BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986
“Showing Out (Get Fresh at the Weekend)” is the debut single released by sister duo Mel and Kim in 1986.
The single’s B-side, “System”, was originally intended to be the duo’s debut release, but after getting to know the sisters, Pete Waterman felt that the song was too soft for their personalities, and halted the single’s pressing. Mike Stock then wrote “Showing Out (Get Fresh at the Weekend)” for the duo, influenced by the Chicago garage house sound.
The single peaked at #3 in the UK in November 1986, and was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry for sales exceeding 250,000 copies. “Showing Out (Get Fresh at the Weekend)” reached #1 in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Belgium.
In the United States the single reached #78 on the Billboard singles chart while hitting the #1 position on the Billboard Dance chart. In addition “Showing Out (Get Fresh at the Weekend)” peaked at #23 om the U.S. R&B chart.
SIDE A:
Showing Out (Get Fresh At The Weekend) (Vocal / Edit) 4:52
Showing Out (Get Fresh At The Weekend) (Vocal) 7:16
SIDE B:
System (Vocal / Garage Mix) 9:01
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Showing Out (Get Fresh At The Weekend) | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #78 |
| 1986 | Showing Out (Get Fresh At The Weekend) | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | #1 |
| 1986 | Showing Out (Get Fresh At The Weekend) | U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop | #23 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Atlantic – 0-86755
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: House, Garage House
CREDITS:
Drums – A. Linn
Engineer – Karen Hewitt, Mike Duffy
Guitar – Matt Aitken
Keyboards – Matt Aitken, Mike Stock
Management – Alan Whitehead
Mixed By [Master Mixer] – Phil Harding
Photography By – Chris Edwick
Producer – Stock Aitken Waterman*
Written By – Senzavoce (tracks: B)
Written-By – Stock / Aitken / Waterman* (tracks: A1 to A2)
NOTES:
Recorded at P.W.L. Studios 1 & 2
Find the 12″ on 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 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
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
That’s interesting about System. I only know it as a long B side 12 inch version but would not have picked it as a debut single. It’s doesn’t really have lyrics, barely a chorus running through, so can’t see it my self, but maybe a 7 inch version made sense. Now, the vocal edit here could be taken as a 12 inch, it was almost alike. I have a 12 inch pressing of this single, IIRC only 12 inch versions and what looked like a poor photo from a beach of the twins without make up. I made a mix… Read more »
thank you Paul, even your excellent rip could not improve the very bad audio quality of the original recording and mixing. It’s pretty strange because other PWL productions usually sound good
I have the UK pressing which has ‘System’ but as the ‘House Mix’ instead of ‘Garage Mix’.
What a thrill to see another Mel & Kim classic on BTG. I prefer this single to “Respectable”
Thanks Paul 🙂
A classic track by any means..
Thanks as always for rip! Paul 🙂
Many Thanks for this post … I really like the track – System (Vocal / Garage Mix) – I like this beat much
Absolute massive thanks for this Paul as this is one of my all-time favourites. It’s such a happy, energetic, feel-good song. I Remember seeing the video of this for the first time on the music Programme “The Chart Show” which use to air over here in the UK on the ITV channel on a Saturday morning. Oh the memories…
Thanks Paul. SAW might have produced a lot of kitsch, but some tracks remain classics. I still love the single version of That’s The Way It Is from 1988 (Mel & Kim), one of the best tracks of the decade, somehow. Sadly, Mel passed away around 1990 if I am correct.
You’re welcome Martijn van Heeringen 🙂
Silly me. “Respectable” has already been polished by our Paul. Of course it has. And then again, the German 12inch edition of “Respectable”, which I have in wonderful marbled green vinyl, contains the 7inch version and the 8-minute bonus beats version on the b-side.
HINT HINT 🙂
I will have to locate a copy of the German 12″ I only bought the US one 🙂
I’ll have to find this too. This is a great record.
Aaaaaaahhhhh the Eighties. Don´t we just love those? I have a different edition with your 7:16 version as the sole A-side and the 6:30 “mortgage mix” plus System on the b-side. I didn´t like the song very much when it was a massive hit over here and only got to love it after the follow-up single “Respectable” [HINT HINT :-)] which I still like a bit more than “Showing Out”.
Tragic loss, that sweet young Melanie Appleby.
I prefer ‘Respectable” as well Song_and_Dance. Very sad about Mel.
Thanks for this, I used to love these back in the day
You’re welcome Clive 🙂
Oh this takes me back Paul!! I thought the production at the time was really explosive and all. All those rolling house drums and such. This was the first single that brought the SAW team to my attention. Granted, I had heard some of their earlier productions, like Dead Or Alive, but this record kind of started their formula for making hits. A lot of their stuff is very cookie cutter, albeit quite catchy. I get that all producers have a signature sound, but they became almost cliché. Just my opinion and I still love a lot of their output,… Read more »
You’re welcome Jeff. I agree that most of the SAW material all kind of starts to sound the same after a while but for the time it was so fresh. This was always a fun track to pack the dance floor 🙂