Den Harrow – Bad Boy (Belgium 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

“Bad Boy” was the second single taken from the debut album “Overpower” by Den Harrow (born 4 June 1962 as Stefano Zandri) an Italo disco artist and fashion model. The name Den Harrow was conceived by producers Roberto Turatti and Miki Chieregato, who based it on the Italian word Denaro (money).

After years of fame and popularity, it was revealed by frontman Stefano Zandri and his producers that Zandri did not actually sing any of the songs credited to Den Harrow; he was essentially a character who lip-synched to vocals recorded by a number of other singers.

“Bad Boy” was actually sung by American vocalist Tom Hooker, also known as Thomas Barbey, who was residing in Italy during the Italo disco era and had several hits under his name. “Bad Boy” charted in several European countries including #3 Italy, #17 France, #20 Germany, #10 Spain and #11 Switzerland becoming one of Den Harrow’s biggest hits.

SIDE A:
Bad Boy (12″ Version) 5:47

SIDE B:
Make Ends Meet (12″ Version) 5:33

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Baby Records (2) ‎– BRD 1250348
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: Belgium
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Italo-Disco

CREDITS:
Photography By – De Ligio*
Producer – Miki Chieregato, Roberto Turatti
Written-By – H.T. Beecher*, M. Chieregato*, R. Turatti*

NOTES:
From the album: Overpower.

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
DAC/Phono Pre-amp:
Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
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/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
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)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

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John Mimirose
John Mimirose
March 18, 2020 10:37 am

Thanks very much Paul for this tracks ! The B-Side is to my knowledge un-findable on iTunes or Qobuz.
“Pour la petite histoire”, Bad Boy is one of the oldest song I remember having loved when it was aired on radios back in the days in 1985/86, when I was 10/11. I’ve never stopped liking this song ever since.

Thanks again ! More 12″ from Den Harrow would be much apprecieted, since his catalogue is no longer bought on line in downloads (nor mp4, nor wav) !

John Mimirose
John Mimirose
March 18, 2020 9:59 am

For those who don’t speak french, during the chorus the lyrics sung by the girl are as follow :

– Arrête ton char play-boy // Stop pulling my leg, you play-boy
– Ne me laisse pas toute seule // Don’t leave me alone
– Tu restes avec moi // You do stay with me
– Faire l’amour encore une fois // To make love once again

stefan
stefan
February 26, 2020 2:05 pm

Excellent choice Paul, please check out Future Brain from Den Harrow, it is as good in my opinion.
I keep visiting your site every day and a lot of times feel like being beamed back to the times when we
“hunted” the airwaves for the newest Maxi Versions …

Stefan

Bryan Foley
Bryan Foley
Reply to  DjPaulT
February 27, 2020 10:49 am

I don’t listen to a lot of Italo Disco, but CATCH THE FOX and MAD DESIRE are great songs!

Jeff
Jeff
February 26, 2020 12:34 pm

Fascinating information concerning this artist. Reminded me of the Milli Vanilli scandal. Either way, I love this kind of music. Paul, thanks so very much for showcasing so many different kinds of music on your page!

Jeff

Jay
Jay
Reply to  DjPaulT
February 28, 2020 6:25 am

I’ sure you know this already Paul.. Tom Hooker was a success in his own right. Released many singles and albums under his own name throughout the Eighties.. including a number of Italo-Disco records and some synth-pop/rock. Well worth checking out if you like music like that (as I do). I agree with you Paul: The producers most likely wanted a younger-looking model type boy but with a great, seasoned voice. I think this 12″ really delivers. Great A side and a great B side too. Thank you very much for this Paul. It’s much appreciated. x

Damien
Damien
Reply to  Jeff
March 7, 2020 1:30 am

I don’t recall this song but after reading the vocal history I too was reminded of Milli Vanilli. I don’t know if it caused the same type on controversy. Given that this type of dance music was usually produced by sequencers, synths and samples, I never saw a problem with a “fake” vocalist as it was just another sample track in the mix; but of course they were presented as being the “real” singer so I can how that upset people.