Kiss the Lips of Life - Deluxe Edition

Marking the 40th anniversary of a ‘sliding doors’ moment in pop history, Kiss the Lips of Life is released on CD in the UK for the first time, comprehensively expanded and mastered from the original archive tapes.

Initially envisaged as a post-punk funk rock collective, Brilliant was formed by former Killing Joke bassist Youth in 1982. A few singles and a little over three years later, at the behest of their manager, Food Records supremo David Balfe, the band’s shifting line-up was slimmed down to a trio consisting of striking vocalist June Montana, Youth and erstwhile Zodiac Mindwarp guitarist and keyboardist Jimi Cauty. Their A&R man, industry maverick Bill Drummond, sent them into the studio to rework their album with up-and-coming pop powerhouse Stock Aitken Waterman.

Amid considerable hype, the new-look Brilliant debuted in October 1985 with a bold cover of James Brown’s ‘It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World’, which nevertheless climbed no higher than #58. The performance of subsequent singles ‘Love Is War’ (UK #64) ‘Somebody’ (UK #67) and ‘The End of the World’, along with the #83 peak of the album itself almost a year later led to the band going their separate ways, with Youth establishing a hugely successful production career and Cauty teaming up with Bill Drummond to form the legendary KLF. With hindsight, if Brilliant had succeeded, so much might have been different.

This new deluxe edition features a multitude of bonus tracks, including all the released 12” mixes (many on CD for the first time), B-sides, alternative takes and the mythical ‘Hold Each Other Tight’, a SAW co-write which had been lined up as the third single in place of ‘Somebody’, but was omitted from the album at the eleventh hour. It also boasts a 20-page booklet with additional photos, new sleeve notes, lyrics and an illustrated discography.