Baltimora – Tarzan Boy (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

“Tarzan Boy” is the debut single by Italian-based act Baltimora. The song was written by Maurizio Bassi and Naimy Hackett, and released in 1985 as the lead single from Baltimora’s debut album Living in the Background.

The refrain uses Tarzan’s cry as a melodic line. The song is rhythmical, with an electronic melody and simple lyrics. Baltimora is often considered a one-hit wonder due to the success they experienced with “Tarzan Boy”.

“Tarzan Boy” was an international hit, debuting in the top-five of the Italian charts and performing well in many other European countries, including Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands. “Tarzan Boy” was most successful in France, where it topped the chart for five consecutive weeks. In the United Kingdom, it reached number three in August 1985. The single had success in the United States (where it was released by EMI), with the single remaining on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six months and ultimately peaking at number 13 on March 1st, 1986.

SIDE A:
Tarzan Boy (Extended Dance Version) 6:08

SIDE B:
Tarzan Boy (Single Version) 3:47
Tarzan Boy (Extended Dub Version) 5:02

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1986 Tarzan Boy U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #13
1986 Tarzan Boy U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play #6
1986 Tarzan Boy U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play Maxi-Singles Sales #12

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Manhattan Records ‎– V 56011, Manhattan Records ‎– V-56011
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Maxi-Single, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Italo-Disco, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Mixed By [Mixato] – Jurgen Coppers*
Producer, Arranged By – Maurizio Bassi
Recorded By – Paolo Mescoli
Words By, Music By – Maurizio Bassi, Naimy Hackett

NOTES:
Mixato al Paradise Studios Monaco, Tecnico
Printed in U.S.A.
Recorded in Italy.
Mastered at Masterdisk, IL.

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 
Phono Pre-amp:
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube:
Tung-Sol 12AX7 TubeGold Pins
Soundcard:
Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
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: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
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)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

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memoryboy
memoryboy
July 13, 2018 2:34 pm

What a fun song, always loved it. I remember buying the 45 on vinyl when it came out. I love that you included the single version. Thanks for posting this.

RCDavies
RCDavies
July 10, 2018 6:20 pm

I’ve silently hoped you would would rip this for quite some time. Not wishing to bug you with requests, I’ve always figured it would eventually happen. Thanks a million.

Hope everything is calming down for you and your extended family concerning their health and happiness.

Thanks again.

Goodguy
Goodguy
July 10, 2018 2:49 pm

Thanks so much for this one. It was my entry into the world of Italo-Disco at the time. 🙂

Sadly, the buses in New York don’t have much love for you…

comment image

Uncultured misanthropes, I say! 😉

OMAR
OMAR
July 10, 2018 1:37 pm

Thanks Paul. This brings back many memories.

Mark
Mark
July 10, 2018 1:33 pm

I saw the Top Of The Pops performance from 1985 recently on BBC4 here in the UK. Cool you posted this today.

Cheers Paul 🙂

Jay
Jay
July 10, 2018 12:17 pm

Big goofy smile seeing today’s choice 🙂
Definitely a guilty pleasure for me.

Not a cool record to admit liking back in the day..
But damn, it’s a great slice of 80’s pop pleasure.
Great 80s production sound too 🙂
Sheer undiluted fun. Still makes me wanna dance around all these years later !!

xox

Walter C
Walter C
July 10, 2018 11:52 am

It is quite strange that the Irish singer Jimmy McShane (aka Baltimora) does not appear in the credits, he died of AIDS in 1995.

Walter C
Walter C
Reply to  DjPaulT
July 10, 2018 7:40 pm

Even when the news are not good, I’m happy to be able to contribute something to your extraordinary blog. Another bad news that went unnoticed was the death of “Flash And The Pan” frontman George Young (brother of the other ‘Youngs’ from AC/DC) just 10 days after your last post related to the band.

Ziv
Ziv
Reply to  Walter C
July 12, 2018 1:06 pm

Jimmy McShane was the modal and not the real singer.

Hugo
Hugo
July 10, 2018 11:45 am

Underrated 80’s song after 33 years, it rarely gets remembered IMO.
Thanks, DJPaul please keep it coming. ohhoho ho hoo…

BTW, any luck with the “Other People – Have a nice day” by Dave Ball?

Hugo

JJ
JJ
July 10, 2018 11:27 am

Hi Paul, this is fun! Will make a great addition to an 80s novelty playlist. Also, thank you for the Helen Reddy “Imagination” just recently. Do you know if the lead single off that album (“Don’t Tell Me Tonight”) ever got a remix treatment? There was a period there in the early/mid 80s where Olivia Newton-John, Melissa Manchester, Diana Ross, even Helen Reddy were turning out some great pop/dance product that got overlooked.