Flowered Up’s A Life With Brian remastered and reissued

Flowered Up’s debut reissued with remixes by Everyone You Know and Beyond The Wizards Sleeve

Flowered Up’s debut album, A Life With Brian, will be reissued for the first time since its original release in 1991.

The newly remastered edition will be available on double LP and CD, extended digital and limited coloured double LP on 19 April.

Including new sleevenotes by Heavenly’s Robin Turner, the release adds their seminal 1992 single Weekender to the album package plus a host of previously unreleased tracks and remixes, including newly commissioned remixes by Everyone You Know and Beyond The Wizards Sleeve.

Upcoming duo Everyone We Know’s thrilling contemporary take on Crackerjack is available now, listen here:

Get Fresh At The Weekend

They comment: “Taking inspiration from some late 90s Ibiza tunes and early rave stuff, this is our remix of Crackerjack. We were honoured when Flowered Up reached out to us for the remix. At first we weren’t sure what direction to take it in but the longer we sat with the stems it became obvious it needed something for the clubs and DJ’s.”

Beyond The Wizards Sleeve remix Weekender, the first remix in seven years from DJ/Producer duo of Erol Alkan and Richard Norris. They comment: “Flowered Up’s Weekender is a work of a very special magic, of a particular time, place, feeling that you can hear busting out of the speakers. It was a challenge to take on such an iconic work, but we attacked it and pulled it into a few new shapes which nod to the original while taking it someplace else. Do you believe in magic?”

Early 90s Rave Culture

Emerging out of London’s Acid House scene, Flowered Up were heralded as the Capital’s answer to the Happy Mondays and were so hot that they made the cover of both NME and Melody Maker before they’d even released a record. The 10 tracks on A Life With Brian represent a snapshot of a band who perfectly reflected their environment – the London streets they grew up on and the clubs they came of age in.

Released the following Summer, Flowered Up’s Clive Langer-produced 13 minute masterpiece Weekender is included on the album package for the very first time. The single was accompanied by a ground-breaking short film directed by Wiz, whose raw depiction of a weekend of clubbing is perhaps the single greatest document of early 90s rave culture and was the subject of the acclaimed 2022 Heavenly Films documentary I Am Weekender.

The album remastering was overseen by Flowered Up keyboard player Tim Dorney, and A Life With Brian now sounds the way the band always wanted it to sound. “Modern mastering techniques have made it sound so much better,” explains Tim. “We went through the original 1/2″ tape track by track and using a mix of modern software and some classic analogue pieces, we made it louder, wider and punchier all round.”

CD1

01 Sunshine
02 Take It
03 Crackerjack
04 Mr Happy Reveller
05 Hysterically Blue
06 It’s On
07 Silver Pan
08 Phobia
09 Egg Rush
10 Doris… Is A Little Bit Partial
11 Weekender
12 Weatherall’s Weekender (Audrey Is A Little Bit Partial mix)

CD2

01 Weekender (BTWS Re-Animation)
02 It’s On (Feel Pain Mix)
03 Phobia (Paranoid Mix)
04 I’ll Be Your Dog
05 Take It (Pure Sexy Dub)
06 Flapping
07 Crackerjack (Clive Langer Version)
08 Don’t Talk Just Kiss
09 Better Life
10 Take It (Edge Of The Box Mix)
11 Weekender (Audrey Is A Little Bit More Partial)
12 Crackerjack (Everyone You Know Remix)

Double LP

A Side
01 Sunshine
02 Take It
03 Crackerjack
04 Mr Happy Reveller
05 Hysterically Blue
B Side
01 It’s On
02 Silver Pan
03 Phobia
04 Egg Rush
05 Doris… Is A Little Bit Partial
C Side
01. Weekender
D Side
01. Weatherall’s Weekender (Audrey Is A Little Bit Partial mix)

To pre-order click here

Read more: 90s dance – the essential playlist