Spartacus [National Album Day 2026] The Farm

Exclusively reissued on CD for the first time in over twenty years, presented in Deluxe 7" sized packaging with 2CDs featuring the abum newly mastered, plus a comprehensive selection of the best of the original era remixes
Also features brand new sleeve notes written by author Kevin Sampson, The Farm's former manager.

To celebrate National Album Day and the 2026 theme of 'Icons', Demon Records are proud to present the reissue of the Number One debut album from The Farm featuring the Top 10 singles 'All Together Now' and 'Groovy Train' on it's 35th anniversary.

The Farm had long been flying the flag for terrace chic, anthemic street poetry, training shoes and street fashion for many years since the mid 1980s, before the music press finally decided at the start of the 90s that with upstarts like The Happy Mondays it was de rigueur. Peter Hooton the front man and lead singer had been at the forefront of music, politics and football fanzine 'The End' where he honed his writing skills writing poems.

Finally the world was catching up; The Farm had been banging their drum from the start, and now their time had come with all the key pieces falling into place with the band's influences from the likes of Buzzcocks, the Clash and the Jam melding with dance and acid house-influenced grooves.

Originally released fully independently on their own label, Produce Records, the album was recorded with Madness frontman Graham "Suggs" McPherson as producer, with another track 'Tell The Story' produced by the Housemartins members Paul Heaton and Stan Cullimore and guest vocals on a number of tracks from Pete Wylie. Terry Farley a founding editor of Boy's Own magazine and regular acid house DJ who'd collaborated with Andrew Weatherall mixed the album.

Not only was competing at the highest level on an independent label hugely unusual at the start of the 90s, 'Spartacus' had to see off competition from the current No.1 Chris Rea's 'Auberge' and The KLF's 'White Room'. It was to be an Ibiza clubbing documentary The Farm had been prominently featured in, 'A Short Film About Chilling' that helped get 'Spartacus' all the way to No.1 - a feat that bands like Primal Scream, Happy Mondays, EMF and Electronic, and even U2's 'Achtung Baby' had failed match in 1991.

1991 saw The Farm selling out live shows, appearing on TV and featuring on the covers of the NME, The Face, Vox, Sounds and Record Mirror with 'Spartacus' making 'Album of the Month' in Select and included in the NME and Vox magazine's '50 Albums of 1991' lists. Finally the world HAD caught up.