Category: George Michael

March 15, 2014

Wham! – Young Guns (Go For It) (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

“Young Guns (Go For It)” was the second single by British duo Wham! taken from their debut album “Fantastic”. The single was released in October 1982 on Innervison Records.

The song was Wham!’s first hit, although it came with some help from the BBC music programme Top of the Pops, which invited Wham! on to the show as a last-minute replacement for another act which had pulled out. It helped that the producer of Top of the Pops had seen them previously on another programme: Saturday Superstore. Wham! were just outside the Top 40 threshold of the UK Singles Chart at the time, which meant they had not climbed high enough in normal circumstances to get on the show, but they were recruited nonetheless as the highest-placed artists still climbing the charts from outside the 40.

The song entered the chart initially at Number 73, went up to Number 48, then dropped to Number 52 and the week after that, it jumped to Number 42.[ Their appearance on Top of the Pops broke the record wide open and on the following Monday the distribution centre received some thirty thousand orders. This sent the record to Number 24 before eventually peaking at Number 3 in November 1982. In the US the song reached #21 on the Billboard Dance Chart this would be Wham!’s first US charting single.

SIDE A:
Young Guns (Go For It) (12″ Version) 5:10

SIDE B:
Going For It 4:50

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1983	Young Guns (Go For It)	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play	#21

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label:Inner Vision ‎– IVL A 13 2766, Inner Vision ‎– IVL A13 2766
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: Oct 1982
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Producer –George Michael, Steve Brown
Written-By – George Michael

NOTES:
Special thanks to Shirlie Lorraine.
Made in England.

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 14, 2014

Wham! – Enjoy What You Do (Wham Rap!) (US 12″ Promo)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

“Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)” was the debut single by British pop duo Wham!, released in 1982 on Innervision Records. The US Promo 12″ single was titled “Enjoy What You Do (Wham Rap!) and contained remixes by Francois Kevorkian which are unique to this 12”. It was written by George Michael, one half of the duo. The song failed make an impact on the US charts.

According to Rob Jovanovic in his 2007 biography of George Michael, the song “depicted the world as they saw it” although it was “hardly a rap as we know it today.” The message is that if you’re young and unemployed, have fun. Of course, most people who are faced with especially long term unemployment find life a struggle, but youthful optimism certainly paid off for this dynamic duo. David Austin and Paul Ridgeley (Andrew’s brother) added backing vocals.

SIDE A:
Enjoy What You Do (Wham Rap!) (Vocal) 7:01

SIDE B:
Enjoy What You Do (Wham Rap!) (Instrumental) 6:06

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint (generic sleeve)

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Inner Vision ‎– 44-03177, Columbia ‎– 44-03177
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Promo, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic, Hip Hop, Funk / Soul
Style: Synth-pop, Pop Rap, Funk, Disco
Credits: Engineer – John Potoker
Mixed By – Francois Kevorkian*
Producer – Bob Carter
Written-By – A. Ridgeley*, G. Michael*

NOTES:
DEMONSTRATION NOT FOR SALE

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

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

March 13, 2014

Wham! – Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) (Netherlands 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

Re-Rip Newly Remastered!

Originally I posted this one on May 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! The original 12″ that I posted in 2011 was the UK pressing at 45 RPM and did not have a picture sleeve. Since then I obtained the Netherlands pressing which is mastered at 33 ⅓ RPM and includes the original picture sleeve.

This is Wham!’s debut single in with its initial white cover featuring drawings of the bands heads. It features different mixes than the re-release and some lyrics of the “Social Mix” are quite different to other versions/mixes of the song.

“Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)”‘ is a 1982 song by British pop duo Wham! on Innervision Records. It was written by Wham! members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.

The song, which had been tentatively released in June 1982 when Wham! were unknowns and failed to make any impact, was re-issued in January 1983 after the duo had achieved their breakthrough with “Young Guns (Go For It!)”.

Although rap was still an underground and almost exclusively American phenomenon in the early 1980s, as the title implies, George rapped a number of verses about the joys of living every day to the fullest, which meant that being gainfully employed was not an option, and ‘having fun with the boys down the (welfare) line’. The chorus asked the question “Do you enjoy what you do?”, which brought about the bracketed section of the title. The video depicted George and Andrew Ridgeley in their leather jackets, combining their moody image with a bright, effervescent choreography.

Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) – the full version of which was almost seven minutes long – reached #8 in the UK singles chart, the second of four hits from Wham!’s debut album Fantastic. The duo would go on to enjoy four UK #1 hits before splitting at their height in 1986. On the flip side of their farewell single The Edge of Heaven was an updated version of the song, entitled Wham! Rap ’86.

The song was explicitly political and slightly revolutionary. It flew in the face of the conventional British Left-wing who were talking about the ‘Right to work’ at the time.

SIDE A:
Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) (Unsocial Mix) 6:33

SIDE B:
Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) (Social Mix) 6:42

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Cover: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1982	Wham Rap!	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	Did Not Chart
1982	Wham Rap!	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	Did Not Chart

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic ‎– EPCA 12-2442, Inner Vision ‎– A 12.2442
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: Netherlands
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic, Hip Hop, Pop
Style: Pop Rap, Synth-pop
Credits:Design – XL Design
Producer – Bob Carter
Ridgeley*, Panos (2)

NOTES:
Rear cover lists tracks as:
A. Wham Rap (Enjoy What You Do) Special US 12″ Remix
B. Wham Rap (Enjoy What You Do)

Label lists Side A as the “Social Mix” but plays the “Unsocial Mix” and vice versa.

Printed in Holland.

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

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

December 11, 2013

Wham! – Everything She Wants (Japan 7″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

“Everything She Wants” is a song by British pop duo Wham!, released in 1984 on Epic Records. In the UK and Europe the song was released on a double A-side with “Last Christmas”. It was written and produced by George Michael, one half of the duo.

Upon release, “Last Christmas” took the majority of the attention and airplay as it was appropriate in early December as Christmas approached. However, the presence of an equally-billed flip side meant that radio stations had something else to play once “Last Christmas” had lost its topicality.

The presence of the Band Aid project meant that the double A-side peaked at number two in the UK Singles Chart, although in the process it became the biggest selling record not to get to number one. However, in the USA, the song did reach the summit of the Billboard Hot 100, and became the third number-one song in a row from 1984’s Make It Big album.

Wham! would go on to have two more number-one hits in the UK before splitting at their height in 1986.

This Japanese 7″ pressing contains a special message from Wham! thanking their Japanese fans for their support. In Japan Wham! were wildly popular. This track is exlusive to this release.

SIDE A:
Everything She Wants (7″ Remix) 5:31

SIDE B:
Like A Baby 4:11
Message From Wham! 0:50

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1984	Everything She Wants	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#1
1984	Everything She Wants	U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	#4
1984	Everything She Wants	U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles	#12
1984	Everything She Wants	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	#7

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic ‎– 07•5P-336
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: Japan
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Design – Peter Saville (2)
Photography – Martyn Goddard
Recorded By – Chris Porter
Written-By, Arranged By, Producer – George Michael

NOTES:
Special versions from the Epic LP:
“MAKE IT BIG”

Find The 7″ On DISCOGS

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