Category: Andrew Ridgeley

March 25, 2014

Wham! – Freedom (Japan 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

“Freedom” is a song by British pop duo Wham! released in 1984, becoming the group’s second UK #1 hit. It was written and produced by George Michael, one half of the duo.

Wham! had already enjoyed a successful 1984 by the time “Freedom” was released in August of that year. “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” had given them their first UK #1 and had then reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA. George had then gone to #1 with a solo single, “Careless Whisper”.

“Freedom” was #1 in the UK for three weeks and featured on the album Make It Big, which was issued at the same time. “Freedom” was the 10th biggest selling single of 1984. This song also reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US the following year. The music video, coinciding with the 1985 US release, features the band touring around Beijing, China. Wham! were the first western pop group to tour that country.

The melody of the song was used by George Michael as an introduction to his song, “Faith”, played on a church organ.

Included as a bonus is the single remix of “Freedom” which was taken from the US 12″ promo. This version contains an alternate ending.

SIDE A:
Freedom (Long Version) 7:05

SIDE B:
Freedom (Instrumental) 5:04

BONUS TRACK:
Freedom (Single Remix) 5:19

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1984	Freedom	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#3
1984	Freedom	U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	#4

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic ‎– 12•3P- 573
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Japan
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Photography By – Chris Craymer
Written-By, Arranged By, Producer – George Michael

NOTES:
Taken from the LP: “MAKE IT BIG”

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
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: ClickRepair (DeClick Level 3)
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

March 24, 2014

Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (Japan 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

“Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” is a two-million-selling, Platinum-certified 1984 song by the English pop duo Wham!, which became their first American and UK #1 hit. It was written and produced by George Michael, one half of the duo.

The song entered the UK singles chart at number four — after much hype from the duo claiming they would go straight in at number one, which was a rare occurrence then — and climbed to the top spot seven days later, staying there for two weeks.

SIDE A:
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go 3:51

SIDE B:
A Ray Of Sunshine (Specially Recorded For The Tube) 4:52
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (Instrumental) 4:02

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1984	Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#1
1984	Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go	U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	#4
1984	Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play	#27

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic/Sony ‎– 12-3P-536
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Japan
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Arranged By – George Michael
Producer – George Michael
Written By – George Michael

NOTES:
Special thanks to Siobhan (Who has the unviable task of “WAKING” us up)
Photography by Koh Hasebe (Music Life)
Wham! Fan Club, PO Box, 1AP, London, W1AP

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

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

March 21, 2014

Wham! – Club Fantastic Megamix (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

Re-Rip Newly Remastered!

Originally I posted this one on June 24, 2011. 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 Super 30 stylus. This 12″ is also being posted in 24 bit flac for the very first time!

“Club Fantastic Megamix” was a single released by Wham! in 1983, and was the last single release for the duo on Inner Vision Records. The single was released three months after Wham! had begun proceedings to leave the label, and was disapproved of by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. The single, which consisted of a mix of the tracks “A Ray of Sunshine”, “Love Machine”, and “Come On” off the album Fantastic, reached number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. The single was not released in the US.

SIDE A:
Club Fantastic Megamix 8:34
Mixed By, Arranged By – Megamix Club, The

(A.1) A Ray Of Sunshine
Written-By – George Michael

(A.2) Love Machine
Written-By – W Griffin*, W Moore*

(A.3) Come On
Written-By – George Michael

(A.4) A Ray Of Sunshine
Written-By – George Michael

SIDE B:
A Ray Of Sunshine (Instrumental Remix) 5:40
Written-By, Arranged By – George Michael

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Inner Vision – TA 3586
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Design [Sleeve] – Shoot That Tiger!
Photography – Chris Craymer
Producer – George Michael, Steve Brown

NOTES:
The album “FANTASTIC” also available on cassette.

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

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

March 20, 2014

Wham! – Club Tropicana (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

Re-Rip Newly Remastered!

Originally I posted this one on March 25, 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 Super 30 stylus. This 12″ is also being posted in 24 bit flac for the very first time!

“Club Tropicana” is a song by British pop duo Wham!, released in 1983 on Innervision Records. It was written by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.

The song was a mild departure from Wham!’s previous singles, which had all been motivated by social or political issues. “Club Tropicana”, however, was a satire of the boom for cheap package holidays for younger, single people of a hedonistic nature. It was specifically seen in the UK as a swipe at the very popular Club 18-30 scheme.

A memorable video directed by Duncan Gibbins was made at Pikes Hotel in Ibiza, with scenes of George and Andrew on the beach, making eyes at bikini-clad girls played by their backing singers Dee C. Lee and Shirlie Holliman. They were also seen relaxing by a pool and sipping cocktails, along with the famous scene of trumpet-playing taking place in the pool itself. A twist in the sexual tension between the two men and two women was revealed at the end, when it turned out that George and Andrew were airline pilots and Dee and Shirlie were stewardesses.

The song was released in July 1983 and peaked at #4 in the UK, going on to become the 39th best selling single of 1983. It was the fourth and final single to be taken from the album Fantastic. Wham! went on to dominate the UK charts, achieving four #1 singles before splitting at their height in 1986.

The B-side, “Blue (Armed With Love)”, is a semi-instrumental dub track of higher quality than is generally expected for B-side material, and would not have been out of place on Fantastic. It in fact appeared as a bonus track on the Japanese pic disc version of the album. During their “Club Fantastic” tour in late 1983 and in 1985 in China, they performed this song live, complete with sung verses, and the result was released as “Blue (Live In China)” on their 1986 LP Music from the Edge of Heaven as well as the B-side of 1985’s single release of “Last Christmas.” The studio version of the song has not appeared on CD except for a single CD in Japan. It was also overlooked for the 25th Anniversary rerelease of The Final, even though this version claimed to be accurate to the original release.

SIDE A:
Club Tropicana 4:27
Engineer – Tony Taverner
Producer – Steve Brown
Recorded By, Mixed By – George Michael , Steve Brown
Written-By – Andrew Ridgely*

SIDE B:
Blue (Armed With Love) 3:53
Engineer – Chris Porter

Club Tropicana (Instrumental) 3:30
Engineer – Tony Taverner
Producer – Steve Brown
Recorded By, Mixed By – George Michael , Steve Brown
Written-By – Andrew Ridgely*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Inner Vision – TA 3613
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Mastered By – Arun*

NOTES:
‘Club Tropicana’ is taken from the album & cassette “FANTASTIC” which also includes
‘Bad Boys’, ‘Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?)’ and ‘Young Guns (Go For It!)’.
Special thanks to Margaret Holliman.
Thanks to everybody who has helped put the album & singles together.

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

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