Tag: 1981

ABBA – The Visitors (US 12″ Promo)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1981

“The Visitors” (working title “Den första”, meaning “The First”), also known as “The Visitors (Crackin’ Up)”, is a 1981 song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It is the title track from the band’s studio album of the same name, and was released as the fourth and final single in April 1982. The lead vocal was performed by Anni-Frid Lyngstad.

The official stated theme is a protest against the persecution of political dissidents in the Soviet Union at the time, as ABBA seemed to put political issues into their lyrics in the final days of the group. Björn Ulvaeus has stated that at the time of release he preferred that the song should have a sense of mystery so did not explain the exact meaning.

In 1982, the album The Visitors was banned in the Soviet Union, possibly due to the band allowing a video of “When All Is Said and Done” to be shown in the United States Information Agency television special, Let Poland Be Poland, along with a spoken message from Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, broadcast via satellite around the world on 31 January 1982. The show, which also featured Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney, Orson Welles, Henry Fonda, UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and US President Ronald Reagan, was a public protest against the then-recent imposition of martial law in Poland.

However, ABBA’s segment was not included in the broadcast. The official reason given was time constraints. However, in a Rapport interview, Björn Ulvaeus mentioned that their message referenced human rights issues in several countries, including El Salvador and Chile. This has led to speculation that political considerations might have influenced the decision to exclude the segment, although this remains unconfirmed.

“The Visitors” was released as the album’s second (and final) single in the US instead of “Head over Heels,” which remained as the B-side.

The single peaked just outside the Top 60 at No. 63 on the singles chart in the U.S., and a double A-sided “The Visitors/When All Is Said and Done” 12″ single reached No. 8 on the Billboard dance chart. AllMusic reviewer Bruce Eder retrospectively described the song as “a topical song about Soviet dissidents that also manages to be very catchy.” Even though the song did not have any success in some countries, “The Visitors” was No. 1 in Costa Rica.

++ The “Short Version” included on this U.S. 12″ Promo is a vinyl-only exclusive, and has not appeared on CD. The edit that appeared on “More ABBA Gold” was modeled after the original “Short Version” taking the “Long Version” and editing it down therefore not the original edit that appears here.

SIDE A:
The Visitors (Long Version) 5:45

SIDE B:
The Visitors (Short Version) 4:22 ++

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1982 The Visitors U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #63
1982 The Visitors U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play #8

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Atlantic – DMD 329
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1981
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop, Disco

CREDITS:

NOTES:
From the Atlantic LP “THE VISITORS”

Promotional Copy Not For sale

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus:  Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp:
Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
DAC:
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:
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

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!


Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.



Boystown Gang – Cruisin’ The Streets (US 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1981

The blockbuster success of the Village People proved one of two things: either middle America was finally willing to embrace post-Stonewall queer culture in all its out-and-proud glory, or else your average Reagan voters wouldn’t recognize a homosexual even if he sold their teenage son’s poppers and stuffed the cash into his assless chaps. Regardless, the Village People phenomenon spawned untold numbers of cash-in records that ratcheted the camp appeal into the danger zone.

The “postdisco” recording industry in San Francisco between 1978 and 1984. For most of America, disco died in 1979. Gay people, however, continued to dance, and in the Castro enterprising gay DJs, record producers, and musicians started their own small dance music record labels to make up for the lack of new, danceable music.

The sound derived its aesthetic from San Francisco’s unique queer configuration of elements, but immediately this music had a reach far beyond the Bay Area, with Megatone Records, Moby Dick Records, and other labels achieving worldwide success with San Francisco artists such as Sylvester, Patrick Cowley, Lisa, and Boys Town Gang creating the world’s first gay-owned, gay-produced music for a dancing audience.

In 1980, DJ Bill Motley saw an opportunity to form a disco group that catered to San Francisco’s large gay clientele. In his search to form a group, he auditioned hundreds of vocalists, both male and female. Local cabaret singer Cynthia Manley captured the lead spot.

The idea was originally for one 12″ single with two tracks of high-energy disco music. Motley, a Diana Ross fan, picked two Ashford & Simpson songs to form a medley for the A-side track. For the B-side track, he wrote a disco drama in four acts. A private record label was founded to release the two songs.

“Remember Me”/”Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” is a Diana Ross medley the song became a huge dance hit in the U.S. peaking at #5 on the Dance/Disco chart. The song was also a top 20 hit in Belgium and the Netherlands.

“Cruisin’ the Streets” The extended version of the song includes a lengthy dialogue taking place at night in what is clearly implied to be Folsom Street in San Francisco. The dialogue consists of gay men cruising each other, discussing their sexual encounters and conversing with a female prostitute. At one point, a police car stops and three policemen step out and confront two men who are engaging in sexual activity as a female prostitute looks on. One of the officers asks the others what should be done, and the third officer states that he knows “just what to do to ’em” and from the subsequent noises it is implied that the officers are having sex with the two men, and the prostitute. “Cruisin’ the Streets” was a snapshot of San Francisco’s South of Market District at the time.

**ABOUT THE VINYL RESTORATION

This record was a challenge maybe due to the length of the tracks and the pressing. On Side AA there is some sibilance baked into the track, especially on the female spoken dialogue parts not really much that can be done about that. Still, I think everything turned out nicely. I hope you enjoy it.

SIDE A:
Remember Me / Ain’t No Mountain High Enough Suite 13:57
Arranged By [Strings] – Denver Smith
Backing Vocals – Darlene KoblenhavenDenver SmithLouie RicoMarie CainMary HylanMike Gymnaites
Piano – Ted Andreads
Saxophone – Jerry Jomonville

Synthesizer [Arp] – Wayne Cook
Trombone – Dennis Brunk
Trumpet – Lee Thornburg
Violin – Ken Yerke
Written-By – Ashford, Simpson

A.1 Overture
A.2 Remember Me
A.3 Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
A.4 Reprise
A.5 Finale

SIDE AA:
Cruisin’ The Streets 13:12
Backing Vocals – Bill MotleyChuck Spero
Mixed By [Mix Consultant] – Trip Ringwald
Piano [Rhodes], Clavinet – Ted Andreads
Remix [Street Scene – Music In Passing Car Courtesy Of] – Disconet
Saxophone – Randy Smith (2)
Synthesizer, Trombone – Denver Smith
Trumpet – Joel Rich
Voice [Street Scene] – Bill MotleyChuck SperoCraig MoreyCynthia ManleyDon WoodScott Anderson (3)Trip Ringwald
Written-By – Bill Motley

AA.1 Cruisin’
AA.2 Rejected
AA.3 The Pick-Up
AA.4 Busted
AA.5 Reprise

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1981 Remember Me”/”Ain’t No Mountain High Enough U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Disco #5

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Moby Dick Records – BTG-231, Moby Dick Records – LP-BTG-231
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue
Country: US
Released: 1981
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Disco

CREDITS:

NOTES:
“Caution: May contain material not suitable for children or the prudish”
Recorded at Salty Dog Studios, Van Nuys, CA.
Mastered at the Mastering Room, San Francisco.

The flipside is listed on sleeve, labels and runout groove as “The Other A”.

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus:  Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp:
Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
DAC:
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:
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

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!


Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.



Visage – Mind Of A Toy (UK 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1981

“Mind of a Toy” is the third single by the British pop group Visage, released on Polydor Records in March 1981. It was taken from the band’s eponymous debut album, following up their international hit “Fade to Grey”. The song reached #13 on the UK singles chart.

The music video for the single was directed by former 10cc members Godley & Creme, who had branched out into video production by that time. The theme of the video was Steve Strange’s idea, who decided on a Little Lord Fauntleroy look. In his autobiography, Blitzed!, Strange claimed that the video was banned by the BBC’s Top of the Pops as it was considered to be “frightening for children”, however it was actually screened on the show on 19 March 1981.

SIDE A:
Mind Of A Toy (Dance Mix) 5:15

SIDE B:
We Move (Dance Mix) 6:30
Frequency 7 (Dance Mix) 5:05

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Polydor – POSPX 236
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: Mar 2, 1981
Genre: Electronic
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Design –  Alwyn ClaydenVisage
Musician –  Billy CurrieDave FormulaJohn McGeochMidge UreRusty EganSteve Strange
Photography By –  Peter Ashworth
Photography By [Retouching] –  Alwyn Clayden
Producer – Midge UreVisage

NOTES:
Thanks to Vivien
A Morrison-O’Donnell Production

A: Remixed from the Polydor LP “Visage”

Made in England

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable:Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus:  Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp:
Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
DAC:
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:
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

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!


Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.



Ronny – If You Want Me To Stay (UK 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1981

“If You want Me To Stay” is a 1981 New wave/Synth-pop single by Parisian model Ronny.

Ronny used to be a top French model. Ronny was brought up in the grim Northern industrial area of France and left home at 14 to go to Paris, there lying about her age and doing terrible jobs. Took dancing classes and jobs then stopped everything and started to write songs. Club entrepreneur Rusty Egan met Ronny in the Paris club Privelege and co-produced with Midge Ure “If You want Me To stay”. Ronny, a masculine name, is the blitz girl who loved to dress up as a boy.
Also, Ronny did a duet with Steve Strange called “The Lady Is A Tramp”. The single was never released.

Ronny recorded three singles for Polydor Records then disappeared into obscurity.

SIDE A:
If You Want Me To Stay (Dance Mix) 5:49

SIDE B:
If You Want Me To Stay (Instrumental) 5:49

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Polydor – POSPX 247
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1981
Genre: Electronic
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Art Direction, Sleeve [Design] –Rob O’Connor
Other [Make-up] – Richard Sharah
Photography By –  Phil Jude
Producer – Midge UreRusty Egan
Written-By – Sylvester Stewart

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp:
Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
DAC:
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:
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

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!


Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.