Happy Mondays star Paul Ryder ‘left just £6,000 to his daughter’ after his shock death at the age of 58 just hours before a gig

Happy Mondays bassist Paul Ryder left just £6,000 in his estate after he died without writing a will. 

The musician, who is the brother of fellow singer Shaun Ryder, died in 2022 at the age of 58, just hours before the band were due to play a gig in Sunderland. 

Documents obtained by The Sun show that Paul did not write a British will, and originally had just £13,262 in assets when he died, which was later reduced to £5,978 following the taking of debts and legal sums.

Many of Paul’s royalties and income are thought to be registered abroad after he moved to Los Angeles in the late 2000s.

The High Court granted probate to his daughter Amelia last week.

Shaun, 59, and Paul were the original founders of The Happy Mondays that first formed in Salford in 1980.

The musician died in 2022, just hours before the band were due to play a gig in Sunderland

Paul was found dead in July 2022, before the band were due to play at Kubix Festival in Sunderland.

The band paid tribute with a Facebook post at the time which read: ‘The Ryder family and Happy Mondays band members are deeply saddened and shocked to say that Paul Ryder passed away this morning.

‘A true pioneer and legend. He will be forever missed. We thank you for respecting the privacy of all concerned at this time.’

A coroner ruled Ryder died of Ischaemic heart disease and diabetes. 

While his brother Shaun insisted his sibling’s death was not due to drugs, Paul had previously been very open about his addiction battles in the early days of the band when he used heroin.

He told The Mirror in 2019: ‘We couldn’t have Calpol for the kids. I’d drink the lot.’

In a candid interview in 2007, he said of the drug use: ‘It was wild. I was 18 and recording an album. I’d learnt how to read and write at school but my real education began with the Mondays.

‘I’d been using drugs since I was 17. If you have the money and the lifestyle it’s part and parcel of the job, especially when people in the industry are giving it to you for free.

Many of Paul’s royalties and income is thought to be registered abroad after he moved to Los Angeles in the late 2000s, and any money has been left to his daughter Amelia

A coroner ruled Ryder died of Ischaemic heart disease and diabetes, but the bassist had previously been open about his struggles with drug addiction

‘That was especially the case in America. They learned pretty quickly that if there were no drugs, then there was no show.’

His brother Shaun has also opened up about his 20-year drug addiction in the past.

In 2014, Paul told MailOnline how he treated his now 16-year-old son’s cancer with cannabis.

He had said that as a recovering addict he would never have encouraged Chico to take drugs.

But when faced with his son’s diagnosis – a rare form of soft tissue cancer – the musician said he and his wife took the decision to use cannabis oil.

Paul married music journalist Angela Smith in 2010 after 11-years together, and they had two children before splitting in 2016.