Mondays have never been so good

We’re approaching the year 2020 and it’s been decades since the baggy scene the Manchester band helped create dominated the airwaves and CD stacks.

The band themselves have had, it’s safe to say, a turbulent and well documented past living life to the very excess, dealing with addiction, fall outs, break ups and financial troubles.

That some of the band members are even alive is something of a miracle in itself.

A half hearted comeback in the late 90s without Mark Day and Paul Davis was forgettable and could easily have been a sorry footnote for a band who once tore down boundaries.

But there they were, taking to stage in the Kingdom looking happy, fit and sounding better than ever.

There’s been nothing half hearted about this most recent comeback.

Their sound has clearly endured and bygones have become bygones as the original line-up plays tours and festivals.

The sold out Alhambra was one of just four Scottish stops on a tour which will take them through autumn and up to Christmas.

A crowd of all ages welcomed the band to the stage in Dunfermline, Rowetta and a thumping backing track helping whip up something of a frenzy ahead Shaun Ryder and Bez’s arrivals.

Kinky Afro was offered early on and set the tone for a gig which never dropped its tempo.

Shaun was content to deliver his lines almost static mid-stage while the energy was maintained by Bez’s freaky dancing and Rowetta’s backing vocals - both egged on by the frontman.

The greatest hits set was lapped up, the beats pulsed around the famous Dunfermline venue and the band’s light display gave it a special feel.

Step On had the crowd on the ground level bouncing along while the band have never sounded as tight as they have during an incredible Hallelujah.

With the Mondays taking their bows Bez had something to say to the fans, raising another cheer when he announced that his ‘Scottish team is Dunfermline’.

It may have been simply playing to the crowd, if so there really was no need, they were already well won over.