Klymaxx – Man Size Love (US 12″) (1986)

Burning The Ground

Yesterday we went back to Summer School.

Today we are…

Running Scared.

And longtime readers of this series may be thinking, “Haven’t we been here before?”

Yes, we have.

Earlier in Ladies Of The 80’s: Soundtrack Edition, we visited the 1986 film Running Scared for Kim Wilde’s “Say You Really Want Me.”

Apparently one trip to Chicago was not enough.

For the second-to-last entry in the series, we return to the soundtrack for Klymaxx and “Man Size Love.”

Running Scared, directed by Peter Hyams, stars Gregory Hines and Billy Crystal as Chicago police detectives Ray Hughes and Danny Costanzo, two wisecracking partners who decide they have had enough of police work and plan to retire to Key West.

Naturally, there is one more case to finish first.

Because retirement in an ’80s buddy-cop movie is never that easy.

The film was released on June 27, 1986, and also stars Jimmy Smits, Steven Bauer, Darlanne Fluegel, Joe Pantoliano, and Dan Hedaya. It went on to earn more than $38 million at the US box office.

Then there is the soundtrack.

This was no collection of leftovers.

Rod Temperton played a major role in the project, with Temperton, Dick Rudolph, and legendary engineer Bruce Swedien producing the soundtrack album. Temperton also wrote several of its songs.

And look at the lineup.

Klymaxx.

Michael McDonald.

Ready For The World.

New Edition.

Patti LaBelle.

Kim Wilde.

Fee Waybill.

There is a lot happening on this record.

“Man Size Love” opens the soundtrack, and it was written by Rod Temperton, the man whose résumé includes Heatwave’s “Boogie Nights,” George Benson’s “Give Me The Night,” and, of course, Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You” and “Thriller.”

So expectations are already pretty high.

Temperton produced “Man Size Love” with Dick Rudolph and Bruce Swedien, giving the record the kind of polished pop, R&B, and dance production you would expect from that team.

Big synthesizers.

A funky bass line.

Those unmistakable mid-’80s drums.

And Klymaxx coming at the song with plenty of attitude.

Subtle?

Not particularly.

But with a title like “Man Size Love,” subtle probably was not on the agenda.

Klymaxx were already enjoying a major breakthrough by this point. Their previous single, the ballad “I Miss You,” had climbed all the way to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Man Size Love” proved they could follow a big ballad with something completely different.

The single reached No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 43 on the R&B chart, and No. 18 on Billboard’s Dance Club chart. It also reached No. 55 in Canada.

Across the Atlantic, the single received another chance in early 1987 and reached No. 86 on the UK Singles Chart.

There was also an official promotional video for the song, giving Klymaxx plenty of visibility during the summer of 1986.

But, of course, we are here for the 12-inch.

And this one does not disappoint.

The US 12-inch takes “Man Size Love” far beyond the soundtrack version, with an Extended Remix and Instrumental on one side before things become considerably more adventurous with the Man Size Mix and Son Of Man Size Mix.

Whoever named these mixes understood the assignment.

The Man Size Mix stretches the track to nearly nine minutes, while the Son Of Man Size Mix gives us another alternate treatment. Louil Silas Jr. was involved with the extended remix work, with Taavi Mote engineering the remix.

Once again, the 12-inch becomes more than simply a longer version of the hit.

The rhythm gets pulled apart.

Vocals move in and out.

Percussion gets extra room.

Little pieces of Rod Temperton’s arrangement that pass quickly in the regular version suddenly get their own moment.

This is exactly why I love these records.

The soundtrack gives you the song.

The 12-inch lets you climb inside it.

“Man Size Love” was later included on Klymaxx’s self-titled 1986 album, but its original identity remains strongly connected to Running Scared.

And it was not the only hit the movie produced.

Michael McDonald’s “Sweet Freedom” reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, while New Edition’s “Once In A Lifetime Groove” became a Top 10 R&B and Dance hit.

For a buddy-cop comedy, Running Scared certainly knew how to fill a dance floor.

So here we are.

Four weeks.

Dozens of movies, singers, remixes, dubs, bonus beats, gophers, summer schools, and more 12-inch vinyl than any sensible person should probably own.

And now only one entry remains.

But before we roll the final reel tomorrow…

Klymaxx has one request.

No small love.

No medium love.

Today…

we’re going Man Size.

SIDE A:
Man Size Love (Extended Remix) 4:43
Engineer [Remix] – Bruce Swedien

Man Size Love (Instrumental) 4:39
Engineer [Remix] – Bruce Swedien

SIDE B:
Man Size Love (Man Size Mix) 8:41
Engineer [Remix] – Taavi Mote
Remix – Louil Silas Jr.

Man Size Love (Son Of Man Size Mix) 6:47
Engineer [Remix] – Taavi Mote
Remix – Louil Silas Jr.

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

“Man Size Love” Chart Performance 1986	Peak Position
Canada RPM Top Singles	55
UK Singles Chart	86
US Billboard Hot 100	15
US Billboard Hot Black Singles	43
US Billboard Hot Dance/Disco	18

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: MCA Records – MCA-23642
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: Jul 1986
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Style: Synth-pop, Electro

CREDITS:

Arranged By [Horns] – Larry Williams
Producer, Recorded By, Mixed By, Remix – Bruce Swedien
Producer, Remix – Dick Rudolph*
Producer, Written-By, Arranged By, Arranged By [Horns], Remix – Rod Temperton

NOTES:
Theme from the Motion Picture, “Running Scared”

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon Concorde Music Black
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Ject Tube Box DS2
Phono Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
Audio Interface: MOTU M4
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Cleaning Solution: Turgikleen Record Cleaning Solution
Scanner: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 25 (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

PLEASE READ

There are two 24-Bit links; if one does not work, try the other

**24-bit FLAC Only Available For SIX Days!

Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by donating using PayPal.

I appreciate your help.

August 18, 2026

E.G. Daily – Mind Over Matter (US 12″) (1987)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

Before I take my own summer break on Friday, apparently I have to go back to school.

Summer School, that is.

Today begins the final three entries of Ladies Of The 80’s: Soundtrack Edition, and we are heading back to 1987 for E.G. Daily and “Mind Over Matter.”

This one was previously posted in 2017, but today’s post features a brand-new 2026 vinyl transfer. I went back to the original US 12-inch and recorded it again from scratch using my current equipment and restoration process.

This is not a remaster of the files posted in 2017.

Class is officially back in session.

Summer School was released in July 1987, directed by Carl Reiner and starring Mark Harmon as Freddy Shoop, a high-school gym teacher whose summer vacation plans are ruined when he is forced to teach remedial English. Kirstie Alley, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Dean Cameron, Gary Riley, and Patrick Labyorteaux are among the cast.

It is exactly the kind of premise that seemed perfectly reasonable in an ’80s comedy.

The soundtrack is also a wonderfully mixed bag of 1987 rock and dance music, with tracks by E.G. Daily, Elisa Fiorillo, Paul Engemann, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Billy Burnette, Tone Norum, and others. Daily actually appears twice, contributing both “Mind Over Matter” and “Seduction.”

But “Mind Over Matter” has the really interesting story.

The song was written by Michael Jay and Rick Palombi, and an earlier version had already been recorded by Nikki Leeger before Summer School came along. Debbie Harry then recorded the song for the film project, but record-label complications prevented her version from becoming the soundtrack single. E.G. Daily was brought in to record a new version instead.

And who produced it?

Stock Aitken Waterman.

Now we’re talking.

Daily flew to London and recorded the track with Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman, giving “Mind Over Matter” that unmistakable PWL energy.

Big drums.

Bright synthesizers.

A relentless beat.

And E.G. Daily throwing herself into the vocal like summer vacation depends on it.

Considering this was 1987, Stock Aitken Waterman were just about to become completely unavoidable. Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” was exploding internationally, and Kylie Minogue was right around the corner.

“Mind Over Matter” sits right in the middle of that fascinating period when the PWL sound was becoming one of the defining pop sounds of the late ’80s.

The song also received a music video featuring several members of the Summer School cast, helping tie the record directly back to the movie. The clip received MTV exposure during the summer of 1987.

The US only 12-inch released by A&M Records gives us the Remix on Side A and the Edit on Side B.

The Remix runs just over seven minutes, giving the already energetic production considerably more room to stretch out.

And this is exactly the kind of record the 12-inch format was made for.

The rhythm keeps driving.

The synths keep coming.

E.G. keeps pushing.

Nobody is getting dismissed early from this class.

The record became a substantial US dance hit, reaching No. 7 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.

It did not cross over to the Billboard Hot 100, but years later it has become one of those wonderfully recognizable pieces of late-’80s dance-pop that deserves another listen.

E.G. Daily herself is one of those artists whose career seems to turn up everywhere once you start looking. Music fans know her from records like “Say It, Say It,” “Love In The Shadows,” and her contributions to Better Off Dead. Movie fans know her as Dottie from Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. And an entirely different generation grew up hearing her as the voice of Tommy Pickles on Rugrats and Buttercup on The Powerpuff Girls.

That is quite a résumé.

But today we are staying in 1987.

One movie.

One US 12-inch.

One brand-new 2026 transfer.

And one lesson that apparently even summer school can teach us:

When the music is this good…

it really is Mind Over Matter.

SIDE A:
Mind Over Matter (Remix) 7:05

SIDE B:
Mind Over Matter (Edit) 6:22

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

“Mind Over Matter” Chart Performance 1987	Peak Position
New Zealand Singles Chart	37
UK Singles Chart	96
US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	7
US Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales	17
US Cash Box Top 12″ Dance Singles	22

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: A&M Records – SP-12246
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Electronic
Style: Hi NRG, Synth-pop

CREDITS:

Producer – Stock Aitken Waterman*
Written-By – M. Jay*, R. Palombi*

NOTES:
Taken from the soundtrack Album “Summer School”.

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND

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

PLEASE READ

There are two 24-Bit links; if one does not work, try the other

**24-bit FLAC Only Available For SIX Days!

Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by donating using PayPal.

I appreciate your help.

August 17, 2026

Ladies Of The 80’s: Soundtrack Edition – The Final Week

Well, we have made it to the final week.

What originally started as a one-week idea somehow turned into four weeks plus of soundtrack singles, rare 12-inch mixes, forgotten gems, familiar favorites, and quite a few surprises along the way.

And I have loved every minute of it.

The response to Ladies Of The 80’s: Soundtrack Edition has been fantastic, and your comments, memories, stories, and enthusiasm are a big reason the series kept going much longer than I originally planned.

But all good soundtracks eventually reach the closing credits.

This week will be the final chapter… for now.

I will be posting three final entries this week:

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Then, beginning Friday, August 21, I will be taking a two-week vacation and giving both myself and the turntable a little rest.

Do not worry, though.

There are still plenty of soundtrack records sitting in the collection waiting for their moment.

So while this edition is coming to an end, I think it is safe to say…

Ladies Of The 80’s: Soundtrack Edition II will happen at a later date.

A sequel?

Of course.

This is the ’80s.

Everything gets a sequel.

For now, we still have three records left, and I have saved some fun ones for the finish.

Thank you to everyone who has followed the series, downloaded the transfers, shared memories, discovered something new, or simply stopped by to listen.

Now let’s roll the final reel.

Three more Ladies.

Three more soundtracks.

Three more trips back to the ’80s.

See you tomorrow.

-Paul

August 14, 2026

Linda Clifford / Irene Cara – Red Light / Hot Lunch Jam (UK 12″) (1980)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

Yesterday we rocked hard with Suzi Quatro.

Today, lunch is served.

Hot lunch, to be exact.

For today’s Ladies Of The 80s: Soundtrack Edition, we return to 1980 for a terrific UK 12-inch pairing from the original motion picture soundtrack to Fame.

On one side we have Linda Clifford with “Red Light.”

Flip it over and Irene Cara is waiting with “Hot Lunch Jam.”

Two ladies.

Two songs.

One soundtrack.

Not a bad way to spend twelve inches of vinyl.

Directed by Alan Parker, Fame follows a group of students through their years at New York City’s High School of Performing Arts, from auditions through graduation. Irene Cara stars as Coco Hernandez, alongside Gene Anthony Ray, Lee Curreri, Paul McCrane, Barry Miller, Maureen Teefy, and others. The film received its national US release on June 20, 1980.

Of course, the music became almost as important as the movie.

The soundtrack gave us Irene Cara’s “Fame” and “Out Here On My Own,” along with “I Sing The Body Electric,” “Dogs In The Yard,” “Never Alone,” and the two tracks featured on today’s 12-inch. The album itself reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200.

First up is Linda Clifford.

“Red Light” was written by Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford and produced by Michael Gore and Gil Askey. Linda was already well established in the disco world thanks to records such as “If My Friends Could See Me Now,” “Runaway Love,” and her dramatic disco remake of “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

“Red Light” gave her another substantial hit.

The single reached No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 40 on the Hot Soul Singles chart.

But the dance floor liked it even more.

Billboard’s Disco chart grouped “Red Light” with Irene Cara’s “Fame” and “Hot Lunch Jam,” and the three tracks reached No. 1 together.

Now that is one crowded dance floor.

The version on this UK 12-inch is the full-length “Extended Version,” running considerably longer than the edited single version. It is essentially the version that lets Linda stretch out and do what Linda Clifford does best.

Sing big.

Dance big.

And apparently ignore the red light completely.

Then we turn the record over.

Lunch time.

“Hot Lunch Jam” is performed by Irene Cara and was written by Michael Gore, Lesley Gore, and producer Robert F. Colesberry. Michael Gore produced the recording.

The history behind the song is particularly interesting.

According to Alan Parker, “Hot Lunch Jam” grew out of an all-day session in which the young performers contributed ideas as the number took shape. In other words, the loose, spontaneous energy we hear in the finished recording was not entirely an illusion. The song really did evolve as something of a jam.

And it sounds like one.

Piano.

Percussion.

Horns.

Handclaps.

Voices flying everywhere.

Irene right in the middle of it all.

It feels less like a carefully assembled soundtrack recording and more like somebody opened the cafeteria doors and an entire performing arts school broke into music.

Which, come to think of it, is basically Fame.

The UK 12-inch labels Irene’s side “Hot Lunch Jam (Vocal And Melody Arrangement),” while other listings describe it as the Full Length Version. Unlike some of the records we have featured during this series, there is no newly constructed club remix hiding here. The appeal is having these two full-length soundtrack performances together on one 45 RPM 12-inch.

And what a pairing.

Linda Clifford brings the polished disco fire.

Irene Cara brings the spontaneous school-cafeteria chaos.

Somehow, it works.

Fame went on to become much more than another 1980 musical. Michael Gore won the Academy Award for Original Score, while “Fame,” written by Gore and Dean Pitchford, won Best Original Song. “Out Here On My Own” was nominated in the same category. The film was later selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2023.

But today we are moving away from the title song and digging a little deeper into the soundtrack.

That is what this series is all about.

Sometimes the real fun is hiding one or two tracks away from the obvious hit.

So when the red light comes on…

ignore it.

Lunch is ready.

And apparently…

it’s a jam.

SIDE A:
Linda Clifford – Red Light (Extended Version) 6:10
Producer – Gil Askey
Written-By – D. Pitchford*

SIDE B:
Irene Cara – Hot Lunch Jam (Full Length Version) (Vocal & Melody Arrangement) 4:11
Written-By – L. Gore, R.F.Colesberry

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

Single	Chart	Peak Position
Linda Clifford – “Red Light”	US Billboard Hot 100	41
Linda Clifford – “Red Light”	US Billboard Hot Soul Singles	40
Linda Clifford / Irene Cara – “Red Light” / “Hot Lunch Jam”*	US Billboard Disco	1

* Billboard’s Disco chart combined “Fame,” “Red Light,” and “Hot Lunch Jam” as a single chart entry.

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: RSO – RSOX 64
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1980
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Disco

CREDITS:

Producer – Michael Gore
Written-By – M. Gore*

NOTES:
From The Original Soundtrack Of The Motion Picture “Fame” – 2479 253

Made In England

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND

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

PLEASE READ

There are two 24-Bit links; if one does not work, try the other

**24-bit FLAC Only Available For SIX Days!

Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by donating using PayPal.

I appreciate your help.