BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1987

“Weak in the Presence of Beauty” is a song written by Michael Ward and Rob Clarke which was first released by their band, the British soul and jazz-influenced pop group Floy Joy, in 1986. The song was later covered by singer Alison Moyet in 1987 and became a hit for her.

Over the last decade, Moyet has revealed that the song was only recorded as she knew it would be a hit single, and that she is not actually fond of the song at all. To promote her 2004 album Voice, Moyet appeared on This Morning. On the show the introductory clip used was a snippet of the song’s music video. Immediately after Phillip Schofield commented “You just said you hate that song? Why’d you hate that song?” Moyet stated “Oh, because I know how cynical I was being when I recorded it. I recorded it ’cause I knew it was a hit rather than the fact that I loved it, and that will teach me, you know? You have a massive hit with something you’re not particularly fond of, and it’s not a good feeling.” Schofield added “Of course it’s gonna haunt you forever then.” Moyet stated “Oh yeah it does, you know?”

In an interview by Ian Wade for The Quietus in May 2013, Wade had commented “You seem much happier that you have fuller control over everything.” Moyet mentioned the song in her response, where she stated “What I must say is that it’s sometimes very easy to sit there and rescind responsibility, but sometimes I couldn’t be arsed. That’s the truth of it. We can all make the right choices, but sometimes we’re just too lazy to. And sometimes I was just too lazy to do it myself. “Love Letters” and “Weak in the Presence of Beauty” – neither song I enjoy now – they’re both my fault. I found them. That was when I was feeling smart, thinking that I knew what a hit was – I don’t know what’s a fucking hit! But they were hits, and now I’m forever to fucking sing them years later!”

In a June 2013 interview by Chi Ming Lai for The Electricity Club, Moyet spoke of the song and her reason for recording the track. Lai asked “Was that the same circumstances when you released “Love Letters” after the success of “Raindancing”?” Moyet replied “Love Letters” was me shooting myself in the foot! That was me being a show-off! That was me showing I had an A&R thing… “oh, I know what a hit is”! I did that twice, I did it with that and with “Weak in the Presence of Beauty”! Two times that I recorded songs knowing they were hits as opposed to the fact I loved them! I say that honestly, that’s the only time I’ve ever recorded anything cynically!”

“Weak In The Presence Of Beauty” failed to chart in the US but was a top ten hit in the UK peaking at #6. The song also charted in several other countries, Ireland #4, New Zealand #7, Norway #4 and #9 in France.

SIDE A:
Weak In The Presence Of Beauty (Extended Remix) 6:07
Mixed By – Scott Litt

SIDE B:
Weak In The Presence Of Beauty (Single Version) 3:40
Mixed By – Scott Litt

To Work On You 4:16

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Columbia ‎– 44 06940
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer – Jimmy Iovine
Producer [Associate] – Mike Shipley

NOTES:
Special versions from the LP “RAINDANCING”

Find the 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck 
Speed Control: Pro-Ject Speed Box S
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

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

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi