Burn It Up – The Rise Of British Dance Music 1986-1991 is a new 4 CD collection from Cherry Red, covering the explosion in dance music in the late 1980s and early 90s. The collection is released on 21 November 2025, and includes The KLF, S-Express, Coldcut, Bomb The Bass, 808 State, Adamski, Electribe 101 and many more.
The eras heady mix of electro, house and techno was built on the burgeoning sampling technology that brought recording out of the expensive studios and into the bedrooms and the minds of a younger generation, keen to make their mark on the charts.
This compilation reawakened my love of the late 80s acid / house, sample driven era. I bought many a sample CD to use with my Emax sampling keyboard and later on my Akai S950 12 bit sampler, and the music on this compilation transported me back to those heady days.
The early years
Coldcut feat. Floormaster Squeeze and Beats + Pieces (Mo Bass Remix) is a perfect introduction to the era, with breakbeats, drops and samples, including some deliciously lo-fi guitar licks, thrown into the mix. Listen to the music of the wonderful Australian band Confidence Man and you can see how breakbeat propelled bands such as Coldcut are an influence on current artists.
The Stock Aitken Waterman produced Mel & Kim make an appearance, with the mostly instrumental System (House Mix). House Arrest (The Beat Is The Law) by Krush was one of the early UK House hits in 1987, with featured vocals from Ruth Joy and its still a delight to listen to, with its endearing simplicity and clarity.
Hearing Bass (how low can you go) from Simon Harris with its Public Enemy and ubiquitous Funky Drummer sample sends me hurling back in time to 1988. The love song to the North of England, Us and their track Born In The North closes the first disc.
The big hitters
Disc 2 contains many of the big-hitters from the era, opening with Beat Dis (Extended Dis) from Bomb The Bass. My favourite Bomb The Bass song is the heavenly Winter In July, that is sadly not a part of this compilation, but Beat Dis was such an influential track, having the bravado to sneak in a cheeky Prince vocal sample along with snatches from Dragnet & Thunderbirds.
What Time Is Love? (Pure Trance 1) from The KLF is still an absolute monster of a track. If this banger doesn’t get you up on your feet and waving your hands in the air (like you just don’t care), then you are probably dead.
The bass heavy Stakker Humanoid laid the foundations for the soon to arrive Future Sound of London. Theme from S-Express is an absolute titan from the era, and still sounds amazing today, with it samples from Rose Royce’s Is It Love You’re After and The Stepford Wives, along with an amazing widescreen, technicolour production from Mark Moore & Pascal Gabriel.
“Oh that’s bad,
no, that’s good”
Doctorin’ The House from Coldcut, their second track on this collection, this time introduces us to Yazz & The Plastic Population (soon to be known for the no1 single The Only Way Is Up). D-Mob feat. Gary Haisman deliver a bit of a novelty song with We Call It Acieeed – get on one matey indeed, whatever could they mean!
Samantha Fox and Love House (The Black Pyramid Mix) is one of many examples of a great use of the Roland TB-303 acid house synth, with an intelligent and well-crafted arrangement from techno legend Kevin Saunderson (Inner City). Paul Rutherford (former Frankie Goes To Hollywood co-vocalist) and his Get Real (Happy House Mix) is also driven by a delicious TB-303 acid synth line, with production from Martin Fry and Mark White from pop titans ABC.
Disc three opens with the still intoxicating Talking With Myself from Electribe 101, featuring vocalist Billie Ray Martin. Tired of Getting Pushed Around by Two Men, a Drum Machine and a Trumpet (Andy Cox
and David Steele from Fine Young Cannibals) is a piece of high tempo, but minimal in its arrangement, house music.
Special & Golden (Parts I and II) is a surprise but welcome inclusion from S-Express. Street Tuff (Longsy D’Mix) from Double Trouble & Rebel MC is a playful breakbeat driven reggae /house mashup.
“Jam the nightclub, rock the disco”
The Sun Rising from the much-missed The Beloved is the perfect comedown tune, and along with the afore-mentioned Winter In July (Bomb The Bass), is one of the most beautiful songs from the late 80s / early 90s.
The sun setting… on the era
The 4th and final CD opens with the anthemic Pacific-202 from 808 State, a wonderful warm production with clipped percussion and smooth synth sequences, topped by “that” sax riff. N-R-G is the debut single from Adamski, with an infectious house piano motif, whilst Orbital are represented with Chime (Edit).
If You Love Somebody (12” Mix) by Professor Supercool – aka The Blow Monkeys’ Dr. Robert, sneaks in from the mainstream, and is a close cousin to the bands late 80s singles such as Choice? and Wait.
Sheffield’s Cabaret Voltaire are represented with the addictive Easy Life, whilst The Cure’s Lullaby (Extended Remix) is a bit of a mis-step on this compilation. Its a great song and an interesting mix but is only really linked to the scene by some of the keyboard treatments, so feels a little out of place.
Whilst some of the tracks on Burn It Up – The Rise Of British Dance Music 1986-1991 sound very much of their time, this is an excellent trip back in time to an exciting, colourful and inventive time in music. The 4 CD set also comes with informative sleeve notes by Bill Brewster (Last Night A DJ Saved My Life).
“Enjoy this trip
And it is a trip”
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DISC ONE
Coldcut feat. Floormaster Squeeze – Beats + Pieces (Mo Bass Remix)
Mel & Kim – System (House Mix)
Midnight Sunrise With Nellie “Mixmaster” Rush feat. Jackie Rawes – On The House (Chicago Mix)
John Rocca – I Want It To Be Real (Farley’s Hot House Piano Mix)
Rick & Lisa – When You Gonna (Home Boy Mix)
Krush – House Arrest (The Beat Is The Law)
T-Coy – Cariño
The Cookie Crew – Females (Get On Up) (Pile Up)
Judge Dread – Jerk Your Body (Edit)
Simon Harris – Bass (How Low Can You Go) (Bomb The House Mix)
M.E.S.H. (Jack The Tab) – Meet Every Situation Head On
The Beatmasters feat. The Cookie Crew – Rok Da House
Us – Born In The North
DISC TWO
Bomb The Bass – Beat Dis (Extended Dis)
The KLF – What Time Is Love? (Pure Trance 1)
Humanoid – Stakker Humanoid
S-Express – Theme From S-Express
Coldcut feat. Yazz & The Plastic Population – Doctorin’ The House
Baby Ford – Oochy Koochy (F.U. Baby Yeh Yeh)
D-Mob feat. Gary Haisman – We Call It Acieeed (The Radio Edit)
The Wee Papa Girl Rappers feat. 2 Men And A Drum Machine – Heat It Up (Acid House Mix)
The Beatmasters feat. P P Arnold – Burn It Up (7″ Version)
The Moody Boys – Acid Rappin
Samantha Fox – Love House (The Black Pyramid Mix)
Paul Rutherford – Get Real (Happy House Mix)
DISC THREE
Electribe 101 – Talking With Myself
Anne Clarke – Our Darkness (Remix)
2 Men, A Drum Machine & A Trumpet – Tired Of Getting Pushed Around (The Mayhem Rhythm Mix)
Julian Jonah – Jealousy And Lies
Chapter And The Verse – All This And Heaven Too (Club Mix)
Shades Of Rhythm – Just Feel It
S-Express – Special & Golden (Parts I and II)
Monie Love – Grandpa’s Party (Love II Love Remix)
Double Trouble & Rebel MC – Street Tuff (Longsy D’Mix)
Richie Rich – Salsa House
The Beloved – The Sun Rising
Dina Carroll – Me Sienta Sola (We Are One) (Funky Z-Bar Mix)
DISC FOUR
808 State – Pacific-202
Adamski – N-R-G
Nightmares On Wax – Let It Roll
NAD – Distant Drums
Orbital – Chime (Edit)
Professor Supercool – If You Love Somebody (12” Mix)
N-Joi – Techno Gangsters
Pop Will Eat Itself – Touched By The Hand Of Cicciolina (The 9 Renegade Soundwave Mix (Smoothneck))
Ubik – Techno Prisoners
Cabaret Voltaire – Easy Life
The Cure – Lullaby (Extended Remix)
Urban Hype – Teknologi (R.J. Flip Mix)
Circuit – Shelter Me (Helter Skelter Mix)
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