BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

“Move Away” is the first single from Culture Club’s fourth album, From Luxury to Heartache. The song became the group’s eighth top-ten hit on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number seven. It reached number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100, being their last chart success in USA and hit the top ten in many countries including Canada (#4), Italy (#10) and Australia (#10).

The song was seen as a kind of “comeback” for the group since it was following a year on hiatus. It divided their fanbase with its production, more synth-oriented and less organic. They worked with Arif Mardin (producer for Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin in the 80s). While not reaching the highest places of hit parades, it was a moderate hit for the band. The following singles from its parent album (“God Thank You Woman” in Europe, Australia and Japan, “Gusto Blusto” in Canada and USA) were not as popular as this song. The video-clip, which cast Boy George and Jon Moss as silent film-stars racing cars across a black/white movie screen, was filmed at the Brixton Academy, London. George’s friend Alice Temple can also be seen in the video.

The remix was a huge hit in many clubs, especially in North America. “Move Away” was Culture Club’s last UK top 10 hit before 1998′s “I Just Wanna Be Loved”.

SIDE A:
Move Away (Extended Version) 7:24
Written-By – Culture Club, P. Pickett*

SIDE B:
Sexuality (Tango Dub Remix Version) 10:34
Written-By – Culture Club, M. Rudetsky*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

CHARTS:

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic – 49-05360
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Artwork By [Sleeve] – Assorted Images, Assorted Images
Photography – Jamie Morgan
Producer – Arif Mardin, Lew Hahn

NOTES:
Original version on the LP “From Luxury To Heartache”

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

PW: burningtheground

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BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

1982 Front Cover

REQUEST

“I’m Afraid Of Me” was the second single released from Culture Club’s debut LP “Kissing To Be Clever”. I’m Afraid Of Me also suffered the same fate as Culture Club’s previous single “White Boy” and failed at radio peaking at only #100 in the UK.

In 2003 Kissing To Be Clever was was re-issued with a new remaster and included several bonus tracks that did not appear on the original CD and LP release including “Murder Rap Trap” featuring Captain Crucial. The Extended Dance Mix of “I’m Afraid Of Me” however was not included on the remastered CD and to the best of my knowledge has not appeared on any Culture Club CD release.

DISCOGS LINK

RELEASE/PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Label: Virgin
Catalog#: VS 509-12
Format: Vinyl, 12″
Country: UK
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Artwork By [Cover Design] – Jik Graham
Bass – Michael Craig
Drums, Percussion – Jon Moss
Guitar, Piano, Keyboards – Roy Hay
Photography – Mark Lebon
Producer, Engineer – Steve Levine
Vocals – Boy George
Written-By – Culture Club

SIDE A
(A) I’m Afraid Of Me (Extended Dance Mix) 7:20

SIDE B
(B) Murder Rap Trap 4:21
Featuring – Captain Crucial

Back Cover

CLEANING AND GRADING INFO
UK 12″ Housed In A Picture Sleeve.
Vinyl Grade: Near Mint.
Vinyl cleaned using a VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine and Gruv Glide.

FLAC INFORMATION
All vinyl rips are recorded in full 24bit 96khz resolution and then resampled to 16/44 and encoded from wave to FLAC Lossless level 8.
FLAC files can be played using Foobar2000 media player and it’s free!
What Is FLAC?

TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Media Used:
Vinyl 12″ Single
From My Personal Collection.
Artwork Scanned from Original 12″ Single @ 600 dpi
With Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
Edited and Restored Using Adobe Photoshop CS4

HARDWARE USED
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super 20
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@

SOFTWARE USED
Audition 3.0:
Recording (32bit/96kHz float using ASIO drivers)
*Manual removal of remaining clicks
*Editing and splitting of tracks
*DC bias correction

CLICKS REMOVED USING CLICKREPAIR
DeClick Level: 10 DeCrackle: Off
Converted Wav to very high quality Mp3/320 kbps using dBpoweramp 13.1

PW: burningtheground

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

Front Cover

REQUEST

In 1981, Boy George occasionally sang with the group Bow Wow Wow under the stage name “Lieutenant Lush”. However, his popularity in this role caused friction with the group’s actual lead singer, Annabella Lwin. After his tenure with the group, George decided to start his own band and enlisted Mikey Craig. Next came Jon Moss, and finally Roy Hay. The band was named Culture Club. The group recorded demos, which were paid for by EMI Records, but the label was unimpressed and decided not to sign the group. Virgin Records heard the demos and signed the group in the UK, and Epic Records released their albums in the US as Virgin did not have a U.S. presence at the time.

Their first album, Kissing to Be Clever (UK #5, US #14) (1982), saw the release of their first single “White Boy”. Although the song failed to reach the US or UK Top 100, George was still happy because “5000 people bought my song and didn’t even know me.”

This version of “White Boy” has not been released on CD as far as I know and is a different version than what appeared on the oiginal LP. Oddly the LP version is titled “Dance Mix”.

DISCOGS LINK

RELEASE/PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Label: Virgin
Catalog#: VS 496-12
Format: Vinyl, 12″
Country: UK
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Artwork By [Cover Design] – Jik Graham
Bass – Michael Craig
Drums, Percussion – Jon Moss
Engineer – Dave Bascombe*
Guitar, Keyboards, Piano – Roy Hay
Photography – Mark Lebon
Producer, Engineer – Steve Levine
Vocals, Backing Vocals – Boy George
Written-By – Culture Club

SIDE A
(A) White Boy (12″ Version) 6:44

SIDE B
(B) Love Twist 4:19
Featuring – Captain Crucial

Back Cover

CLEANING AND GRADING INFO
UK 12″ Housed In A Picture Sleeve.
Vinyl Grade: Near Mint.
Vinyl cleaned using a VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine and Gruv Glide.

FLAC INFORMATION
All vinyl rips are recorded in full 24bit 96khz resolution and then resampled to 16/44 and encoded from wave to FLAC Lossless level 8.
FLAC files can be played using Foobar2000 media player and it’s free!
What Is FLAC?

TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Media Used:
Vinyl 12″ Single
From My Personal Collection.
Artwork Scanned from Original 12″ Single @ 600 dpi
With Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
Edited and Restored Using Adobe Photoshop CS4

HARDWARE USED
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super 20
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@

SOFTWARE USED
Audition 3.0:
Recording (32bit/96kHz float using ASIO drivers)
*Manual removal of remaining clicks
*Editing and splitting of tracks
*DC bias correction

CLICKS REMOVED USING CLICKREPAIR
DeClick Level: 10 DeCrackle: Off
Converted Wav to very high quality Mp3/320 kbps using dBpoweramp 13.1

PW: burningtheground

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE
1986

1986 Front Cover

“God Thank You Woman” was the second single realeased in the UK from Culture Club’s 1986 slbum “From Luxury To Hearache” the song peaked at #31 in the UK and #48 in Australia. According to some sources during the filming of the music video directed by Steve Barron, Boy George had and argument with drummer Jon Moss and declared “You’re such a woman!”

To the best of my knowledge the b-side remix of “From Luxury To Heartache” has never been released on CD although the extended version of “God Thank You Woman” was added as a bonus track on the remastered CD edition of the album.

DISCOGS LINK

RELEASE/PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Label: Virgin
Catalog#: VS 861-12
Format: Vinyl, 12″
Country: UK
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Artwork By [Black And White Photographs] – Jamie Morgan
Artwork By [Colour Photograph] – Bill Ling
Artwork By [Sleeve] – Assorted Images
Artwork By [Tinting] – Bonnie Lippel
Backing Vocals – Helen Terry
Producer – Arif Mardin (tracks: A) , Lew Hahn (tracks: A) , Tony Swain (tracks: B)
Written-By – O’Dowd* , Moss* , Craig* , Pickett* , Hay*

SIDE A
God Thank You Woman (Extended Version) 7:04
SIDE B
From Luxury To Heartache (It’s All Her Fault – Mix) 5:56

Back Cover

CLEANING AND GRADING INFO
UK 12″ Single Housed In A Full Color Picture Sleeve.
Vinyl Grade: Near Mint.
Vinyl cleaned using a VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine and Gruv Glide.

FLAC INFORMATION
All vinyl rips are recorded in full 24bit 96khz resolution and then resampled to 16/44 and encoded from wave to FLAC Lossless level 8.
FLAC files can be played using Foobar2000 media player and it’s free!
What Is FLAC?

TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Media Used:
Vinyl 12″ Single
From My Personal Collection.
Artwork Scanned from Original 12″ Single @ 600 dpi
With Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
Edited and Restored Using Adobe Photoshop CS4

HARDWARE USED
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super 10
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@

SOFTWARE USED
Audition 3.0:
Recording (32bit/96kHz float using ASIO drivers)
*Manual removal of remaining clicks
*Editing and splitting of tracks
*DC bias correction

CLICKS REMOVED USING CLICKREPAIR
DeClick Level: 10 DeCrackle: Off
Converted Wav to very high quality Mp3/320 kbps using dBpoweramp 13.1

God Thank You Woman (mp3)

God Thank You Woman (flac 90 mb)

PW: burningtheground

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE
1986

1986 Side A Label

In the US “Gusto Blusto” was chosen as the second single released from Culture Clubs 1986 album “From Luxury To Heartache”. The song failed to chart and a music video was never made for the song. “From Luxury To Heartache” was a deliberate departure for Culture Club, a move away from the reggae-flavoured pop of their previous releases into dance-oriented music. Veteran pop and R&B producer Arif Mardin, replaced Steve Levine, in a bid to revitalise the band’s sound. Due to lead singer Boy George’s growing addiction to drugs, recordings dragged on for so long that Mardin had to disband the sessions and leave it up to engineer Lew Hahn to record the final vocals. Songs like “Gusto Blusto” and “Reasons” took days for the addicted singer to finish.

DISCOGS LINK

RELEASE/PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Label: Epic, Virgin
Catalog#: 49 05916, 49 05916
Format: Vinyl, 12″
Country: US
Released: 1986
Genre:Electronic
Style: synth-pop
Credits: Producer, Mixed By, Edited By [Special Edits] – Arif Mardin
Producer, Mixed By, Recorded By – Lew Hahn
Written-By – Culture Club , Pickett*

SIDE A
Gusto Blusto (Extended Dance Mix) 6:38
SIDE B
Gusto Blusto (Rock Mix) 4:56

Side B Label

CLEANING AND GRADING INFO
US 12″ single housed in a generic black sleeve.
Vinyl Grade: Near Mint.
Vinyl cleaned using a VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine and Gruv Glide.

FLAC INFORMATION
All vinyl rips are recorded in full 24bit 96khz resolution and then resampled to 16/44 and encoded from wave to FLAC Lossless level 8.
FLAC files can be played using Foobar2000 media player and it’s free!
What Is FLAC?

TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Media Used:
Vinyl 12″ Single
From My Personal Collection.
Artwork Scanned from Original 12″ Single @ 600 dpi
With Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
Edited and Restored Using Adobe Photoshop CS4

HARDWARE USED
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super 10
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@

SOFTWARE USED
Audition 3.0:
Recording (32bit/96kHz float using ASIO drivers)
*Manual removal of remaining clicks
*Editing and splitting of tracks
*DC bias correction

CLICKS REMOVED USING CLICKREPAIR
DeClick Level: 10 DeCrackle: Off
Converted Wav to very high quality Mp3/320 kbps using dBpoweramp 13.1

Gusto Blust (mp3)

Gusto Blusto (flac 83 mb)

PW: burningtheground

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE
1984

1984 Front Cover

“The Medal Song” was the second single released from the 1984 album “Waking Up With The House On Fire” which was unable to achieve the commercial success of Culture Club’s first two albums. While the album did reach platinum status in the US it was considered to be a disappointment compared to the 4X platinum status of the groups last album Colour by Numbers. It sold more than 4 millions copies worldwide, being gold or platinum in many countries, and being 2 X Platinum in Canada. “The Medal Song” reached #32 in the UK, with its b-side, “Don’t Go Down That Street” being released as a single from a subsequent EP in Japan but only reaching #69 in the charts.

On the VH1 program Behind the Music, the narrator states, “Today, the band admits the album was a hurried and halfhearted effort.” Many music insiders also feel that Culture Club and Boy George may have fallen victim to overexposure in both the British and American press by the end of 1984. Subsequently, Culture Club decided to change direction for the next album, From Luxury to Heartache, by choosing a new producer and moving in a dance-oriented direction.

In 2008 the album “Waking Up With House On Fire” was re-released in Japan, as a special collector “mini-lp” edition. Newly remastered and contained “Don’t Go Down That Street” as a CD bonus track.

DISCOGS LINK

RELEASE/PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Label: Virgin
Catalog#: VS 730-12
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Limited Edition
Country: UK
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop
Credits: Artwork By [Frances Farmer Illustraion] – John Geary
Artwork By [Sleeve Produced By] – Assorted iMaGes
Backing Vocals – Derek Green (tracks: A) , Helen Terry (tracks: A) , Mo Birch (tracks: B) , Ruby Turner (tracks: B)
Keyboards [Additional] – Phil Pickett (tracks: A)
Mixed By – Jon Moss , Steve Levine
Photography [B/w] – David Levine , Steve Hughes
Photography [Colour] – André Csillag
Producer – Steve Levine
Saxophone – Steve Grainger (tracks: A)
Voice [Japanese Talk Over] – Miko (tracks: B)
Written-By – Culture Club



Limited edition Poster

NOTES
Includes Limited Edition Poster.
Produced for Do Not Erase Productions.
Taken From The Album “Waking Up With The House On Fire”

SIDE A
A The Medal Song (Extended Mix) 6:21
SIDE B
B Don’t Go Down That Street 6:27

Back Cover

CLEANING AND GRADING INFO
UK 12″ Limited Edition housed in a full color picture sleeve includes foldout poster.
Vinyl Grade: Near Mint.
Vinyl cleaned using a VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine and Gruv Glide.

FLAC INFORMATION
All vinyl rips are recorded in full 24bit 96khz resolution and then resampled to 16/44 and encoded from wave to FLAC Lossless level 8.
FLAC files can be played using Foobar2000 media player and it’s free!
What Is FLAC?

TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Media Used:
Vinyl 12″ Single
From My Personal Collection.
Artwork Scanned from Original 12″ Single @ 600 dpi
With Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
Edited and Restored Using Adobe Photoshop CS4

HARDWARE USED
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super 10
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@

SOFTWARE USED
Audition 3.0:
Recording (32bit/96kHz float using ASIO drivers)
*Manual removal of remaining clicks
*Editing and splitting of tracks
*DC bias correction

CLICKS REMOVED USING CLICKREPAIR
DeClick Level: 10 DeCrackle: Off
Converted Wav to very high quality Mp3/320 kbps using dBpoweramp 13.1

The Medal Song (mp3)

The Medal Song (flac 84 mb)

PW: burningtheground