HE is synonymous with the Manchester indie scene and Hacienda days.

But these days you are more likely to find Happy Mondays' Bez moshing at a metal gig than freaky dancin' to 'Madchester' tunes.

"I’m a music lover so I listen to every genre," said Bez, who counts Nightwish as one of his favourite bands at the moment.

"My latest thing has been listening to metal and going to heavy rock gigs because my girlfriend’s in a metal band called Control the Storm.

"That scene reminds me of when I was kid. In those days Rush and Led Zeppelin were the big thing and I used to see rockers in all their leather and patches."

Of course, the classic indie sounds of Manchester are never far from Bez's mind and he will soon be DJing at Parr Hall for a celebration of that era called Mad For It.

Tribute acts Oasis Maybe, Morrissey Indeed and Transmission – The Sound of Joy Division will all be taking to the stage in between Bez's sets on Saturday, June 2.

He added: "We normally play all the Britpop and classic 90s music and, it all depends how the crowd take it, but sometimes we put some acid house in there as well."

So how does Bez feel about the music – including his own with the Mondays – meaning so much to people decades later?

He said: "It’s amazing really. If anyone said we’d still be doing the same thing 30 years later you would never have believed them.

"We’re the last bastion of the old record industry before the digital era came in. That old industry has died and that support isn’t there anymore to promote new bands.

"After Oasis and Blur and the Britpop days nothing on the same scale has come along to replace them."

Famously, Happy Mondays have gone through their break ups and make ups many times.

But when the band split for the first time in 1993 – just three years after Paul McCartney likened them to the Beatles during their 'Strawberry Fields' phase – Bez said he was devastated.

The 54-year-old added: "It was actually one of the most heartbreaking things I’ve been through. We went on to form Black Grape after that with Kermit which was actually the biggest selling album we ever had.

"But at that point I just didn't know if that was the end for Mondays. If we knew back then what the future would hold we wouldn’t have panicked so much but life is a journey."

Happy Mondays reformed for a fourth time in 2012 – leaving behind their infamous drug-fuelled days – and a year later they headlined Warrington Music Festival.

Bez said: "We’re a lot older and less angry I would say. All the band are straight now.

"When we first set out we were self-taught musicians. I remember John Cale when we recorded 24 Hour Party People.

"He kept turning at me going: ‘What is this?’ I thought he was talking about the wild bass change but he couldn’t believe I didn’t know basic music time.

"The band have now mastered what they play and do so the band is as good as it’s ever been.

"We still get on great. We don’t live in each other’s pockets as much which helps. I still enjoy gigging but it’s more creaky dancin' than freaky dancin' these days."

But let's rewind to the hazy Factory Records days for a minute. They may be inseparable now but how did Bez meet Shaun Ryder in the first place?

Bez added: "We had a mutual friend. I was always being told I had to meet Shaun and he was being told he had to meet me.

"So when we first actually met at his flat we were a bit wary because we’d been told so much about each other and that we’d get along. It turned out everybody was right."

So how did Bez end up joining the band?

He said: "It wasn’t a planned thing. It started one night when the Happy Mondays were on The Tube or a programme like that. They were supporting New Order for a show at the Hacienda."

Bez was asked to join Shaun on stage for ‘moral support’ after some rock and roll antics got the better of him

He added: "Shaun said: 'You’ve got to come on stage with me. I’m off my nut'. He needed some moral support. I fell for the bait, jumped on stage and grabbed a pair of maracas which was the only thing about.

"I started shaking these maracas like mad while dancing. I remember laughing myself to sleep that night."

From making music with a tribe and drinking a witchdoctor's brew in Panama for a bizarre reality show called Singing In The Rainforest to winning Celebrity Big Brother in 2005, Bez's popularity has never waned despite the ebbs and flows of his career.

Weekend asked Bez to put his finger on why this is.

He said: "If you’re a kid and your hero is Jimi Hendrix you might think what he did is unattainable.

"The thing is not everybody can play guitar but people can look at me and think: 'I could do that'.

"People see me on stage and everybody knows they could do that. I think that’s what endeared me to people."

- Mad For It is at Parr Hall on Saturday, June 2. Visit pyramidparrhall.com or call 442345 for tickets

DAVID MORGAN