There’s no difference between the Bez you see on and off stage. It’s just a different kind of expression. I’m still rebelling against the system, but now I’m rebelling through politics instead of dancing.
The maracas were a total accident. The Happy Mondays were on The Tube, and me and Shaun [Ryder] had taken a couple of microdots, and when it was time to go on stage he was that off his head he’s gone: “Bez, you’ve gotta come on stage with me.” I said: “Fuck off” then he said: “If you don’t come on, you’re a soft cunt.” So obviously that was it for me; I won’t be called a soft cunt, so I agreed, and the only thing available to grab hold of was this maraca. It could just as easily have been a tambourine.
It’s a myth I’ve done loads of substances. The first time I went on stage with the Happy Mondays I’d taken a load of acid and I thought it was really funny. I laughed myself to sleep. But I haven’t done many drugs. I’ve never done heroin. I don’t even smoke cigarettes. I actually just do what I want to do when I want to do it, and only on a social level. I’ve always eaten healthily; I’ve always been quite athletic and sporty, and I’ve always lived a balanced lifestyle. I’ve never been addicted to anything in my life.
I’m more of an attention seeker than a performer. I’ve got no acting skills, no musical skills and I haven’t really got any dancing skills. It’s mostly just been hard-faced front and blag.
The government can put a fracking well wherever they want. They can drill under your house, under your kids’ school playground, and there’s nothing you can do about it. So the We Are The Reality Party [of which Bez is leader] intends to fight the Infrastructure Bill. We’ll fight like our lives depend on it.
Joe Strummer was a huge inspiration. I’d just gone through emotional turmoil, splitting up with the band, which is like breaking up with your missus. He offered support, took me under his wing, guided me through a rough patch and got me back on me feet again. He taught me how to include my family in the rock’n’roll.
Understanding permaculture is helping me age. I understand about keeping my body hydrated and in an alkaline state. You slow down with age and I don’t do as much exercise as I used to, but there is a lot of labour involved in living off the land so I fully expect to live a long and fruitful life.
I’m going through this thing called recapitulation, which I’ve got from the Théun Mares trilogy The Toltec Teachings. It stems from the time of Atlantis and it teaches you how to work with the conscious universe. Through the knowledge I’ve gained I’ve started recapitulating my life. You look at what causes your behavioural problems, the way you behave, and my old worldview has now stopped. A lot of my anger issues have subsided, and when I slip into old habits I recognise them straight away and stop myself from going too far down those old paths.
I wouldn’t change a thing about my life. Everything that happens in your life, you can learn something from it. I always advise my sons to believe that they can do whatever they want, and they do. They’re very similar to me in their attitude. Maybe a bit more sensible because they haven’t had to go through the rebellion I had to, but how can you rebel against somebody who’s the ultimate in rebellion, you know what I mean?
Bez is running for parliament in Salford and Eccles (wearetherealityparty.org)
Follow the Observer Magazine on Twitter @ObsMagazine
