HE was synonymous with the party lifestyle and excess of the 'Madchester' scene.

But 20 years on after kicking various drug addictions, Shaun Ryder says he does not miss the 'madness' of the 90s and is enjoying making music more than ever.

The Happy Mondays frontman is in Warrington on Sunday, July 12, as part of a Black Grape reunion tour.

"It feels great now," Shaun told Weekend.

"I can finally enjoy what I’m doing on stage. We’re older, wiser and don’t have as much madness going on.

"Well we have no madness going on really. It’s quite boring. Now it’s just rock and roll and the sex and drugs have disappeared."

But what does Shaun miss about the 90s when he was releasing hits like Step On and Kinky Afro?

"Nothing. I don’t miss any of it," the 52-year-old added.

"I really am in love with my age and what I’m doing now. I’d say to anybody go out and enjoy your youth.

"I was lucky enough to travel around the world playing rock and roll since I was 18. It goes really quick so enjoy it.

"That was then and I enjoyed every minute of it. But I was seven when the 1960s ended and I can remember the 1960s better than I can the 1990s."

Shaun was last in Warrington when the Happy Mondays headlined the music festival in 2013. It was one of the first times the original line-up had played together in 19 years.

He said: "It’s like you go to bed for an eight-hour sleep and you wake up and 20 years have gone.

"That’s how fast it goes. It really does. Before you know it you’re coming up to 53."

The reunion show in the old fish market saw Shaun play alongside lead guitarist Mark Day and keyboardist Paul Davis again.

Shaun, who was on Chris Evans' TFI Friday anniversary show, added: "The thing about Mark is his guitar style was what made the Happy Mondays what it was. That was pretty special. It was good to have him back on board."

Now Shaun has teamed up with rapper Kermit again. The pair managed to combine rap, house, rock, soul and pop as Black Grape but split up after just two albums.

He said: "With Black Grape and the Mondays, now we’re all compos mentis and a lot older and don’t have to deal with a lot of the rubbish which goes with being young, it really is a pleasure.

"It’s like when we did the Bummed 25th anniversary tour. I hadn’t listened to that album since we walked out of the studio in 1988.

"When I was doing that tour, I thought: 'Wow, there really is some good stuff on this'. It’s the same with the Black Grape album. We’re not on the treadmill anymore.

"I’m not going out and building a career, writing album after album and going on tour after tour.

"You don’t really get to enjoy it as much as you should at the time. I personally never had time to take it all in and appreciate what we did.

"I’ve never fallen out with music. I’ve had a lot of difficulties. I was in receivership for 12 years so I had a lot to get around.

"But I’m certainly enjoying playing live more than I ever have in my life.

"It really should have been a few gigs this year and a tour next year. But the four or five shows turned into 21 dates."

Though, in many ways, fans are lucky that the Black Grape reunion is taking place as Shaun has revealed that Kermit, whose real name is Paul Leveridge, almost died in 1997.

He was rushed to hospital with hepatitis.

Shaun added: "Eighteen years ago Kermit nearly died. He was in hospital having his last rites read to him by a priest.

"Nowadays he’s great. He’s a 50-year-old fella – I should probably call him Paul now he’s 50 – but he looks about 29.

"He’s in a good place so I’m really pleased for him."

Shaun is also known for his unflattering depiction in Michael Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People, a film about Factory Records boss Tony Wilson.

The musician did not have any involvement in the film and was portrayed by actor Danny Cunningham.

"The character I’m portrayed as probably couldn’t put his pyjamas on the right way," Shaun said.

"I never met Michael Winterbottom and I suppose he got my character from snippets in the NME or rock and roll stories that have been going around.

"There are some truths in that movie but there’s stuff which is comic strip or just made up. It’s a funny film though."

After the Black Grape tour you will also be able to tune in to see Shaun on TV in Singing in the Rainforest in September.

After coming runner-up in the 2010 series of I’m A Celebrity, he will be appearing alongside his Happy Monday bandmates, Myleene Klass and fellow Warrington Music Festival headliners Scouting For Girls.

They will live among the Embera Drua people of the Upper Chagres River in Panama.

Shaun added: "We lived with them, hunted with them, socialised with them and took hallucinogenic drugs with them – and then we made music.

"When the show comes out you can download the track and the money from it will go towards the tribe to enable them to carry on with their way of life.

"It was a life changing experience even more so than when I went in the jungle with I’m A Celeb because you knew the real world was still there.

"I expected when I was going to the Amazon jungle that all these guys would have flat screen tellies and Apple phones.

"But they didn’t. They could only tell what time of day it was with the sound the monkeys made."

- Black Grape play at Parr Hall on Sunday, July 12. Visit pyramidparrhall.com or call 442345.

DAVID MORGAN