Mark Berry, better known as Bez from the Happy Mondays, was spotted in Abergavenny on Wednesday as locals were surprised to see the former Grape member walking through the town centre.

The 61-year-old lives on the Welsh border in the remote countryside where he brews what he calls his own ‘hedgerow booze’. You can read more about the ‘90s icon here.

Julian Edwards spotted Bez walking through Cibi Walk on Wednesday lunchtime, which has become a relatively common sight in recent years with his iconic dance often making its way into town from his nearby home.

Bez also took his one-man show to the Borough Theatre in 2023, where he said “I wake up and have to pinch myself because I feel so lucky to be living in this neck of the woods - it’s such a beautiful place to call home.”

“I’ve spent a lot of time in Aber and love all of its seven hills. I’ve been up the Blorenge, or the Blacmange as I like to call it, the Sugar Loaf, the Deri, and the Skirrid.”

The man who still partners Shaun Ryder on stage with the Happy Mondays gigs proposed to his wife on top of the Skirrid too, now considering them as locals in the area.

But Bez wasn’t the only face spotted in the town this week, as the drummer from Siouxsie & the Banshees, Budgie, was spotted on the train. Karl Ciccone said the drummer, who has also been a member of The Creatures, Spitfire Boys, Efterklang and Big in Japan, was lovely.

It comes after famous YouTuber and Britain’s Got Talent judge, KSI, was spotted at a wedding in Llanfoist earlier this year and comedian, Chris McCausland, was spotted with Alexander Armstrong at the Skirrid Inn.

As more famous faces come to explore the town, it could be a case that there’s something in the water in Abergavenny.