July 8, 2012
Happy Mondays was formed in 1980 by two brothers from Manchester, UK, Paul and Shaun Ryder.  They played alternative rock and electronic but their style can be further described as alternative dance, club/dance and dance-rock.  Their complete line-up consisted of Shaun on vocals, Paul on bass and Gary Whelan on drums, keyboardist Paul Davies and Mark Day was their lead guitarist.  By 1993 they had produced four studio albums, a live album and a compilation album and a number of singles.  They disbanded shortly but after a 14 year absence produced another studio album in 2005 entitled: Uncle Dysfunktional.  They continue to play gigs and tour the UK.
 
The textured cover I picked today is Madchester - Rave On which features cool graphics and raised design elements and was created by Central Station Design, a Manchester, UK company. 

As per Wikipedia, it is headed by two brothers called Matt and Pat Carroll together along with Karen Jackson and was associated with Factory Records and the Madchester scene of the early 1990s. They created album cover artwork and posters for Factory artists, especially the Happy Mondays. Their design for the Happy Mondays' Madchester Rave On E.P.in late 1989 became the iconic logo for the movement. The design company had their first large scale retrospective exhibition at the Richard Goodall Gallery in Manchester, England in July 2008. It encompassed work from throughout their career and offered a chance to buy silk screen and pigment prints in signed and numbered editions of their works including the Fac Off and Madchester
designs.
 
This record:
Madchester
Rave On by Happy Mondays
12” E.P. UK Import
Factory Records
Sleeve artwork and design: Central Station Design

Go to www.ricsrecordsrack.com for more information. The record is in super mint condition and still available.

July 5, 2012
Happy Mondays was formed in 1980 by two brothers from Manchester, UK, Paul and Shaun Ryder. They played alternative rock and electronic but their style can be further described as alternative dance, club/dance and dance-rock.  Their complete line-up consisted of Shaun on vocals, Paul on bass and Gary Whelan on drums, keyboardist Paul Davies and Mark Day was their lead guitarist.  By 1993 they had produced four studio albums, a live album and a compilation album and a number of singles. They disbanded shortly but after a 14-year absence produced another studio album in 2005 entitled: Uncle Dysfunktional.  They still continue to play gigs and tour the UK.
 
All covers but one in my collection have been designed by Central Station Design. 
The following information on them is from Wikipedia: Central Station Designs, a Mancunian design company usually associated with Factory Records and the Madchester scene of the early 1990s. The company created album cover artwork and posters for Factory artists, especially the Happy Mondays. Their design for the Happy Mondays' Madchester Rave On E.P. in late 1989 became the iconic logo for the movement. Central Station are two brothers called Matt and Pat Carroll together with Karen Jackson.
 
Central Station had their first large scale retrospective exhibition at Richard Goodall Gallery in Manchester, England in July 2008. It encompassed work from throughout their career and offered for the first time the chance to buy silk screen and pigment prints in signed and numbered editions of their works including the Fac Off and Madchester designs.
 
Here is my collection of their records:
Tart Tart  (Single)
Step On (Single)
Squirrel And G-Man (LP – First release by the band)
Madchester (Single)
Freaky Dancin’ (Single)
Loose Fit  (Single)
Kinky Groove (Single)
Wrote For Luck (Single)
WFL (Wrote For Luck) Remixed by Vince Clarke (Single)
Delightful (EP)

All UK imports from Factory Records except: WFL (Wrote For Luck) from Elektra/Asylum (USA) 

Go to www.ricsrecordsrack.com for more information. The records are in super mint condition and still available.