Kaja – Turn Your Back On Me (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

Originally posted April 12, 2010

“Turn Your Back On Me” was the third single released by Kajagoogoo (Known as Kaja in the US) from the album “Islands” also known as “Extra Play” in the United States. The song was recorded without Limahl, who had been fired by the band in mid-1983 and went on to pursue a solo career. Bass player Nick Beggs, already the group’s main backing singer, took over lead vocal duties, and also wrote the lyrics. The song was produced by the band themselves, now a four-piece group, along with Colin Thurston, who had also produced their debut, “White Feathers”.

“Turn Your Back On Me” did well on the US Dance Charts peaking at #2 for two weeks. In the UK the single peaked at #47.

After Limahl’s departure, the bands second album (from which “Turn Your Back On Me” comes) was released in the U.S. as Kaja, but still Kajagoogoo in other markets. Finally, in 1985 after another member left, the remaining members officially renamed themselves Kaja in all markets.

The remixes on this 12″ are exclusive to the US market.

SIDE A:
Turn Your Back On Me (Flipped Disc Mix) 6:58

SIDE B:
Turn Your Back On Me (Dub Mix) 5:32

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1984	Turn Your Back On Me	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#2

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI America ‎– V-7850-1/2
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Edited By, Mixed By – Steve Thompson
Engineer [Remix] – Michael Barbiero
Producer – Colin Thurston, Kaja
Producer [Additional] – Steve Thompson
Written-By – J. Strode*, N. Beggs*, S. Askew*, S. Neale*

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

July 18, 2016

Culture Club – Gusto Blusto (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

Originally posted April 3, 2010

“Gusto Blusto” was the second single released only in the US and Canada from Culture Clubs 1986 album “From Luxury To Heartache”. The song failed to chart and a music video was never filmed for the single.

SIDE A:
Gusto Blusto (Extended Dance Mix) 6:38

SIDE B:
Gusto Blusto (Rock Mix) 4:58

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic ‎– 49 05916, Virgin ‎– 49 05916
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Pop
Style: Synth-pop, New Wave

CREDITS:
Producer, Mixed By, Edited By [Special Edits] – Arif Mardin
Producer, Mixed By, Recorded By – Lew Hahn
Written-By – Culture Club, Pickett*

NOTES:
Special versions from the LP “FROM LUXURY TO HEARTACHE”

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

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

July 15, 2016

Dead Or Alive – Lover Come Back To Me (Japan 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

“Lover Come Back to Me” is a 1985 single by Dead or Alive, produced by Stock Aitken Waterman. It was taken from the band’s second album, Youthquake, and the single mix features slightly different instrumentation to the album version but is generally the same. The single peaked at #11 in the UK, #3 in South Africa, #21 in Germany, #13 in Australia and #75 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

The B-side to the single was “Far Too Hard”, a song from the band’s first album.

The single generally received positive reviews, being described as “appealing” by Ira Robbins while Ned Raggett of Allmusic said, “When Burns commands at the end of the chorus, ‘Kick it right down, right down!’ it’s as memorable as mass media pop of any stripe ever gets.”

As a bonus track I have included the “7” Bonus Mix” which I lifted from the U.S. 12″.

SIDE A:
Lover Come Back To Me (Extended Version) 5:23
Directed By [Director] – Mike Stock & Matt Aitken*

SIDE B:
Lover Come Back To Me (Extended Remix) 5:47
Remix – Zeus B. Held

Far Too Hard 4:33
Mixed By – Tim Palmer
Producer – Zeus B. Held
Written-By – Percy*, Burns*, Hussey*

Lover Come Back To Me (7″ Bonus Mix) 3:20
Directed By [Director] – Mike Stock & Matt Aitken*
Written-By – Dead Or Alive

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1985	Lover Come Back To Me	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#75
1985	Lover Come Back To Me	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#13

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic/Sony ‎– 12・3P-659
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Japan
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer – Stock, Aitken & Waterman (tracks: A, B1)
Written-By – Dead Or Alive (tracks: A, B1)

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

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

July 14, 2016

Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Relax (U.S. Mix) (Europe 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

“Relax” is the debut single by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in the United Kingdom by ZTT Records in 1983. The song was later included on the album Welcome to the Pleasuredome (1984).

Although fairly inauspicious upon initial release, “Relax” finally reached number one on the UK singles chart on 24 January 1984, ultimately becoming one of the most controversial and most commercially successful records of the decade. The single eventually sold a reported 2 million copies in the UK alone, making it the seventh best-selling single in the UK Singles Chart’s history. Following the release of the group’s second single, “Two Tribes”, “Relax” rallied from a declining UK chart position during June 1984 to climb back up the UK charts and re-attain number-two spot behind “Two Tribes” at number one, representing simultaneous chart success by a single act, unprecedented since the early 1960s.

Upon release in the United States in late 1984, “Relax” repeated its slow UK progress, reaching number 67 upon initial release, but eventually reaching number 10 in March 1985.

The song won Best British Single at the 1985 Brit Awards.

On all of the original 12-inch releases, the B-side featured a cover of “Ferry ‘Cross the Mersey”, followed by a brief dialogue involving Rutherford attempting to sign on, and an a cappella version of the title track’s chorus, segueing into an instrumental version of “Relax”, known as “From Soft to Hard”.

SIDE A:
Relax (U.S. Mix) 7:24
Producer – Trevor Horn
Written-By – Johnson*, O’Toole*, Gill*

SIDE B:
Ferry Cross The Mersey 4:07
Written-By – Marsden*

Relax (From Soft To Hard) 4:34
Producer – Trevor Horn
Written-By – Johnson*, O’Toole*, Gill*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1984	Relax	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#10
1984	Relax	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#20
1984	Relax	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	#26

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Island Records ‎– 601 096, Island Records ‎– 601 096-213
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Misprint
Country: Europe
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Bass – Mark O’Toole
Drum – Peter Gill
Guitar – Brian Nash
Illustration [Cover Illustration], Photography By – Anne Yvonne Gilbert
Photography By [Group] – John Stoddart (2)
Sleeve – XLZTT
Vocals [One Voice] – Holly Johnson
Vocals [Two Voice] – Paul Rutherford

NOTES:
The A-side label is misprinted Sex Mix (8:20) but the A-side actually plays the U.S. Mix (7:25).

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

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