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
8 comments:
I really liked this when it came out. I'm sure it was the Face that switched me onto them in an article that also mentioned Eusebio amongst others whom I don't think were even real, I never ever heard them anyway
An excellent post SA. I liked Flowered Up a lot, though found their one album something of a disappoint compared to the terrific run of singles and attendant b-sides. The band's story ended tragically, with the heroin related deaths of Liam and Joe, who were both only in their early 40s.
I remember that article Drew, an A-Z thing. I also remember the name Eusebio which was around a lot at the time but I don't recall any records by them.
Yes, very sad about both of them Swede.
It was Phobia that brought them to my attention....another excellent but largely forgotten single from the era.
Eusebio were a Brighton band formed from the ashes of The Milk Sisters, who also had connections to The Wolfhounds. Eusebio played a number of gigs during the early nineties baggy boom and were supposed to become the South Coast's answer to Flowered Up, but sadly never got signed. Their proximity to London, fashionable footy name and a handful of strong live performances are what got them touted in the Face, but yes, no recorded material.
Thanks Anon. I found the 'E is for Eusebio' from the Face yesterday and shared it on Twitter.
???
Dunno
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