ANGELA SMITH of 'THE PAUL RYDER TAPES' - ex-wife of HAPPY MONDAYS founder & bassist

How do you preserve someone’s story—and what happens when those conversations become a way of saying goodbye?

Journalist, producer and podcaster Angela Smith joins Steve Blame to discuss The Paul Ryder Tapes, the deeply personal series she recorded with her former husband, Happy Mondays bassist and founding member Paul Ryder.

Angela remembers meeting Paul while filming Happy Mondays in Iceland for MTV, their eventual relationship, raising a family and the painful impact of addiction. She also shares the affection, humour and friendship that survived their separation.

We explore her perspective on Paul’s contribution to Happy Mondays, his complicated relationship with his brother Shaun, and why telling his own story mattered so much to him.

The recordings were completed just twelve days before Paul’s death in July 2022. Angela explains how returning to the tapes brought comfort, how their conversations helped her find closure, and why she wanted the series to capture his warmth and wit alongside the difficult experiences.

We also discuss the humour Paul’s mother Linda and her friend Sandra brought to the series, and Angela’s account of their son Chico’s cancer treatment and her subsequent medical-cannabis advocacy.

This is a conversation about the man behind the music, the effects of addiction on a family, and the value of leaving your story in your own words.

Listen to The Paul Ryder Tapes — Sex, Drugs, the Mondays and Me:
https://shows.acast.com/the-paul-ryder-tapes-sex-drugs-the-mondays-and-me

More interviews from Pop the History Makers:
https://www.popthehistorymakers.com/

If you enjoy the interview, please like, subscribe and share. You can also support Pop the History Makers through Super Thanks beneath the video.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
01:33 Welcome to Angela Smith
02:06 Hearing the news of Paul’s death
05:01 Angela reflects on Paul’s health and the reporting of his death
07:53 Finding comfort in the recordings
10:33 Meeting Paul on an MTV shoot in Iceland
14:06 Their first connection and what happened next
16:01 The attraction—and complications—of dating a musician
18:45 Reconnecting nine years later and starting a family
20:47 The dating podcast that sparked The Paul Ryder Tapes
22:20 The dramatic breakup on the Pacific Coast Highway
25:49 Turning Paul’s life story into recorded conversations
27:15 Recognition, self-worth and Paul’s role in Happy Mondays
30:13 Brotherhood, conflict and wanting to reconnect with Shaun
34:29 Addiction, loss and the pressures surrounding the band
38:07 How Paul’s children experienced his addiction
40:37 Angela’s experience of living with addiction
42:01 Moving to Los Angeles and trying to build a different life
42:31 The engagement ring story
43:36 Protecting the children
45:45 Understanding the person behind the addiction
48:26 Capturing Paul’s humour, warmth and authenticity
50:00 The questions Angela wanted to explore
51:45 Divorce, friendship and making peace
53:20 Linda and Sandra: humour at the heart of the series
55:33 Chico’s illness and Angela’s medical-cannabis advocacy
1:00:33 What the conversations gave Angela
1:02:23 Gratitude for finishing Paul’s story
1:03:17 Closing reflections

#PaulRyder #HappyMondays #ThePaulRyderTapes