Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches is the third studio album by English alternative rock band Happy Mondays, released on November 5, 1990 by Factory Records. The band chose British DJ Paul Oakenfold and his frequent collaborator Steve Osbourne to produce the album based on their work on various remixes for the band's previous singles. It was recorded at Eden Studios in London throughout 1989 and early 1990. Unlike the band's previous album Bummed, Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches incorporates a larger influence from house music through Oakenfold's production. The album was the band's commercial breakthrough in the band's country of origin, propelling the Happy Mondays to the top of their commercial success amidst the height of the Madchester and baggy cultural scenes. Along with the Stone Roses' self-titled debut album, it is considered to be released at the zeitgeist of the Madchester scene.
Release
The original album cover for Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches, designed by Central Station Design, consisted of a montage of popular children's sweet wrappers. The cover was changed for subsequent issues of the album following objections from the U.S. manufacturers, resulting in the new, somewhat plainer album cover. In November 2007, the album was re-released by Rhino Records with extra tracks and a DVD of music videos. On 23 June 2012, daily newspaper The Guardian gave readers a free copy of the album in each newspaper.
Critical reception
of NME hailed Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches as "a tremendous record, and a gauntlet chucked at the feet of all the other would-be legends in town." In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, critic Robert Christgau cited "Grandbag's Funeral" and "Kinky Afro" as highlights but stated that "their Voidoids is hotter than their 'dance music'". In a less enthusiastic review, Bob Mack of Entertainment Weekly said that apart from "Step On" and "Donovan", the album shows that the band is less interesting than their Madchester contemporaries and do not warrant comparisons to The Rolling Stones. Simon Reynolds, writing in The New York Times, called it a "perplexing mishmash" that can alienate listeners outside of Manchester's rave scene. In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine called Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches a hedonistic album that was the peak of Happy Mondays' "career ... a celebratory collage of sex, drugs, and dead-end jobs where there's no despair because only a sucker could think that this party would ever come to an end." Q magazine called it their "artistic peak" and a "top-hole album". In 2000, the magazine placed Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches at number 31 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2005, the album was voted the 51st greatest album of all time by Channel 4 viewers. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
"Loose Fit" reached No. 17 in the UK Singles Chart.
Cover versions
"Step On" was originally a single by John Kongos, also featured on his 1972 album Kongos; the full title of Kongos' version is "He's Gonna Step on You Again".
"Tokoloshie Man" was also originally a single by Kongos whose version is spelled "Tokoloshe Man". Happy Mondays' version was spelled correctly when originally released as a B-side in 1991.
Use in media
The song "God's Cop" was featured in the Masterpiece Theatre production of White Teeth. It was also featured in the opening credits of the documentary film "One Night in Turin"
The songs "Loose Fit" and "Kinky Afro" were featured in the 2002 film 24 HourParty People, a dramatisation of the Manchester music scene during the time of the Happy Mondays, New Order & Joy Division.
The song "Loose Fit" was featured on Clarkson's Car Years in "The New Romantics" episode in 2000.
