{"id":38043,"date":"2026-06-25T09:15:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T08:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.babestation.tv\/blog\/?p=38043"},"modified":"2026-06-24T12:26:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T11:26:13","slug":"bez-shaun-ryder-guest-editing-penthouse-in-1991-the-most-beautifully-unhinged-magazine-takeover-in-british-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.babestation.tv\/blog\/bez-shaun-ryder-guest-editing-penthouse-in-1991-the-most-beautifully-unhinged-magazine-takeover-in-british-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Bez & Shaun Ryder Guest-Editing Penthouse in 1991. The Most Beautifully Unhinged Magazine Takeover in British History"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oh babe\u2026 1991. A year when hair was big, egos were bigger, and absolutely no one – least of all Shaun Ryder – was behaving. So yes, let\u2019s talk about the moment Bez and Shaun Ryder, the chaos gremlins of Happy Mondays, <\/b>guest-edited an actual issue of Penthouse<\/i><\/b>.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Not a lads mag<\/span><\/a>. Not a cheeky calendar. Penthouse.<\/i> And honestly? It might have been the greatest crossover since someone decided tequila should be allowed near humans, and if you want to see the madness for yourself, here\u2019s the Happy Mondays causing chaos at the Penthouse offices<\/b>:<\/p>\n

The Scene: 1991, Manchester Running on Pure Adrenaline<\/b><\/p>\n

Happy Mondays were everywhere – Top of the Pops, front pages, backstage, offstage, and probably across several dimensions. Two Page 3 Penthouse Babes Debee Ashby<\/span><\/a> and Linzi Drew.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0Shaun himself admitted around that time:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI have a recurring nightmare that everything\u2019s going great, then suddenly I get 20 years for something really stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Relatable. And exactly<\/i> the kind of energy you want in charge of a global adult magazine.<\/p>\n

\"Bez
Bez & Shaun<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meanwhile, Bez is somewhere in the shoot shouting about \u201cvibes\u201d, wearing sunglasses indoors, and giving direction like: \u201cMake it sexy but, like\u2026 Hacienda sexy.\u201d No one knows what that means. It still works.<\/p>\n

The Penthouse Shoot: Glamour, Leather, Manc Madness<\/b><\/p>\n

The photos, captured by Kevin Cummins, look like someone handed the keys of Penthouse<\/i> to two men who normally lose their keys inside nightclubs – Leather jackets, Glamour models, Black-and-white attitude. A Manc twinkle that says, \u201cWe\u2019ve not slept since Thursday.\u201d And the press ate it up<\/i>. As The Independent<\/i> would later write.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cEven when they were interviewed for Penthouse<\/i>, appearing in a bath with naked models, the press revelled in these working-class heroes made successful.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Honestly? Iconic.<\/p>\n

Why Penthouse<\/i> Wanted Them<\/b><\/p>\n

1. They were chaos with charm<\/b><\/p>\n

Shaun long knew what he was like:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cMy mouth gets me into trouble every time\u2026 I\u2019ve been trying to work out what makes me so self-destructive.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And that<\/i> is exactly the personality a 1991 glamour mag editor dreams of.<\/p>\n

2. They were working-class heroes<\/b><\/p>\n

Shaun put it perfectly:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI was in Set 4 at school – everyone called it the thick set, so I stayed away.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Imagine going from \u201cthe thick set\u201d to editing Penthouse<\/i>. Only in Britain, babes.<\/p>\n

3. They were pure vibe<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A glamour mag in 1991 wasn\u2019t about coy smiles – it was attitude, swagger, and a bit of \u201ccome on then if you\u2019re hard enough.\u201d Nobody embodied that better than the Happy Mondays.<\/p>\n

\"Bez<\/p>\n

The Money, The Madness, The Mojo<\/b><\/p>\n

By that point, The Mondays were basically spending cash like bank accounts were optional accessories. Shaun even admitted:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cFrom 1989 on we spent everything\u2026 All I\u2019ve got now is my house and the three grand a month in my bank account.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So when Penthouse came knocking, of course they said yes. Chaos doesn\u2019t negotiate, it gets booked.<\/p>\n

Manchester Owned Them<\/b><\/p>\n

In that same interview Shaun said:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cSometimes I think this city owns me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And you can feel that in every frame, that Manc swagger, that tired glamour, that \u201cI\u2019ve been through it but I still look unreal\u201d energy. It\u2019s that specific grimy-gloss aesthetic you don\u2019t really see anymore unless you\u2019re:<\/p>\n