Joanna - Hello Flower (2025) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. If You Don't Want Me To
02. Bandit Country
03. Hey Presto
04. Weather Vane
05. Mr. Sunshine
06. Hello Flower
07. It's Worth A Try
08. Gardeners' World

Only 35 years ago, Manchester was on the cusp of something magical, where The Stone Roses were soaring, Hacienda was in its heyday, and for all intents and purposes, Joanna could have been just as prolific and entered the history books.

The Skinny: For how exponential the Madchester scene became, it seems there would be no further room for extra additions, but I’m here to plead the case for Joanna and their long-lost debut record Hello Flower, finally now seeing the light of day, three-and-a-half decades later via New Feelings.

In the heady days of the late 1980s, all roads seemed to lead to rock superstardom for vocalist Neil Holliday, bassist Terry Lloyd, guitarist Tyrone Holt, and drummer Carl Alty. They had whipped up an excitable cult following on the local scene, but through a series of missed opportunities and unfortunate sliding doors moments, a record deal ultimately never came to fruition in the way it should have.

The recordings of their 1989 debut album Hello Flower, despite the intoxicating elixir they presented, were left to gather dust and passed off from the band’s original manager to a friend, and now, 35 years later, they have just been unearthed in the loft of a Manchester apartment, so it’s about time to drop into the rabbit hole.

Put simply, this album is the missing key to unlocking the long-sought-after beginning of the Madchester scene and subsequent Britpop story. Through just eight tracks, an entire moment in history is bottled on the cusp of something unparalleled and massive, and there’s something transportative and frankly breathtaking about just how pivotal it really should have been.

In some ways, it’s undeniably tragic that Joanna was never able to capture the world-beating domination they would have inevitably gained via Hello Flower, but there’s also something unnervingly poetic about receiving this time capsule in 2025. Prepare to be stopped in your tracks by the final song ‘Gardener’s World’, where Holliday sings about poverty, police corruption, and untrustworthy politicians, “but you wouldn’t see it happen in England/ ‘cause we’re all civilised”.

The chilling irony is not lost; in a kaleidoscope of psychedelia, blitzing guitars, searing social commentary, and funk riffs, this should have been an album that invigorated a generation, but instead, it was criminally left in an attic all this time. However, we see it now, and we won’t forget Manchester’s latest adopted sonic son.

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