-and-wife team Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth and as a side project from Talking Heads. Their best known songs include "Wordy Rappinghood", "Genius of Love", and a cover of T ...

on two of the dates on the North America tour in October 2010, playing gigs in San Francisco and Los Angeles. He was joined by

Eddy Gronfier Eddy Gronfier (b. France, 1970) started as a local radio host on Fun Radio Annecy in 1985, then NRJ Chambéry. In 1988, he moved to Paris to become the host of a national radio in primetime, this time on Fun Radio until 1990 alongside other hosts ...

, Neo Garcia on drums and Matt Cheadle on guitar.

Death

Ryder was found dead in his bed by his mother on 15 July 2022, aged 58, the day before the band were due to play at a festival in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

. He had been reporting headaches after arriving in Salford after flying from his home in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. The family later said that the

Coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

had said that Ryder died as a result of Ischaemic heart disease and diabetes, but they were waiting for the full Coroner's Report to be released.

References

External Links

* * 1964 births 2022 deaths English rock bass guitarists Male bass guitarists Happy Mondays members People from Salford {{UK-guitarist-stub