Flowered Up: Weekender [get it from Amazon]

Our addiction to Flowered Up’s Weekender is well known. So we got really excited to read about it in the latest edition of the Skrufff-E e-zine. Here is the write up, cos we know that not all of you are Skrufff-E subscribers, but do yourselves a favor, subscribe it right now! Its free and you will get a lot of insider stufff-z from the amazing world of club culture. Here is the article, and watch the Weekender in our previous post.

Flowered Up’s Long Lost Weekender

John Tovey from legendary 90s rock/rave pioneers Flowered Up appeared
in a ‘where are they now’ feature in the Guardian this week and
described becoming addicted to heroin after the band spent £600,000 at
the height of their career in 1992.

“It was accepted (then) for bands to get off their heads through drink
and drugs, and a lot of us ended up on smack,” the Flowered UP former
drummer told the newspaper.

“I cherish memories of blowing Blur off stage at the Reading festival
in 1991, and I love the guys. But sometimes I wish I’d never joined a
band. I lost the girl I was engaged to, and I deeply regret that we
pissed it up the wall.”

Tovey also confirmed that after two ‘disastrous’ attempts at comebacks
he’s given up music altogether and is now ‘setting up a window-cleaning
business’, ironically the same occupation of the character in the
acclaimed video for their biggest hit Weekender, The 11 minute
mini-film accurately depicted the drug driven nightlife scene of the
early 90s, gaining an 18 certificate for its honesty whilst
simultaneously launching the career of video director W.I.Z.

Chatting to Skrufff this week, W.I.Z. endorsed Tovey’s recollections of
bands getting high as being central to the scene though admitted having
a different take on the club scene in general.

“For me, what’s important to understand about acid house is that
copious drugs were eagerly consumed because there was a sense we
invented them and how to take them, and the pioneer force is a power to
be reckoned,” he recalled.

“It wasn’t just ‘acceptable’ to be a party animal, it was irresistible
for everyone to get loaded, because that inclusivity was an integral
part of the high. It didn’t make a great deal of difference if you were
in a band or not, because it wasn’t about elitism or celebrity which is
what made it so subversive,” he added

“My regrets? I should have taken more drugs,” he laughed.

“No seriousness aside, my ideas are romantic, I wish that people had
had a greater sense of themselves and resisted the commodification and
castrating effect of the super club franchises.” he suggested, “There’s
is a direct link between the Ministry of Sound VIP room and the Big
Brother house.”

Following the success of Weekender W.I.Z. has since made over 50 videos
for the likes of Marilyn Manson, Oasis, Chemical Brothers and Kasabian
though he stressed that the mini-film remains one of his proudest
accomplishments.

“Weekender was the first record of the era to really question how
committed people were, how deep was the love,” he said, “And I like to
think that Weekender the film is a worthy offspring; we attempted to
celebrate as well as question that tsunami of excitement. We wanted to
articulate on screen the realities and fantasies of the time and
counter the disinformation and propaganda of the national media,” he
explained.

“With their singer Liam, Flowered Up were a beautiful talent,
ironically they probably had more depth than the Happy Mondays, the
band they were often accused of aping,” he concluded, “And it’s easy to
say that they f**ked it up royally, which is true, but in Weekender
they also made without doubt one of the greatest records of the 90s;
And that is divine,” said W.I.Z.

Jez Willis from Utah Saints, who was signed to London Records at the
same time as Flowered Up admitted the band ‘certainly knew how to party
apparently’ though said their own experiences as chart topping rave/
pop crossover stars was markedly different.

“Everything was pretty mental at that time, and there was a lot of
excitement at the arrival of a new music/fashion and drug scene, it was
all new, anti establishment (even anti the anti establishment movement,
if that makes sense,” he recalled.

“But at the same time, the media has always represented bands as being
expected to be excessive. For us, we were always working -promoting,
DJing, playing, making music, so we didn’t take drugs or get
particularly off our heads.”

“That temptation is only a big temptation if you were after it in the
first place,” he continued, “We were on a mission to change the face of
electronic music, whether we did or not is open for debate, but that’s
what we were focusing on.”

Describing today’s music business as ‘less of everything- that really
sums it up’ Jez was philosophical about Flowered Up’s fate.

“Being young and signed as an artist can do your head in for loads of
reasons,” he mused, “Flowered Up and The Mondays were both awesome
bands, and the chaos that came with them added to their music, but
unfortunately also helped them implode, which is a shame for music,”
said Jez.

- As I said this article is from the Skruff-E,  subscribe it right now! -