Boutique - ’Strawberries & Cream [12’’ Extended Remix]’ (1996)

Here is Boutique, the pairing of Chris Johnstone (vocals) and Gary Chapman (Synths), from Harlow in Essex. Gary is the brother of Anthony Chapman, who was in Collapsed Lung and is better known as Scissorkicks. Boutique existed in the mid-90s void between Britpop and Romo, and they gave us three two minute-ish pop singles, beginning with 1995’s vinyl-only* ’Butterfly’; follow-up ’I’ve Told You Before’ and their third and final offering, ’Strawberries & Cream’ (think Bowie’s ’Ashes To Ashes’ having a fight with ’Start!’ by The Jam). Each was produced by themselves under their own production moniker, The Fabulous Twins (with a little help from Mike Hedges) and released on their own imprint, Camp Fabulous via the Trade 2 label. Trade 2 was a joint venture between Rough Trade and Island Records that ran from 1995-1998 and put out discs by alternative acts like Tiger, Pooka and Luna. Chris and Gary probably completed a long player, but if they did, it was never issued. This 12“ mix is by producer Neil McLellan, whose other remix activities include tracks by The Shamen, Erasure, Sunscreem and The Human League. All three of Boutique’s promo videos are currently available to view on YouTube if you’d like to check them out. For fans of Orlando, Dex Dex Ter and Sexus? *You can find this A-side on the promotional CD sampler ’Wild’ (WILD2).