We don’t normally cover reissues at DeClunk HQ but for this we make an exception.
London Records have announced a unique ‘PILL EDITION’ of Happy Mondays landmark album Pills ’n’ Thrills and Bellyaches, part of the first major reissue programme for the defining record of the club and indie crossover era of the late 80s/early 90s.
Part record release, part art object and part pharmaceutical parody, the Pill Edition transforms one of British music’s most iconic albums into a collectable piece of Madchester history. Inspired by a rare promotional item created around the album’s original 1990 release, and limited to just 200 across four colourways, the edition reimagines the original concept as a contemporary design object. Housed within bespoke pharmaceutical-style packaging, the release includes a 3D-printed Happy Mondays capsule, bespoke pill organiser, GMEX inspired rave whistle, acid blotter artwork, purity testing kit (inspired by Shaun Ryder’s call for drugs to be tested in clubs) and an embossed credit-card-style download pass containing the complete digital boxset audio.
Blurring the lines between music packaging, design artefact and Madchester memorabilia, the unique Pill Edition celebrates the humour, visual identity and cultural mythology surrounding one of the defining albums of its era.
Originally released in November 1990, Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches captured the chaotic, euphoric spirit of the Madchester movement, blending indie rock, acid house rhythms and funk grooves into a sound that helped reshape British alternative music. Featuring era-defining tracks such as “Step On”, “Kinky Afro” and “Loose Fit”, the album became both a commercial breakthrough – reaching No.4 in the album charts – and a cultural snapshot of a generation fuelled by dance culture and Northern nightlife. More than three decades on, its grooves, attitude and genre-blurring production continue to resonate, influencing modern indie and electronic artists alike.
Happy Mondays – Kinky Afro (Official Video)
Happy Mondays – Step On (Official Video) – YouTube
Happy Mondays – Loose Fit (Official HD Video) – YouTube
With all original audio remastered from the Factory Records master tapes, the 2026 reissue of Pills ‘N’ Thrills and Bellyaches is being released on the following formats:
Full Contents:
Pill Edition
Band logo Pill – printed with an FDM 3D printer from PLA, a thermoplastic derived from renewable resources.
Credit Card – digitally printed on 760 micron gloss white PVC. Each card contains a unique download code to the Super Deluxe Edition of Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellaches.
Carton & Insert – offset printed in 4 colours on 355 gsm single-sided chromo board. Each insert is unique in colourway to each carton
MDMA Purity Test, Leaflet & Results Sheet – liquid-filled glass ampule and injection-moulded plastic spatula. Leaflet & results sheet offset printed on 80gsm uncoated paper in 4 colours.
Pill Container – silk screen printed, injection moulded 7-day pill dispenser case
Blotter – Offset printed in 4 colours on 250gsm uncoated board, perforated horizontally and vertically. The perforation and dose count is an exact match of an original sheet found underneath the flap of a cardboard box in the archive of Timothy Leary
Whistle & Lanyard – injection moulded plastic Thunderer whistle. Fixed loop lanyard with plated swivel hook
*****
5LP Super Deluxe Edition: Includes the original album plus the fabled Hallelujah and Madchester Rave On EPs, the Baby Baby Big Head Bootleg Album recorded Live at Elland Road on June 1st, 1991 – with a fold-out A2 tour poster from the same legendary gig, classic and newly commissioned remixes, plus a ‘Madchester’ slipmat.
Also included is a 60-page 12” x 12” hardback book containing liner notes written by author & journalist James Brown, who worked for the NME during the Pills ‘N’ Thrills era and went on to found Loaded magazine. Original Central Station Design members: Pat Carroll & Karen Jackson, now known as Sublime Limbo, together with Samuel Carroll contribute the essay ‘Postcards from the Edge: The Art and Anarchy of Pills ’n’ Thrills and Bellyaches’, which outlines the philosophy behind the album’s iconic artwork, and reveals that Shaun Ryder’s working title for the record was ‘Kinky Album’. Among many previously unseen images, the book includes the album artwork that was scrapped just before it went to print, after Shaun had a new idea.
*****
4CD Edition: Includes original album, Hallelujah + Madchester Rave On, Baby Big Head Bootleg Album (Live at Elland Road, 1991), classic and new remixes, and the 60-page book with contents as above but in paperback.
*****
2CD Edition: All original audio remastered from Factory Records master tapes. Includes original album + classic & new remixes and brand new liner notes by James Brown.
*****
1LP Editions (Dinked Vinyl Pill Edition (Blue / Yellow Split Colour), Red Vinyl, Picturedisc, Standard Black Vinyl): Include original album + new liner notes by James Brown.
*****
Cassette: Includes original album on half-and-half coloured cassette, housed in a clear shell.
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