Shaun Ryder: the Happy Mondays star on hair loss, hip surgery and having botox

23 August 2022, 15:08 | Updated: 23 August 2022, 15:48

Shaun Ryder on Hair Loss and Having Botox

The Madchester legend revealed on The Chris Moyles Show that he's suffering from alopecia and that he recently underwent hip surgery.

Shaun Ryder turns 60 years old on 23rd August 2022. When the Happy Mondays frontman came into Radio X in July 2019, he opened up about the health issues that were plaguing him - including unexplained alopecia, his hip surgery and even his experience of having botox.

The Manchester legend has been sporting short hair for many years, but when he appeared on The Chris Moyles Show, he had a noticeably more hairless look: "I am Uncle Fester!" he said. "It all fell out!"

Asked by Chris about the new look, the Step On legend revealed that it was alopecia, but nobody knew what had triggered it: "I've got no eyelashes, no eyebrows, no pubic hair, no leg hair, no armpit hair, everything gone.

"At first they thought it's going to be the testosterone or it's going to be the thyroid. Well it isn't, because in the thyroid it comes out in clumps, right. Now mine's an alopecia thing and it's just gone. And another thing is, it's not stress related."

Nevertheless, the singer was philosophical about the situation. "If this had happened to Peter Andre, the guy wouldn't come out of the house! He wouldn't go on television or do live radio would he?

Watch our interview with the Madchester legend, where he also discusses his hip surgery and getting botox, above.

Shaun Ryder, before the hair loss in December 2017. Picture: Andrew Benge/Redferns/Getty

The Black Grape singer, who has a largely vegan diet, also revealed he recently underwent hip surgery, and joked: "I woke up just feeling fantastic. Such a buzz! I wanna go for more operations."

And those were not the only medical procedures Ryder had been having - he'd had actually received some botox treatment.

"I went to the dentist, and he started talking about botox. I said, give me some botox! The guy have me some botox while I was in the chair!"

When Shaun went home, he was expecting a reaction from his partner Jo. "She never noticed! Even after, like, months, she never noticed. About six months later it came up in a conversation, I went yeah I've had botox. She went: 'WHAT?!'

"I would have had some more, if it did anything."

Shaun Ryder with his father Derek and his brother Paul back in August 1991. Picture: Avalon/Getty Images

2022 has been a tough year for Shaun - his bandmate and brother Paul Ryder died suddenly last month aged just 58, hours before Happy Mondays were due to take to the stage at a festival in Sunderland.

In a statement, the band said Ryder he was "a true pioneer and legend. He will be forever missed", before adding: "I don't think people realise just how good Paul was and how big his influence on the Mondays sound - and therefore our sound culturally - was. And a really lovely guy. He will be missed by many."

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Happy Mondays have continued to perform since the death of their bassist and last weekend saw Shaun Ryder and Rowetta join Damon Albarn and Gorillaz onstage at All Points East for a rendition of DARE.