News : Happy Mondays Drummer Bez Tests Positive for COVID-19: ‘I’m Gutted’

Bez of Happy Mondays revealed Monday that he’s tested positive for COVID-19. The news comes just one day after the British percussionist made his debut appearance on the U.K. reality series Dancing on Ice.

“I’ve had a positive test,” he confirmed to U.K. paper The Daily Star. “I’m gutted because I’m going to be missing training but I’m looking forward to skating on the show again for Week Three and I’ll be tuning at home and cheering on my mates who are skating this weekend.”

Bez, who’s currently competing on the show with professional ice skater Angela Egan, also revealed from quarantine that this is actually the second time he’s caught the virus after first spending time in the hospital in 2020 before the global health crisis was even declared a pandemic. “I couldn’t breathe and I couldn’t tell if it was my heart or my lungs,” he said back in August, adding, “I really seriously thought I was going to die.”

During his debut on the ice, the drummer — whose birth name is Mark Berry — skated along to his band’s 1990 single “Step On,” which itself was a cover of John Kongos’ 1974 track “He’s Gonna Step on You Again” and peaked at No. 57 on the Hot 100 in the spring of ’91. In line with the song’s catchy lyrics (“You know you talk so hip, man/ You’re twistin’ my melon man!”) Bez donned a watermelon-shaped crash helmet for the performance due to his propensity for falling on the ice.

Despite scoring a measly 12.5 points out of a possible 40, audiences across the Atlantic loved the ’90s rocker and voted him safely through to the next round. As long as he tests negative after his current five-day quarantine, Berry is expected to return to the skating competition next week.