Men Without Hats – The Safety Dance (Extended Club Mix) (Europe 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

“The Safety Dance” is a song by Canadian new wave band Men Without Hats, released in Canada in 1983 as the second single from Rhythm of Youth. The song was written by lead singer Ivan Doroschuk after he had been kicked out of a club for pogoing.

The song entered the Canadian top 50 in February 1983, peaking at no. 11 on 14 May. In the meantime, “The Safety Dance” was released in the US on March 16, but did not enter the US charts for a few months. When it finally did, the record became a bigger hit than it had been in Canada, peaking at no. 3 in September 1983. It also reached no. 1 on Cash Box, as well as no. 1 on the Billboard Dance Chart. “The Safety Dance” similarly found success in other parts of the world, entering the UK charts in August and peaking at no. 6 in early November, and entering the New Zealand charts in November, eventually peaking at no. 2 in early 1984.

The writer/lead singer, Ivan Doroschuk, has explained that “The Safety Dance” is a protest against bouncers stopping dancers pogoing to 1980s new wave music in clubs when disco was dying and new wave was up and coming. New wave dancing, especially pogoing, was different from disco dancing, because it was done individually instead of with partners and involved holding the torso rigid and thrashing about. To uninformed bystanders this could look dangerous, especially if pogoers accidentally bounced into one another (the more deliberately violent evolution of pogoing is slamdancing). The bouncers did not like pogoing so they would tell pogoers to stop or be kicked out of the club. Thus, the song is a protest and a call for freedom of expression.

Doroschuk responded to two common interpretations of the song. Firstly, he notes it is not a call for safe sex. Doroschuk says that is reading too much into the lyrics. Secondly, he explained that it is not an anti-nuclear protest song per se despite the nuclear imagery at the end of the video. Doroschuk stated that “it wasn’t a question of just being anti-nuclear, it was a question of being anti-establishment.”

SIDE A:
The Safety Dance (Extended Club Mix) 4:34

SIDE B:
I Got The Message 4:45
Antarctica 3:29

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1982	The Safety Dance	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#3
1982	The Safety Dance	U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	#21
1982	The Safety Dance	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#1

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Statik Records ‎– 600 881, Virgin ‎– 600 881
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Europe
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Design [Graphics] – B.Wear (at A.S.)*
Producer – Marc Durand
Written-By – Ivan*

NOTES:
Get the superb debut album “RHYTHM OF YOUTH” out now.

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
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: 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 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

September 20, 2016

Madness – Our House (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

“Our House” is a song by English ska and pop band Madness. It was released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, The Rise & Fall, on 12 November 1982. The song charted within the top ten in multiple countries and won Best Pop Song at the May 1983 Ivor Novello Awards.

Released in November 1982, it peaked at #5 in the UK singles chart. In 1983, “Our House” was their biggest hit in the US, reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. On the US dance chart the song peaked at #21.

Though Madness produced many successful singles over a period of 20 years especially in their native United Kingdom, the enormous American popularity of “Our House” means that they are often regarded as a one hit wonder in the US (though their version of “It Must Be Love” also subsequently entered the US top 40).

SIDE A:
Our House (Special Remix – Extended Dance Version) 4:59

SIDE B:
Mad House (Our House Instrumental Dub Version) 4:35

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1983	Our House	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#7
1983	Our House	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#21

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Geffen Records ‎– 9 29667-0, Geffen Records ‎– 0-29667
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Maxi-Single, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: New Wave, Pop Rock

CREDITS:
Engineer – Harvey Goldberg
Lyrics By, Music By – Carl Smyth, Christopher Foreman*
Producer – Clive Langer And Alan Winstanley*
Remix – Mark Kamins

NOTES:
From the LP “THE RIS & FALL”

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

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

September 19, 2016

Kajagoogoo – Too Shy (Midnight Mix) (Canada 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

“Too Shy” is a song written and recorded by English band Kajagoogoo, released January 22, 1983. The first single from their debut album White Feathers, the song was an immediate hit and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks. It was also very successful in other European countries, spending five weeks at number one in Germany, and reaching number two in Switzerland, and number four in Sweden, Austria and the Netherlands.

Assisted by heavy rotation on MTV, the song later became a success in the United States, peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Too Shy” is Kajagoogoo’s only significant hit in the US, where the band is widely regarded as a one-hit wonder. In the UK, however, Kajagoogoo had further hits, including two more top 10 singles: “Ooh to Be Ah” and “Big Apple”, both in 1983.

“Too Shy” was written by Kajagoogoo and produced by Duran Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes and Colin Thurston, the latter of whom had produced Duran Duran’s first two albums. In 2006, “Too Shy” was ranked number 27 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of the 80’s and number 9 on VH1’s “100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s.”

There are two different versions of the “Midnight Mix” one is the “American Midnight Mix” 5:47 which was issued after the single was released in North America making it the second mix. The original “Midnight Mix” 5:23 was issued in Europe upon the single’s initial release. I have included it here as a bonus track which I lifted from the UK 12″.

SIDE A:
Too Shy (American Midnight Mix) 5:47
Producer – Colin Thurston, Nick Rhodes
Remix [Uncredited] – Mark Kamins

SIDE B:
Take Another View 4:32
Producer – Femi Jiya

BONUS TRACK:
Too Shy (Midight Mix) 5:23
Producer – Colin Thurston, Nick Rhodes

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1983	Too Shy	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#5
1983	Too Shy	U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	#23
1983	Too Shy	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#25

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI America ‎– 75036
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Canada
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Bass Guitar, Vocals [Additional] – Nick Beggs
Cover – Cream (7), Nick Beggs
Drums, Programmed By [Electronic Programming] – Jez Strode
E-bow, Guitar – Steve Askew (2)
Engineer – Colin Thurston
Lead Vocals – Limahl
Lyrics By – Limahl, Nick Beggs (tracks: A)
Management – Paul Ryan (2)
Other [Hair By] – Toni And Guy
Other [Special Thanks To] – P.G.
Photography By [Cover Shots] – Sheila Rock, Steve Hickey
Synth, Vocals [Additional] – Stuart Croxford Neale
Written-By, Arranged By – Kajagoogoo

NOTES:
Track A From the LP – “WHITE FEATHERS”
Recorded in England.

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

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

September 16, 2016

Talk Talk – Life’s What You Make It (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

“Life’s What You Make It” is a song by the English band Talk Talk. It was released as a single in 1985, the first from the band’s album The Colour of Spring. The single was a hit in the UK, peaking at no. 16, and charted in numerous other countries, often reaching the Top 20.

Filmed at Wimbledon Common, London, the promotional video for the single shows the band performing in the early hours in a natural history setting. The video, directed by Tim Pope, enjoyed heavy rotation on MTV.

The “Dub Version” is exclusive to the U.S. and Canada “12 release. An alternate “Extended Version” was release in the U.K..

SIDE A:
Life’s What You Make It (Extended Mix) 6:54
Mixed By – James Farber
Remix – T. Friese-Greene*

SIDE B:
It’s Getting Late In The Evening (7″ Version) 5:44
Mixed By – James Farber

Life’s What You Make It (Dub Version) 6:06
Remix – Mark Berry

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1986	Life’s What You Make It	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#22
1986	Life’s What You Make It	U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	#26

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI America ‎– V-19203
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Illustration – James Marsh
Mastered By – Wally*
Producer – T. Friese-Greene*
Written-By – M. Hollis*, T. Friese-Greene*

NOTES:
Recorded in England
Mastered by Capitol
Printed in U.S.A.

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

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