Category: George Michael

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

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 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

March 19, 2014

Wham! – Bad Boys/Club Tropicana (Japan 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

“Bad Boys/Club Tropicana” was a 1983 single released in Japan. The single is housed in a unique picture sleeve. This record is quite cofusing due to the front cover stating “Extended Club Mix Versions” in the plural sense. However if you flip the sleeve over and look at the back cover “Extended Club Mix Version” is only listed above “Bad Boys”. There has never been an official “Extended” version of “Club Tropicana” released.

I am posting this record just to clear up the “Club Tropicana” mystery and aside from the flawless Japanese pressing the artwork is great too. I have scanned the record with the Japanese OBI strip and without so you can see the full sleeve.

SIDE A:
Bad Boys (Extended Club Mix Version) 4:52
Arranged By , Co-producer , Written-By – George Michael
Producer – Steve Brown

SIDE B:
Club Tropicana 4:27
Producer – George Michael, Steve Brown
Written-By – Andrew Ridgeley, George Michael

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic ‎– 12-3P-512
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Japan
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Photography By – Brian Aris

NOTES:
Taken From The LP “FANTASTIC”

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

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

March 17, 2014

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

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

“Young Guns (Go For It)” was released in the US in 1982 like the previous single “Wham Rap!” a different remix was used for the 12″ single release however ther is no remixer credit given. “Young Guns (Go For It)” debuted on the US dance chart on March 19, 1983 after spending 13 weeks on the survey the single peaked at #21.

George wrote the song about a teenage lad’s worry that his best friend was getting too committed to a girl when he should have been enjoying his youth and the single life. It featured a middle eight aside in which the girl conversely tried to get her boyfriend to ditch the best friend, prompting a vocal battle, akin to a tug of war, between the girlfriend and the best friend which prompted the “go for it!” aspect of the song, as featured in the title.

On Top of the Pops, George mimed the vocals to his Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley, who “acted” the part of the teenage bridegroom-in-waiting. They were flanked by backing singers Dee C. Lee and Shirlie Holliman.

SIDE A:
Young Guns (Go For It) (Club Mix) 6:53

SIDE B:
Going For It! 4:50

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

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: Columbia ‎– 44-03501, Inner Vision ‎– 44-03501
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Promo, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Producer – George Michael, Steve Brown
Written-By – 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