Black Grape have announced an extensive UK tour taking place in November and December 2025, including a Sheffield gig at Network on 4 December. The tour will mark the 30th anniversary of the classic debut Number 1 album ‘It’s Great When You’re Straight…Yeah’. Originally formed following the break-up of Shaun Ryder’s Happy Mondays, Black Grape combines the creative minds of Ryder and former Ruthless Rap Assassins member and long-time friend Kermit (AKA Paul Leveridge).
Now 30 years after their debut, they’re headed back on tour, supported by UK live legends Dodgy, with tickets going on sale in January. Talking to frontman Shaun Ryder, I found out how he feels celebrating this milestone, all about the upcoming tour, and 30 years of Black Grape memories.
Hi Shaun, how’s your day so far?
Yeah, great thanks, you?
Very good thank you, can we talk a bit about your upcoming tour later this year?
Yeah, yeah course
So, Black Grape have announced your extensive UK tour taking place in November and December this year, how does it feel to be headed back on tour?
It’s always a pleasure to get back on the road with the Black Grape guys so I love it, it’s fantastic, yeah.
Obviously, this tour marks the 30th anniversary of your incredible debut number 1 album ‘It’s Great When You’re Straight…Yeah’- tell me about that album, and how it feels to celebrate this milestone
It’s great. I mean in one way, it seems like a hundred years ago, and in another way it seems like five minutes ago, because as you get older time really speeds up. In secondary school, those five years feel like twenty years…now, five years goes by in like a week, so it’s a weird one in a way.
It’s great like I say. I’m still here, still breathing, still touring that fucking album.
Did you think you would still be doing that 30 years on?
Defo yeah, you don’t retire in this game, you just go on till you drop dead like Tommy Cooper or something like that.
I mean, what else can I do except being in music and fucking about in the entertainment game? I did want to be in it for life, it’s a privilege really.
Tell me about the making of that debut album
We made it all over the place really, Black Grape was an American deal. When the Monday’s ended, I pretty much was on a plane to LA to start the deal, we didn’t even have a name for it then.
We ended up coming up with the name because we couldn’t get paid until we had one. So, while we were mixing it, Kermit walked in the studio with a can of black grape, we just went ‘right, that’ll do’.
We ended up, in the sleeve of that ‘Great to be Straight’ album, stood on the roof of an amusement arcade I think in Skegness or something, and smoking crack in a cupboard in Los Angeles with all the recording gear.
We did some in Wales as well, because Stone Roses were there at the same time doing that second coming album, so it was all over the place, mentally and physically.
So, there’s happy memories of it?
What I can remember, yeah haha.
Do you have a favourite track from the album, or one you are especially excited about playing live?
Pretty much every time we go out we end up doing most of the tracks off that album. ‘Reverend Black Grape’, ‘A Big Day In The North’, all of them really.
When we’re doing Black Grape shows, especially this tour that’s coming up, we’ll do some off Orange Heads, some off Pop Voodoo, we’ll pretty much cover everything.
Your main support on the tour will be Dodgy- tell me about the band and your relationship to them
I remember a couple of tunes they had in the nineties. Alan McGee said ‘do you mind if we get Dodgy on the tour?’ and I said ‘no have what you want, get the singing choir from Asda Christmas carols if you want.’
That, I would pay a lot of money to see
Yeah, especially me and Kermit on stage with them.
You’ll be playing Sheffield on December 4th– how would you describe the city/ the audiences here?
Sheffield’s Sheffield innit. Sheffield’s always been a different attitude. They don’t go shouting about in Sheffield like the Mancs do or the Scousers, who they are and what they do, but there’s great talent there, it’s just a cool place really.
I do know some cool people, but don’t ask me their names because I can’t remember them!
