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Product Description
CD Description
One of the best-remembered acts of the 80s, Cockney sisters Mel & Kim Appleby instantly conquered dance floors, charts and hearts
around the world with their style, personality and a string of perfect pop anthems. Their classic album "F.L.M." is now given a muchanticipated
Deluxe Edition 2CD reissue on Cherry Pop.
Produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, the album reached #3 on its original release in April 1987, going platinum in the UK and
topping the charts internationally with sales in excess of three million copies. "F.L.M." features three UK Top Ten hits
Showing Out
(Get Fresh At The Weekend) , the classic #1 Respectable and the title track.
Digitally re-mastered and compiled from original master tapes archived at Abbey Road and Pete Waterman s PWL Studios, this
release features no less than nineteen exclusive bonus tracks across two discs, including the 1988 Top Ten hit, That s The Way It Is
and its self-penned B-side, You Changed My Life . Both tracks are included alongside the "F.L.M." album for the first time ever.
This Deluxe Edition also presents the definitive collection of Mel & Kim s best full-length 12" mixes, many previously unreleased or
never before available on CD. Remixes of all the singles feature alongside unheard versions of several album tracks including
System
Mel & Kim s first PWL recording and intended debut single, Feel A Whole Lot Better , I m The One Who Really Loves You
and the soulful More Than Words Can Say
widely considered to be SAW s best-ever down-tempo production.
Kim Appleby has generously contributed an exclusive commentary to this release. The extensive booklet also features a reversible
cover, an illustrated discography, additional photos and brand new sleeve notes from PWL consultant Tom Parker.
Mel & Kim s debut single, Showing Out , hit #3 in November 1986, and in February 1987 Respectable became the first Stock Aitken
Waterman composition to top the charts. Combining a streetwise pop sensibility with transatlantic house grooves, Mel & Kim became a
global sensation. But at the height of their fame, Mel was diagnosed with cancer. Facing relentless media attention with dignity and
characteristic humour while she underwent treatment, the duo released a brand new single in February 1988
That s The Way It Is .
Tragically, Mel s health deteriorated and she passed away in January 1990, aged just 23.
In late 1990, Kim made her solo debut with the #2 hit, Don t Worry , from a self-titled album that she had mainly co-written with Mel.
Further singles followed over the next four years, including G.L.A.D. , Mama , Breakaway and Free Spirit , which found her reuniting
with Stock & Aitken. Following her own nomination for Don t Worry , since 2002 Kim has chaired the judging panel for Best
Contemporary Song at BASCA s annual Ivor Novello Awards. She continues to write and record, as well as acting on stage, TV and film.
"F.L.M." is the latest Hit Factory classic to be reissued on Cherry Pop, following a host of popular releases from Big Fun, Boy Krazy,
Hazell Dean, Lonnie Gordon, Haywoode, the London Boys, Princess, Sinitta, Mandy Smith and Sonia.
around the world with their style, personality and a string of perfect pop anthems. Their classic album "F.L.M." is now given a muchanticipated
Deluxe Edition 2CD reissue on Cherry Pop.
Produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, the album reached #3 on its original release in April 1987, going platinum in the UK and
topping the charts internationally with sales in excess of three million copies. "F.L.M." features three UK Top Ten hits
Showing Out
(Get Fresh At The Weekend) , the classic #1 Respectable and the title track.
Digitally re-mastered and compiled from original master tapes archived at Abbey Road and Pete Waterman s PWL Studios, this
release features no less than nineteen exclusive bonus tracks across two discs, including the 1988 Top Ten hit, That s The Way It Is
and its self-penned B-side, You Changed My Life . Both tracks are included alongside the "F.L.M." album for the first time ever.
This Deluxe Edition also presents the definitive collection of Mel & Kim s best full-length 12" mixes, many previously unreleased or
never before available on CD. Remixes of all the singles feature alongside unheard versions of several album tracks including
System
Mel & Kim s first PWL recording and intended debut single, Feel A Whole Lot Better , I m The One Who Really Loves You
and the soulful More Than Words Can Say
widely considered to be SAW s best-ever down-tempo production.
Kim Appleby has generously contributed an exclusive commentary to this release. The extensive booklet also features a reversible
cover, an illustrated discography, additional photos and brand new sleeve notes from PWL consultant Tom Parker.
Mel & Kim s debut single, Showing Out , hit #3 in November 1986, and in February 1987 Respectable became the first Stock Aitken
Waterman composition to top the charts. Combining a streetwise pop sensibility with transatlantic house grooves, Mel & Kim became a
global sensation. But at the height of their fame, Mel was diagnosed with cancer. Facing relentless media attention with dignity and
characteristic humour while she underwent treatment, the duo released a brand new single in February 1988
That s The Way It Is .
Tragically, Mel s health deteriorated and she passed away in January 1990, aged just 23.
In late 1990, Kim made her solo debut with the #2 hit, Don t Worry , from a self-titled album that she had mainly co-written with Mel.
Further singles followed over the next four years, including G.L.A.D. , Mama , Breakaway and Free Spirit , which found her reuniting
with Stock & Aitken. Following her own nomination for Don t Worry , since 2002 Kim has chaired the judging panel for Best
Contemporary Song at BASCA s annual Ivor Novello Awards. She continues to write and record, as well as acting on stage, TV and film.
"F.L.M." is the latest Hit Factory classic to be reissued on Cherry Pop, following a host of popular releases from Big Fun, Boy Krazy,
Hazell Dean, Lonnie Gordon, Haywoode, the London Boys, Princess, Sinitta, Mandy Smith and Sonia.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply the best version of this album EVER,
By London Music Guy "Music Dream" (London) - See all my reviews
This review is from: F.L.M. (Audio CD)
I recieved this today and what can I say - it's simply the best version of F.L.M ever. The booklet is beautiful, all done in a Mel and Kim style that matches the back cover of the Showing Out single (the graphic designer really did their homework) and it's packed full of rare pics of the girls, including covers from Number One and Look In!As well as lots of pics there's a foreword by Kim, a VERY comprehensive four page biography of the girls, as well as page by page information and photos on every single they released. Each single has images of the many variations of cover they had in different territories, as well as picture discs and rare editions. Also pictured are really rare items such as the 7" single of 'More than words can say" (released in the Netherlands only). As for the discs themselves, the artwork on the discs is gorgeous, especially disc 1 which is a variation shot from the FLM photoshoot (and the image used on the 12" FLM remix single). The 2nd CD image is from the U.S FLM shoot with them in the white hats and dresses. The cover is also reversible, with the UK version on the front and the U.S version on the back. The tracks have never sounded better and there are many rare remixes and alternate versions here. Especially fantastic are 'More than words can say' the extended 12" version. The 12" versions of Feel a whole lot better, and Who's gonna catch you, and the inclusion of the slower original into version of 'You changed my life' which has never been available on CD before (it only featured on the first pressing B side of the That's the way it is single). This is an amazing testimony to the Appleby sisters and I can't recommend this highly enough, I'd pay twice as much for it. The only thing lacking is any unreleased demos by the sisters. There are some in existence but none are included, which is such a shame. Somewhere in a cupboard are recordings of the girls singing other tracks, and rough demos for If you cared and Mama. I pray that one day Mel's beautiful vocals alongside Kim's (also beautiful) will get shared with the rest of us on these tracks. As for this collection, it's amazing. As Kim would say 'm-m-mel I love it'
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
1987... what a year!,
By
This review is from: F.L.M. (Audio CD)
I've just driven to work through a time warp and I have to tell you, 1987 was a fantastic year! Not only did I meet the girl who became my wife that year (it's our 22nd anniversary today!), this album came out. I've been a fan of Mel & Kim right from the beginning, to the point where I used to have all of the singles and all of the variations of them (apart from the elusive 12" poster-sleeve version of Showing Out), including the 3 that were never released in this country (and this is in the pre-internet days, remember). Rather stupidly, some years ago, I got rid of almost all my vinyl when I no longer had a record player; I soon regretted that.A few days ago, I happened across this CD here. I now have it in my hands and I have to tell you, I am one happy bunny. This CD is the most complete release to date. There are few of the 12" singles mixes missing: the Tabloid Mix of Respectable (available on the "That's The Way It Is... The Best Of" CD); the Freehold Mix of Showing Out (available on the original CD release) and the Auto Mix of F. L. M. (only available on the cassette single, a German CD single and the Scandinavian "Something Special" remixes CD). Then there's the Megamix Ninety, which you may be able to find on a CD somewhere. Even so, this CD on its own is a fabulous piece of work - the tracks sound just as good as if they were recorded last week, not 24 years ago. It even contains some remixes that I don't remember hearing before, which is great. In a nutshell, if you like Mel & Kim, you'll really like this CD! One final point, for the absolute completist: the original CD release (with the monochrome cover) contained the US album version of "I'm The One Who Really Loves You" which was slightly different from the UK version. When EMI re-released the album with the colour cover, it had the UK version.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great bonuses, but at the expense of the original album versions,
By DE01 (UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: F.L.M. (Audio CD)
Despite a negative 'Smash Hits' review, I got 'FLM' for Christmas 1987 and have loved it ever since. I've waited a long time for a decent reissue. The 2001 best-of 'That's the way it is' bundled most of the album with some mixes, but also misfaded four tracks. So I was hoping for better quality with Cherry Pop's version.The only real disappointment is that the first three tracks - the three big hits - are the 7" edits, NOT the original album versions. The album version of 'FLM' began with a guitar/vocal section which worked as a dramatic fade-in for the whole album. In place of this is the 7" edit. 'Showing out' and 'Respectable' fare worse: 'Showing out' used to be 5:11, this 7" is 3:34. 'Respectable' was 5:41, this 7" is 3:22. That's several minutes and a lot of grandeur shaved off the album. With the album out of the way, the rest of CD1 includes both sides of the final single, 'That's the way it is', follows then the standard 12" mixes of all four singles, and ends with previously unreleased mixes of 'System' and 'More than words can say'. CD2 comprises mixes from limited edition 12"s and more unreleased versions. 'Respectable' (extra beats vocal) is different to the (extra beats version) included on the original CD and cassette. 'FLM' (two grooves under one nation remix) is Phil Harding's mashup of Mel & Kim and Chic. (The compilation 'Good times - the very best of Chic and Sister Sledge' includes another Harding mix which blends Chic back into M&K.) Highlights are the unreleased 'I'm the one who really loves you', with its heavenly a capella intro; 'System' (garage vocal), which is identical to the album cut until 2:46, then develops into a gorgeous extension (although it's 1:40 shorter than the (vocal garage mix) from the American 'Showing out' 12"); and 'Showing out' (mortgage mix) - the first three minutes are a masterpiece of shimmering NY electro-style programming, then the single kicks in. Weak points are the two faux-house mixes of 'That's the way it is'. In '88 every single released had to have a house mix. The grunting male samples and that-really-isn't-acid bassline cheapen the song. You'll need a magnifying glass to read the crammed booklet, but there are plenty of photographs - including all of the single sleeves, promo shots from various photoshoots (many of which I remembered from my official 1988 calendar!) and tiny reproductions of magazine covers. The text includes a discography, lyrics, sleeve notes by the compiler and - best of all - notes by Kim Appleby, with comments on each song. I'd always thought that the intro speech on 'From a whisper to a scream' was Kim saying 'Listen ...', but apparently she's saying 'This one's nice ...' to Mel! There's also a photo of Kim as she is now, beautiful and vivacious as ever. 'FLM' was and remains a superb pop album. The vocals are excellent throughout, the programming (particularly Phil Harding's elastic bass programming) is awesome, and S/A/W succeeded in writing songs that perfectly reflected Mel & Kim's personalities. It's great to now have so many remixes gathered together in one place, with an informative booklet, and altogether this is the most complete Mel & Kim experience you're likely to get in a single package. But I miss the original album mixes of the three opening tracks.
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