Amateur Night in the Big Top

Amateur Night in the Big Top is the debut studio album by British singer Shaun Ryder, the former frontman of Happy Mondays and Black Grape. The album is subtitled "Clowns and Pet Sounds". It was released in September 2003 and co-produced by Pete Carroll, Shane Norton and Cabaret Voltaire's Stephen Mallinder. It was recorded in Perth, Australia and released on the OffWorld Sounds record label run by Ryder's Carroll and Mallinder. Background and recording In July 1998, vocalist Shaun Ryder said he would no longer be performing or recording with his band Black Grape. By the end of the year, MTV reported that Ryder might be reuniting his other band Happy Mondays. A reunion was confirmed in January 1999, with initially performance occurring in April 1999. In June 1999, MTV reported that the band were in the process of writing material for a new album. As Happy Mondays' reunion continued beyond its intended six-month plan, Ryder started consumed a considerable amount of alcohol and took cocaine. Touring continued into early 2001, and while in Australia for the Big Day Out festival, Ryder decided that he had enough of the band. He stayed at his cousin's Pete Carroll house in Perth. He thought the quiet location would be a good opportunity to go cold turkey from his previous heroin addiction. Despite not wanting to make any music while in the country, Carroll thought it would be something to distract Ryder with. In April 2001, it was reported that Ryder had started recorded an album; sessions continued into July 2002. Carroll served as the executive producer on the project. Shane Norton of Kuling Bros produced and engineered the material at Spin Studios in Sydney, Australia; former Cabaret Voltaire member Stephen Mallinder acted as co-producer on "Scooter Girl", "Clowns" and "Murder". Ryder recorded his vocals in Carroll's make-shift studio in his garage, which were recorded by Carroll and Norton. Adam McElnea mastered the album at Sonamax in Balmain, New South Wales. Ryder heard tracks Carroll and Shane Norton were working on for Offworld Sounds. "Our Pete just said, 'Tell us a story.' I've got that many, Pete reckoned I should record them once and for all" said Shaun Ryder. "I'm kind of a novelist in the way that 9/11 was a Great American Novel" the singer added.