Monday's Long Song

Back in 1992 Flowered Up, the London band whose live shows were seriously off the wall featuring dancer Barry Mooncult in a leotard and giant flower outfit, released Weekender. In some ways it was the group's last gasp. Their debut album A Life With Brian had been released to mixed reception despite good press coverage, and their label London Records turned Weekender down. They went back to where they started, Heavenly, a label who know a good thing when they see it. 

Weekender is a thirteen minute epic, a rampaging baggy groove, guitars, synths and horns and singer Liam Maher regaling the listener with his criticism of those people who only go out at the weekend. The 12" single came complete with a photo on the front of a hotel room that Sid Vicious had smashed up. On Weekender the band seemed to be combining everything they'd done for the previous two years- everything- into one song on one side of vinyl, Pink Floyd meeting Happy Mondays at the set of  Quadrophenia (two samples of Phil Daniels are on the song) as the mother of all comedowns kicks in. It's 1992. The party is almost over- but Flowered Up have got it together for one last spin round the floor. It was followed by Weatherall's Weekender, a pair of Andrew Weatherall remixes that twisted, extended and bent the original into all kinds of new shapes and places. 

'Weekender, whatever you're doing, just make sure what you're doing makes you happy', Liam concludes, making some kind of peace with those who can't live the lifestyle 24/ 7/365. 

A full length film video was made to accompany the song, a piece of art in it's own right, made by Wiz.

Flowered Up have lost several of their members over the years- sadly Liam and Joe Maher died within three years of each in 2009 and 2012 and Lee Whitlock, the star of the Weekender video died last year. Heavenly have just re- released Flowered Up's sole  album, it's first re- issue since  accompanied by Andrew Weatherall's remixes and various B-sides and versions and the group's contribution to the Fred EP. It also comes with a brand new remix of Weekender by Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve, Richard Norris and Erol Alkan reanimating the song for 2024, a version that subtly breathes new life into the song. 

V.A. Saturday

One of the features of the 1988- 1992 period was the indie- dance Various Artists album, often a cheaply packaged affair rounding up the big hitters and also rans, compilations called things like Happy Daze, sleeves adorned with daisy age, day glo rave graphics. These compilations were often TV advertised, aimed at the mass market and casual buyer, the people that hadn't bought all the 12" singles. 

Today's VA is from 1991, a double disc set simply titled Rave 1, and was put together for the German market, young indie- dance kids in Cologne and Berlin, all loved up in the newly re- united Germany. Across two discs you get exactly what you'd expect from a 1991 indie- dance compilation- Happy Mondays and Kinky Afro, The Soup Dragons and I'm Free, The Farm and All Together Now, EMF's Unbelievable and I Believe, James and Lose Control, Northside's My Rising Star, Primal Scream's Come Together, Jesus Jones and Right Here Right Now, The Shamen with Make It Mine and Inspiral Carpets with She Comes In The Fall are all present and correct. What makes Rave 1 a little different is that these are all represented by the 12" versions, extended mixes and different takes, and in some cases mixes and versions that weren't widely available. There is also a very under the radar and very of its time cover of Come Together (Beatles not Primal Scream) by Howie J And Co. 

Exhibit A: The Charlatans.Then was a fantastic early Charlatans single, easily the equal of The Only One I Know, powered by a  Martin Blunt Motown bassline and some Rob Collins organ, Tim cooing on top. The Alternate Take is slower, looser and more groovy, less a pop song, more a 60s/ 90s psyche groove. It was on the Then 12" and CD single, released in September 1990. 

Then (Alternate Take)

Exhibit B: My Jealous God were signed to Rough Trade and released Pray as a 12" in 1990, led by singer Jim Melly who developed a bit of a motormouth reputation. My Jealous God got a fair bit of press from NME and Melody Maker although I think the backlash hit them too, accusations of bandwagon jumping. The band were from South London and had a follow up on Rough Trade and then a single in 1992 on Fontana but their album was shelved. Pray is wah wah driven indie- dance. 

Pray (12" Mix)

Exhibit C: Flowered Up and Phobia, a November 1990 single from the London band, a five piece led by Liam Maher who made some real period piece records. The Paranoid mix is from the 12" single and was remixed by Marc Angelo who is the brother of glamour model Linda Lusardi and who cut his production teeth on the UK reggae and dub scene working with Dennis Bovell, Prince Far I and Creation Rebel. Phobia was Flowered Up's second single, following on the heels of It's On. Their debut album has recently been re- issued for the first time by Heavenly. The Paranoid mix shuffles along nicely, the funky bassline to the fore, percussion and drums giving this version a proper indie- dance groove. 

Phobia (Paranoid Mix)

Exhibit D: Primal Scream. The Hypnotone remix is the lesser known remix of Come Together, fading into the background a little compared to Terry Farley's Suspicious Minds version and Andrew Weatherall's genuine ten minutes of genius version. The HypnotoneBrainMachineRemix is a superb version in its own right though, Tony Martin's raved up take chopping the band up, looping vocals, horns blaring out, synths to the fore, bubbling bassline and drum machines, everything louder than everything else, breaking down for the shout, 'This is a heist!' (or 'This is the hype!'), more looped shouts, this time of 'Bass! Bass!', and some tumbling drums. This is a remix that sounds like a Primal Scream record being played at the same time as a Public Enemy record and an Altern- 8 record. Yes, that good. 

Come Together (HypnotoneBrainMachineMix)

Bank Holiday Monday Long Songs

Richard Norris' latest Music For Healing came out on Friday, a beautifully relaxed twenty minute voyage titled Equinox 4 Alban Elir (translation- spring solstice). The stone above is one of the forty- two stones at Castlerigg stone circle, situated at the centre of an enormous natural bowl near Keswick, constructed roughly 5000 years ago in the Neolithic. We visited last weekend while driving home through the Lake District and it never fails to impress. 

Equinox 4 Alban Elir comes in two versions, 3 and 4, and can be listened to or bought at Bandcamp. Slowly rippling synth lines, a background haze, some pops and bubbles, a calming drone- an ideal start to a bank holiday, twenty minutes of brain soothing, guided meditation music an dedicated to Andrew Weatherall for his 60th birthday too. 

At the other end of the bank Hholiday scale is the Bacchanalian excess of Flowered Up's 1992 epic Weekender. Andrew Weatherall remixed it twice, the first one a fifteen minute excursion of juddering bass loop, backing vocal turned into main vocal, synths, crunching drums, breakdowns, echo effects, Liam Maher stuttering, sirens, bongos and congas, time shifting tempo changes, not a little mania and general sense of excess. It's your bank holiday- make your choice.

Weekender (Audrey Is A Little Bit Partial)

In God's Waiting Room Again

I'm not sure anyone will ever fill the hole left by Andrew Weatherall's monthly two hour Music's Not For Everyone show for NTS but David Holmes is doing a good job in the meantime. His monthly show, God's Waiting Room, has the same questing spirit, uncovering music new and old that you haven't heard before along with some that is familiar, a similar mix of leftfield eclecticism- psyche, dance, dub, weird jazz, samples from films and some Weatherall remixes but with David's own cinematic/ Wrecking Crew influences. Holmes was back at NTS on 8th February. You can find the show at Mixcloud here and the full tracklist here. Two hours well spent including one of Andrew's 1992 remixes of Flowered Up's Weekender, a pair of tracks from Madlib, Cindy Lee, Pharaoh Sanders, Sly and Robbie with Vladislav Delay, La Tempa and two versions of the forthcoming Ian Weatherall and Duncan Gray cover of New Order's In A Lonely Place (of which more next week). 

Weekender (Audrey Is A Little Bit More Partial Mix)

Better Life

 

This Flowered Up single wasn't released until after the band split and then only on 7" in a run of 500 copies on Heavenly. The group's 1991 debut album A Life With Brian and the singles that preceded it, It's On and Phobia, were both awash with the spirit of the times, a post- Mondays, E- fuelled rush, keyboards and guitars swirling around in the mix with Liam Maher's drawled, sprawled vocals on top. The album felt a bit flat in comparison but they hit the bullseye with their 1992 single, the thirteen minute epic Weekender. Various difficulties followed, not least some debauched touring according to those involved which accelerated the habits of some of the members. They played Glastonbury and Madness' Madstock but some studio sessions produced little and inter- band tensions rose. They split up the following year. 

In 1994 Heavenly put Better Life out, the only real fruits of the post- Weekender recording sessions. It's a step on again from Weekender, Flowered Up moving towards an expanded sound with horns and dub influences. It's confident and assured and doesn't sound like a band about to call it a day, an indie- dance/ reggae groove, produced by Clive Langer (who'd produced Madness, Dexys, The Teardrop Explodes and Elvis Costello), guitars crashing in and out and Liam looking for an elusive better way. 

Better Life

Better Life (Instrumental)

Monday's Long Song

In 1992 the party was looking like it was over- bad drugs, too much partying, gangs, darker scenes, burnout. For Flowered Up, a group who were powered by chemicals and boisterous bad behaviour, a chance to rescue themselves by writing some songs presented itself just as tensions were boiling up. Instead of writing a bunch of songs though they came up with just one, one very long song- Weekender, a thirteen minute journey through the early 90s, a criticism of those who only go for it on Friday and Saturday nights, a celebration of highs and a depiction of lows, and a tribute to Jimmy from Quadrophenia. London Records refused to give it a full release so the band returned to Heavenly and it subsequently reached number 20 in the charts. The film that was made by Wiz to accompany it, starring Eastender Lee Whitlock and Bocca Junior's singer Anna Haigh, stretched it out further to 18 minutes.

Weekender

'Whatever you're doing, make sure what you're doing makes you happy' said Liam Maher in Weekender. Flowered up broke up within two years, fractured by drugs, bad communication and personnel changes, people losing interest, the money running out, some issues at gigs (including arriving on stage at the original Madstock in 1992 45 minutes late). It is still, all these years later, a startling, original and essential piece of music.



The 12" release was partnered with a second single, Weatherall's Weekender, not one but two remixes by Andrew (keyboard player Tim had joined FU due to his connections with Weatherall from Windsor in the late 80s). Both remixes stretch the original track further, the A-side remix to a quarter of an hour and the B-side to seventeen minutes plus. Both bend the song into newer shapes with the female backing vox pushed up front, wobbly basslines, time and pitch shifting synths and keyboards and dub FX, the second one especially aimed at the floor with pounding percussion and drums under a descending piano riff.

Weekender (Audrey is A Little Bit Partial)

Weekender (Audrey Is A Little Bit More Partial)

I Like French Ones

Someone, somewhere posted Flowered Up's single It's On the other day and it reminded me of its release back in summer 1990. The band had got some music press coverage, references to them being the London answer to Happy Mondays (whatever the question was). ITV's Saturday morning music programme The Chart Show had an indie chart segment, once every 3 weeks (switching between the dance chart and the metal chart). The programme trailed Flowered Up's appearance later on so we settled down on our rented sofa in our student house and waited for this up and coming band we hadn't heard yet.

It sounded really weird, all over the place. Vocals sometimes rose up in the mix and sometimes the instruments sounded like they'd been stretched out and a strange whooshing noise dominated. It was miles away from Step On.



It turned out the video tape that Heavenly had sent over to ITV was faulty, the band's first TV appearance screwed up. I don't know if it affected the sales of the single. It's On was released in a variety of formats, 7"s and 12"s, as labels did back then to fleece the fans out of their cash by getting them to buy multiple copies for that extra B-side. It's On is a good song, the rhythm lurching from one foot to the other, enough to disconcert at the indie-disco. There aren't many good songs led by pan pipes and keyboards, and then there's Liam Maher's stream-of-consciousness lyrical drawl- 'I like French ones, big French ones'. The extended version, It's On- Sonia, seems to exist in different versions as well, across multiple formats. This is the seven minutes plus version.

It's On- Sonia

Joe Maher

It's been reported that Joe Maher of Flowered Up has died. Joe was guitarist and younger brother of singer Liam Maher (who died in 2009). Flowered Up left behind a small but brightly coloured, e-fuelled back catalogue including this cover version of a Right Said Fred song (done for a Heavenly Records ep) which I've always liked. RIP Joe.

Don't Talk Just Kiss

Topper Is A Little Bit Partial

To answer my own question from this morning, yes Topper Headon did have a connection with Flowered Up- he played congas and percussion with them at a gig in 89 or 90. Their It's On single also borrowed lyrics from Joe Strummer (the bit in Rude Boy where he plays something akin to Let the Good Times Roll on piano).



To tie in another Bagging Area repeat offender Andrew Weatherall provided two remixes of Flowered Up's epic 1992 Weekender single. Long and wobbly with loads of loops, vocal samples, time shifting parts, echo, acidic squiggles, Weekender getting bent all over the place. Here, have 'em both.

Weekender (Weatherall's Weekender A Audrey Is A Little Bit Partial Mix)

Weekender (Weatherall's Weekender B Audrey Is A Little Bit More Partial)

Weekender

I'm sure this isn't a unique or original thought but aren't all these long weekends nice? Especially combined with this early summer weather. Friday felt like Saturday, which gave Saturday an extra something. Now it's Sunday night and we're not ironing work shirts and school uniforms, and making sandwiches and lunchboxes, and mentally preparing for the working week, and all those other things that give Sunday night a depressing edge. Maybe the north European Protestant work ethic isn't all it's cracked up to be and we should be more Mediterranean with bank holidays every week or two.

In the spirit of celebrating the weekend I'm posting Flowered Up's mighty Weekender, the full 12" mix, all twelve minutes and fifty five seconds of it, with it's celebration of the weekend and gimlet-eyed realism, Quadrophenia samples and Liam Maher's hard won e-culture wisdom.

Dad 'You're barmy you are staying out all hours!'
Phil Daniels 'Ah well, don't worry I ain't gonna turn into a pumpkin am I?'

11 Weekender [12' Version][Version].wma#2#2

Some say this was Flowered Up's only moment of greatness. Not true though- It's On was good as well. Especially when it got national TV exposure on The Chart Show and the audio on the tape was all mangled. Sounded very weird. And then there's the pair of Weatherall remixes of Weekender (Audrey Is A Little Bit Partial).

Phil Daniels 'You can take that mail and that franking machine and all that other rubbish I have to go about with and you can stuff it right up your arse!'