Bez

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Bez and maracas, freaky dancin' at T in the Park.

Mark Berry, commonly known as Bez or Marky Mark (and occasionally credited as Bez "Bez" Bez^[1]) (born April 18, 1964, the son of a police Detective Inspector), is a British dancer and percussionist.

He was a member and the mascot of Manchester band Happy Mondays (having been invited in by lead singer Shaun Ryder shortly after the band was formed). He is chiefly remembered for his bizarre style of dancing, and use of the maracas - the Mondays' second single was called "Freaky Dancin'" in tribute. He is considered to be an icon by many. He is reputed to have a high tolerance for hallucinogenic drugs. When asked by a music journalist why he took so many drugs he replied simply, "because it's my job". After the Mondays broke up, Bez became a member of Black Grape, a group founded by Mondays band-mate Shaun Ryder, but he left in 1996 over artistic differences.In 1997 he had a feature on The Sunday Show called 'Science with Bez'. When both faced large tax bills, the two reconciled and reformed the Happy Mondays in 1998, but the reformed band was short-lived.

A book about his experiences in both bands, Freaky Dancin' (ISBN 0-330-48197-5), was published by Pan MacMillan in 1998. He appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in the UK in 2005, in order to pay off his outstanding tax bills, and was voted as the winner of the series. He was formally bankrupt at the time under his real name. He used some of his winnings to improve the engine of his London Black Cab. So 'Pimp My Ride UK' customised it to make it suit him. After it was 'pimped' it had twenty speakers, eight amps, two DVD players, fifteen TV screens and a camera on the grill linked to one of the screens, the sign saying 'TAXI' on the top was changed to 'PIMP', and it had purple paint on the outside.

Bez now co-fronts his new band, Domino Bones, with Monica Ward. On guitar is Wags of Black Grape fame with Rob from the Boo Radleys on drums and the Bodines Winker on bass. Their single "Rattle My Head" was produced and guested on by Shaun Ryder. They were the first unsigned band to be shown on and supported by VH2 and MTV2.

The British popular music newspaper the New Musical Express (NME) carried a series of articles about famous members of bands whose musical contribution to their bandmates' success was negligible. The newspaper used the name "Bez" as a generic label for the likes of Chas Smash of Madness, Andrew Ridgely of Wham!, Paul Morley of Art of Noise, Linda McCartney of Wings, and Paul Rutherford of Frankie Goes to Hollywood.