Happy Mondays fans just realising hit song is a cover – the original made history

Happy Mondays' Step On was a massive hit and is often considered the band's signature tune – but it has only just dawned on some music fans that it was actually a cover

Fans of the legendary Manchester band Happy Mondays are just discovering that one of their biggest hits is actually a cover.

Fans of the Bez and Shaun Ryder version were stumped after finding out the original had made history years before the band covered it. The track, which has since been entered into the Guinness Book of World Records, was already a hit more than 20 years before the Mondays got their hands on it.

The original tune, released in May 1971, reached number four in the UK charts and is still recognised as one of the first songs to use a sample. Sampling involves taking existing audio recordings and incorporating them into new compositions, a technique used by artists like Daft Punk, Kanye West, and James Brown.

Despite its legendary status, however, some fans were surprised to learn that the Happy Mondays' rendition of the hit track wasn't an original piece. The song, featured on their third studio album, Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches, wasn't penned by the 'Mondays as initially thought.

Instead, Ryder and Bez covered a song by John Kongos, giving them one of their most significant hits to date. He's Gonna Step on You Again, the song from Kongos' self-titled album, sampled a tape loop of African drumming and made history for the Fly Records label.

Happy Mondays' Step On reached number five in the charts and became the band's best-selling single. Fans are only now realising the song is a cover, with one shocked fan saying the information has "twisted my melon man" in reference to one of the song's most iconic lyrics.

One wrote: "Just found out Step On by the Happy Mondays is a cover. That's twisted my melon man!". Listeners were left gobsmacked when one tweeted: "I was Today's years old when I discovered that Happy Mondays Step On is a cover..."

Another added: "What are songs that are covers that you didn't know were covers? I ask because I just found out that Step On by Happy Mondays is a cover and I am very surprised... Did everyone know this?"

The revelation sparked curiosity about other Manchester legends' cover tracks. One user couldn't believe Oasis hadn't originally penned Live and Let Die or Cum On Feel the Noise.

They posted: "First time I heard Live And Let Die by Guns n Roses and Cum On Feel The Noize by Oasis I was unaware that Wings and Slade did them originally."

It turns out Happy Mondays had more history with Kongos' tunes. They initially recorded Step On for the Rubáiyát: Elektra's 40th Anniversary album but loved it so much they included it on their own third album, opting to cover 'Tokoloshe Man' instead.