Category: Eddy Grant

Eddy Grant – Electric Avenue (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

NEW 2020 Transfer!
Meticulously Remastered!

Originally posted: June 11, 2013

“Electric Avenue” is a song written, recorded and produced by Eddy Grant, who released it from his 1982 album Killer on the Rampage. In the United States, with the help of the MTV video he shot for it, it was one of the biggest hits of 1983. The song’s title refers to Electric Avenue in the south London district of Brixton which was the first market street to be lit by electricity. According to Grant, he first became aware of the street’s existence during a stint acting at the Black Theatre of Brixton. The area is now known for its high population of Caribbean immigrants. At the beginning of the 1980s, tensions over unemployment, racism, and poverty culminated in the street events now known as the 1981 Brixton riot. Grant, horrified and enraged, wrote and composed the song in response; a year afterward, the song was playing over the airwaves. Grant had left the UK shortly after the riots to live in Barbados: his most recent batch of songs had been lost in baggage transit, and “Electric Avenue” was one of the songs he wrote immediately afterward to make up for the lost material.

Grant initially released it as a single in 1983 and reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. In 1983, CBS decided to launch the single in the U.S., where it spent five weeks at No. 2 on Billboard Magazine’s Hot 100 charts and hit No. 1 in Cash Box Magazine. (It was kept out of the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 by a combination of two songs, “Flashdance… What a Feeling” by Irene Cara and that year’s song of the summer, “Every Breath You Take” by The Police.) “Electric Avenue” was a hit on two other US charts: On the soul chart it went to No. 18, and on the dance charts, it peaked at No. 6. It was nominated for a Grammy Award as Best R&B Song of 1983, but lost to Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”.

SIDE A:
Electric Avenue (Extended Version) 6:19
Arranged By – Eddy Grant

SIDE B:
Walking On Sunshine (American Version) 6:12

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1983 Electric Avenue U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #2
1983 Electric Avenue U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks #12
1983 Electric Avenue U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles #18
1983 Electric Avenue U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play #6

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: ICE ‎– ICET 57
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: Jan 1983
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop, Reggae

CREDITS:
Producer, Written-By – Eddy Grant

NOTES:
Track A is a special version from the LP:
“Killer on the Rampage”

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
DAC/Phono Pre-amp:
Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning:
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans:
Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

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Eddy Grant – Romancing The Stone (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

Re-Rip Remaster

Originally I posted this one on December 15, 2010. But for those who may have missed it or if you are a new reader just discovering BTG. I decided to give this one a new rip with my newer Ortofon 30 stylus. This 12″ is also being posted in 24 bit flac for the very first time!

In 1984 Eddy Grant had a minor hit single in the US with his original song written to accompany the Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner film, Romancing the Stone. Despite being commissioned by the film’s producers, all but the guitar solo would be cut from the film during its final edit. The song did not appear on its soundtrack. Grant released the song as a single with the original video that featured scenes from the film until it was re-edited without the Romancing the Stone clips.

The song did appear on Grant’s 1984 album Going For Broke. In May of 1984 the single peaked at #26 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #52 on the UK singles chart.

SIDE A:
Romancing The Stone (Edit) 3:31
Romancing The Stone (Long Version) 9:07

SIDE B:
My Turn To Love You (A Live Recording From The Movie “Eddy Grant At Notting Hill Carnival”) 8:30

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1984 Romancing The Stone U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #26
1984 Romancing The Stone U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks #39
1984 Romancing The Stone U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play #12

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Portrait
Catalog#: 4R9 04993
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Design – Shoot That Tiger!
Engineer – Frank Aggarat
Engineer [Final Mix] – Alan Smart (tracks: A1, A2)
Mastered By – Herbie Jr*
Photography – Martin Goddard
Producer, Arranged By, Written-By – Eddy Grant

NOTES:
Produced at Blue Wave Studios, St. Phillip, Barbados.
Mastering by Frankford/Wayne, New York.
Taken from the Portrait LP:
“GOING FOR BROKE”

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