Mr Happy

This is a version of this story in which Mr. Happy remains incomplete. In the revised scenario, the instrumental known as Zack Who? that was created by Zack upon watching Leon Rhymes perform live back in 2019, is still saved in a folder somewhere and continues to exist as just a memory without any vocal. In this idea, the two collaborators drift apart, as is the case with many people during life.

In reality, the situation developed differently.

For five years the song kept resurfacing as it happens with older songs that refuse to go unnoticed because they have something to say. Leon had to experience the period of time during which the notion that happiness is a choice and not a condition became unbearable for him, and he failed to explain why. And then in 2025 London summoned him back, and Zack was still there waiting for him.

"The chorus isn't me saying I'm Mr Happy. It's other people looking at me and asking why I'm smiling."

It does not seem to be a result of seven years of hesitation. Rather, it sounds relief. The live trumpet by Simon Dobson begins doing its job, Oblyx makes sure it shines, while Leon voices a warm, slow tune that you can almost argue is defensive rather than celebratory.

Part of Too Many T's, who has been performing at Glastonbury and Boomtown festivals, Leon knows how to engage the audience. However, Mr Happy was not designed for the purpose of drawing a crowd. Instead, it was made for the silence that follows where a wide grin has to be explained.