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Freaky Dancin'
Bez is best known as the man with the maracas and side-kick of Shaun Ryder in The Happy Mondays. In this book, Bez tells how he lived in a Morrocan cave with a man who made his own LSD and, when thrown out of home by his policeman father, lived in a fully furnished shed for two years.
288 pages, Paperback
First published September 4, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 20, 2017
I cannot recommend this book more highly than Bez has been every single day of his life.
July 2, 2013
"'Just do it, jump on an do yer mad dance an, er, play this maraca.'
It was a ball-achin moment of adrenalin an fear in a potent mixture."
Mark “Bez” Barry was/is the dancer and maracas player for the Happy Mondays. If you’re familiar with the band, the “Madchester” scene, or early rave culture, you’ve probably heard of him. His autobiography covers his teen years through the infamous Barbados recording of “Yes Please!”
What can you say about a person who is arguably the most iconic yet superfluous band member ever? How can you even begin to describe Bez and why any of us ever paid attention to him, moreover actually remember him? Thankfully, Bez himself is here to try to tell us his story.
Written in vernacular to such a degree that it’s at once gimmicky and completely in character (there are no ending Gs on any of the words in the entire book), Bez’s memoir reads like a Choose Your Own Adventure book in which every possible wrong decision is made and yet the story doesn’t end with the protagonist’s death. How a single person could indulge in so much alcohol and so many drugs is almost unfathomable. (The only frame of reference I can conjure is Keith Richards and I’m not sure he hasn’t actually died a time or two.)
Basically, this book is about how Bez (and later on his pal Shaun) does ALL the drugs and makes ALL the bad decisions so that you don’t have to.
It’s neither a how-to book nor a cautionary tale, as Bez continually messes up his life without ever falling flat. Peppered throughout the story-telling are basic “don’t do as I do” warnings, but I can’t imagine anyone with the wherewithal to read this autobiography being foolhardy enough to believe that he could cheat the system in Bez-tastic proportions.
Bez is the only person on the face of the planet who could go from down-and-out drug-buddy in Thatcher’s England to dancer/maracas player and poster-boy for global rave culture.
In case you get the wrong idea from the above: I seriously enjoyed Bez’s autobiography. It was an exciting -- if sometimes disjointed – romp through work-class, 1980s England and the start of the rave scene. As someone who never would have had the nerve to try even 10% of the craziness Bez recounts, reading this book was like having a new friend tell you the “best bits” about his life. Without the embarrassment or self-censorship that usually comes along with that.
It was a ball-achin moment of adrenalin an fear in a potent mixture."
Mark “Bez” Barry was/is the dancer and maracas player for the Happy Mondays. If you’re familiar with the band, the “Madchester” scene, or early rave culture, you’ve probably heard of him. His autobiography covers his teen years through the infamous Barbados recording of “Yes Please!”
What can you say about a person who is arguably the most iconic yet superfluous band member ever? How can you even begin to describe Bez and why any of us ever paid attention to him, moreover actually remember him? Thankfully, Bez himself is here to try to tell us his story.
Written in vernacular to such a degree that it’s at once gimmicky and completely in character (there are no ending Gs on any of the words in the entire book), Bez’s memoir reads like a Choose Your Own Adventure book in which every possible wrong decision is made and yet the story doesn’t end with the protagonist’s death. How a single person could indulge in so much alcohol and so many drugs is almost unfathomable. (The only frame of reference I can conjure is Keith Richards and I’m not sure he hasn’t actually died a time or two.)
Basically, this book is about how Bez (and later on his pal Shaun) does ALL the drugs and makes ALL the bad decisions so that you don’t have to.
It’s neither a how-to book nor a cautionary tale, as Bez continually messes up his life without ever falling flat. Peppered throughout the story-telling are basic “don’t do as I do” warnings, but I can’t imagine anyone with the wherewithal to read this autobiography being foolhardy enough to believe that he could cheat the system in Bez-tastic proportions.
Bez is the only person on the face of the planet who could go from down-and-out drug-buddy in Thatcher’s England to dancer/maracas player and poster-boy for global rave culture.
In case you get the wrong idea from the above: I seriously enjoyed Bez’s autobiography. It was an exciting -- if sometimes disjointed – romp through work-class, 1980s England and the start of the rave scene. As someone who never would have had the nerve to try even 10% of the craziness Bez recounts, reading this book was like having a new friend tell you the “best bits” about his life. Without the embarrassment or self-censorship that usually comes along with that.
August 18, 2017
I read this and ended up not really liking Bez. A real shame for me. There are some great stories of various mad-cap drug-fuelled escapades but these become monotonous over +350 pages. There's little here about the music - probably because Bez had little to do with the creation of it - and few bits of insight into the way in which the music came together. The rise and implosion of the Mondays is relayed here and it is, as you'd expect, a ridiculous and hilarious rollercoaster of drugs and girls and fights and friendships. If you're looking for a traditional music bio then this is not it. If you want to read about the madness of 'Madchester' then this fits the bill.
September 9, 2012
Not so much about the music, but what did I expect from an accidental maraca player? Tales of drugs, fights and car accidents told in a winky British accent from one guy who lived through the "Happy Mondays."
February 11, 2013
A really enjoyable account of Bez's involvement with the Mondays, but also an insight into his scally days prior. In fact the first half of the book is dedicated to his solo pursuits and tribulations, including being stranded, skint and starving in Morocco. The final pages regarding the HM's unravelling in Barbados are painful but hilarious.
November 16, 2007
Yeah, this is pretty funny. It reads like how I'd imagine having a few pints and spliffs down t'pub with Bez would be like, with him telling random stories about being with the Mondays at me.
November 28, 2007
i learned that bez and shaun ryder did enough drugs to kill every horse in england, and that happy mondays are one of the best bands EVAH.
July 13, 2010
9/10. Great read- hilarious!
November 25, 2011
Very funny, the man (together with Shaun Ryder) are walking miracles. Not sure how both ate till alive, but the world would be a much duller place without them.
February 28, 2012
All the car crashes are the best part of the book. High quality slap stickcomedy and Bez himself is a genius of course
August 20, 2012
Really well written considering who the author is. Great book.
January 5, 2013
Enjoyed this a great deal
April 24, 2013
Good fun if your old enough to remember the Manchester scene
March 18, 2013
Really enjoyable, not just about the mondays but goves an insight how Bez became Bez
June 7, 2020
Classic working class story, not interested in school, no qualifications, but then didn't want to work because the jobs available were boring, so live off your giro and thieving. And loads of drugs, week long benders then sleep for two days. I'm not sure he worked longer than thirty days at a time in the whole book. I'm sure there are millions who have the same story, but he got a lucky break. Was quite impressed with the fact that he went travelling at 17/18 years old. Funniest story was about the time they went to the Caribbean to make a record. They end up doing lots of crack and Shawn Ryder ends up off his head on it. He goes missing one day and they find his car upside down with no sign of him. They noticed the car battery was missing – he'd taken it out to sell for more drugs! The book had a very cryptic ending. They had given two fingers to EMI, but were planning a comeback. And then the book ends on the line “RIP – see you in a bit”. What does that mean? Did someone die? Job for Wikipedia.
September 6, 2020
Three hundred and thirty odd pages and I still don't quite get what Bez's actual role was in the Happy Mondays was even though he was somehow intrinsic to the whole caper. Yes, he played maracas and danced around on stage while off his dial but even when it comes to the recording of the seminal, 'Pills, Thrills and Bellyache's in LA and the ill fated follow up in Barbados, he does little more then manage the odd visit to the studio between (or during) benders to see how it is all going. It is still an interesting enough take in it's accounts of the whole Manchester and Hacienda scenes though, while amazingly, Bez gets to live the rock and roll dream without ever seriously playing a note.
May 2, 2023
An interesting trail through Bez's life. The writing reflects Bez's unique voice and at times is insightful about the wider world he inhabited. Some of the escapades detailed in the book get a bit repetitive but this probably reflects reasonably well what was going on.
July 12, 2021
Written with a great sense of humour. Very enjoyable!
August 30, 2021
Was alright but he clearly did a replace all on "ing" replacing it with "in'" that grated.
July 31, 2024
So far this is my favorite World Language course by far.
August 22, 2012
well worth a read
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews