Category: Pet Shop Boys

April 16, 2018

Eighth Wonder – I’m Not Scared (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1989

“I’m Not Scared” is a 1988 song recorded by British pop band Eighth Wonder. The group’s fifth single, the first single from the album Fearless, was released in 1988. It achieved success in France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and the UK, where it was a top ten hit. Written by the Pet Shop Boys, the original version contains several words in French. “J’ai pas peur”, the B-side of the vinyl, is the French adaptation of “I’m Not Scared”.

The Pet Shop Boys also released their own version of the song, with Neil Tennant vocals, on the album Introspective.

SIDE A:
I’m Not Scared (Long Euro Mix) 7:59
Keyboards – Ian Curnow
Producer – Pet Shop Boys, Phil Harding
Written-By – N. Tennant, C. Lowe*

J’ai Pas Peur (French Version) 5:46
Keyboards – Ian Curnow
Producer – Pet Shop Boys, Phil Harding
Written-By – N. Tennant, C. Lowe*

SIDE B:
I’m Not Scared (Little Louie Vega Mix) 7:17
Edited By – Tony Moran
Remix – “Little” Louie Vega
Producer – Pet Shop Boys, Phil Harding
Written-By – N. Tennant, C. Lowe

Baby Baby (Dusted Mix) 6:01
Producer – Pete Hammond
Written-By – A. Godson*, J. Forte*, P. Kensit*, S. Domingo*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: WTG Records ‎– 41 68820
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1989
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Featuring – Patsy Kensit

NOTES:
Special Versions from the LP “FEARLESS”

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

March 6, 2018

Pet Shop Boys – Love Comes Quickly (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

Originally posted February 13, 2012

“Love Comes Quickly” is a song by UK synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys, released as the third single from their 1986 debut album Please, and the last of its singles to be released before the album itself. Although a Top 20 hit in the UK and cited as one the band’s own favorite songs, its chart performance was disappointing given that it followed the worldwide number one “West End Girls”. It peaked at number 19 in the UK in March 1986.

The song is about the inevitability of falling in love, even for those who deliberately shun the idea.

Producer Stephen Hague receives a co-writing credit for writing the first two chords of the middle section of the song. Andy Mackay of Roxy Music plays the saxophone parts towards the end of the song.

As with “Opportunities”, the 12″ version of the single contains remixes by 1980s producer Shep Pettibone. The remixes of “Love Comes Quickly” and “That’s My Impression” reached the top ten on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in October 1986. Later, in 2003, new remixes by Blank & Jones were produced for the promotion of the singles collection PopArt.

The cover, featuring Chris Lowe in a baseball cap emblazoned with “BOY” in block letters, has become an iconic Pet Shop Boys image. Neil Tennant of the duo later recollected that he had expected the image of the cap to be the group’s coming out moment, calling it “incredibly gay”.

Directed by Andy Morahan and Eric Watson, the video to the song is very simple, utilizing facial shots of Tennant singing, interposed with blurry montages of the faces of various other people; at points, shots of Lowe, lying on top of a construction of a square grid, are superimposed over these shots. Watson would later call it a “complete disaster”.

SIDE A:
Love Comes Quickly (Pettibone Mastermix) 7:36
Producer – Stephen Hague
Remix – Shep Pettibone

Love Comes Quickly (Dub Version) 6:56
Producer – Stephen Hague
Remix – Shep Pettibone

SIDE B:
Love Comes Quickly (Dance Mix) 6:49
Producer, Remix – Stephen Hague

That’s My Impression (Disco Mix) 5:17
Producer – Pet Shop Boys

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1986	Love Comes Quickly	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#62
1986	Love Comes Quickly	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	#10
1986	Love Comes Quickly	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	#37

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI America ‎– V-19218
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 24 Feb 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Written-By – N. Tennant-C. Lowe*

NOTES:
Love Comes Quickly album version can be heard on the lp, “PLEASE”
That’s My Impression not available on the lp, “PLEASE”
Tracks are listed incorrectly on sleeve.
Printed in the U.S.A.

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

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

February 5, 2018

Pet Shop Boys – It’s A Sin (Remix) (Ltd. Edition UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1987

“It’s a Sin” is a song recorded by English synthpop duo the Pet Shop Boys which reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in 1987, and was their third top ten in the US when it reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100.

In the U.K. a limited edition 12″ was released which included a remix by Ian Levine.

The b-side “You Know Where You Went Wrong (Rough Mix)” is a track the boys worked on with Shep Pettibone. The inspiration came from Chris Lowe: “He’d been walking through Covent Garden and there were two tramps in this doorway and one of them turned round to the other one and said, ‘well, you know where you went wrong’. For the ‘It’s A Sin’ limited 12” release, a ‘rough mix’ was released that features a speaking part by Helena Springs, who also sings backup vocal. This version has not appeared on any official CD.

SIDE A:
It’s A Sin (Remix) 8:15
Producer [Additional Production] – Stephen Hague
Producer, Engineer – Julian Mendelsohn
Programmed By [Fairlight] – Andy Richards
Remix – Ian Levine

SIDE B:
You Know Where You Went Wrong (Rough Mix) 6:38
Engineer – Dave Meegan
Keyboards [Additional Keyboards] – Adrien Cook
Producer – Pet Shop Boys, Shep Pettibone
Vocals [Additional Vocals] – Helena Springs

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1987	It’s A Sin	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#9
1987	It’s A Sin	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	#3

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Parlophone ‎– 12RX 6158, Parlophone ‎– 12RX6158
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: 06 Jul 1987
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Design [Sleeve Designed By] – Mark Farrow, Pet Shop Boys
Written-By –Tennant / Lowe

NOTES:
Helena Springs, courtesy of Arista Records.
Sleeve designed at ③
Manufactured in the UK by EMI Records Limited

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

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

January 3, 2018

Pet Shop Boys – Left To My Own Devices (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1988

“Left to My Own Devices” is a song recorded by Pet Shop Boys, released as the second single from their third studio album, Introspective.

The single fared better than the album’s lead single, “Domino Dancing”, charting three positions higher in the UK Singles Chart, at Number 4. It became the first track that Pet Shop Boys recorded with an orchestra, arranged by Richard Niles. Since its release, it has become a staple of Pet Shop Boys live performances.

In the U.S. the single only managed to rech #84 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. “Left To My Own Devices” was a bigger hit in U.S. dance clubs peaking at #8 on the Billboard Dance Chart.

SIDE A:
Left To My Own Devices (The Disco Mix) 11:28
Arranged By [Orchestra], Conductor – Richard Niles
Remix – Robin Hancock, Stephen Lipson, Trevor Horn
Vocals [Additional] – Bruce Woolley, Sally Bradshaw

SIDE B:
Left To My Own Devices 4:46
Arranged By [Orchestra], Conductor – Richard Niles
Vocals [Additional] – Bruce Woolley

The Sound Of The Atom Splitting 3:29
Engineer [Assistant] – Renny Hill
Written-By – Lipson*, Tennant/Lowe*, Horn*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1988	Left To My Own Devices	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#84
1988	Left To My Own Devices	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#8
1988	Left To My Own Devices	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	#25

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI-Manhattan Records ‎– V-56121, EMI USA ‎– V-56121
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: House, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Arranged By, Producer – Stephen Lipson, Trevor Horn
Design – Mark Farrow, Pet Shop Boys
Engineer –Stephen Lipson
Engineer [Assistant] – Danton Supple
Photography By – Michael Roberts (6)
Written-By – Tennant and Lowe* (tracks: A, B1)

NOTES:
Mark Farrow at Three Associates
Printed in U.S.A.

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

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