Adam Ant – Puss’N Boots (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

Recorded at Polar Studios in Stockholm in the late summer of 1983 with Phil Collins as both drummer and producer, “Puss ‘N’ Boots” was released as a single in October of 1983. It was backed by “Kiss The Drummer”. The A side appeared on his second solo album, Strip. The B side was a non-LP track. The single reached the #5 spot on the U.K. singles chart.

SIDE A:
Puss’N Boots (Extended Version) 5:04
Bass, Vocals, Guitar – Adam*
Drums, Percussion – Phil Collins
Engineer – Hugh Padgham
Guitar – Marco*
Producer – Phil Collins

SIDE B:
Kiss The Drummer (Extended Version) 5:25
Drums – Paris
Engineer – Paris
Guitar, Keyboards – Marco*
Producer – Ant*, Marco*
Vocals, Bass, Keyboards, Percussion – Adam*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: CBS – TA3614
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 24 Oct 1983
Genre: electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Design – Adam Ant, J.B. (19)
Photography By – Alan Ballard*
Written-By – Ant*, Marco*

NOTES:
Phil Collins appears courtesy of Virgin Records
“Puss’N Boots” taken from the forthcoming album “Strip”
“Antmusic For Sex People”

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Ian Dury And The Blockheads – Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1979

“Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick” is a song and single by Ian Dury & The Blockheads, first released 23 November 1978 and was first released on the 7″ single BUY 38 Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick / There Ain’t Half Been Some Clever Bastards by Stiff Records. It went to number one on the UK Singles Chart in January 1979, and is the band’s most successful single ever. It also was named best single of 1979 in the Pazz & Jop poll.

Its lyrics mix various locations across the world and a number of phrases in non-English languages (including French and German). According to its author Ian Dury, the song has an anti-violence message.

On radio Rhythm Stick was a popular song from its release, but the single was initially kept from the number one spot in the charts by The Village People’s smash hit YMCA, which was at number one for five consecutive weeks. However, on the 27th of January 1979, Watt-Roy, Turnbull and Charley Charles (drums) were waiting outside the Gaumont State Cinema, Kilburn, London, listening to a car radio when it was announced that Rhythm Stick was the new number one. Ian Dury was on holiday in Cannes, where he was at the beach when the hotel staff brought him a bottle of champagne and told him the news. For their appearance on Top of the Pops the whole band bought Moss Bros suits. Laurie Lewis, a friend of Ian Dury’s from college, shot the promotional video for the single; while it simply showed the band playing on stage, it was an important piece of footage for Ian Dury, who for the first time appeared in public without his pink jacket or another long sleeved shirt hiding his left arm, withered by Poliomyelitis as a child.

SIDE A:
Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick (Disco Version) 5:20

SIDE B:
Reasons To Be Cheerful (Pt. 3) 4:53

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

CHARTS:

Year Single Chart Position
1978 Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play #79

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic – 48 50799
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1979
Genre: Funk / Soul, Rock
Style: Leftfield, Disco

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Hipsway – The Honeythief (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

Hipsway were a Scottish synth-pop band formed in Glasgow in 1984 by ex-Altered Images guitarist Johnny McElhone on bass, and featuring Grahame Skinner (vocals), Pim Jones (guitar) and Harry Travers (drums). Skinner and Travers had been members of the band Kites with Paul McGrath and Ian McGreevy before Hipsway formed. Their music was characterized by Skinner’s deep vocals and Jones’ tight guitar playing. They were quickly signed up by Mercury Records and by 1985 had released their first, eponymously-titled album. The album was a moderate success in the UK Albums Chart; while the single, “The Honeythief”, made #17 in the UK Singles Chart, and also reached the Top 20 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.

SIDE A:
The Honeythief (Galus Mix) 4:37

SIDE B:
The Honeythief (7” Version) 3:10
The Honeythief (Extended Version) 4:09

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

CHARTS:

Year Single Chart Position
1987 The Honeythief U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #19
1987 The Honeythief U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play #9

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Columbia – 44 05988
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Producer – Gary Langan
Producer [Additional Production], Remix – Hipsway, Paul Staveley O’Duffy
Written-By – A. McLeod*, G. Skinner*, H Travers*, J. McElhone*

NOTES:
Tracks are listed in the wrong order on the rear sleeve.
Original version on the LP “HIPSWAY”

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

The Dream Academy – Life In A Northern Town (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

REQUEST

“Life in a Northern Town” is a pop song by The Dream Academy, an English dream pop group. The song is the first single from their 1985 self-titled debut, The Dream Academy. Reaching #7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1986, it is also their highest-peaking chart single in the US.

The Dream Academy released the original version in 1985 as the first single from their self-titled album. It was a Top Ten pop hit for them, peaking at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

There were two different versions of the music video. The first one was made in 1984 and was filmed in Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire, England. It was directed by Tim Pope. The second version was filmed in 1985 and was directed by Leslie Libman and Larry Williams. It was filmed in and around Newcastle upon Tyne with some scenes filmed in Manchester in the UK and in the USA. The video featured footage from one of their first TV appearances, on the British music show The Tube.

The lyrics are references to English singer-songwriter Nick Drake, who suffered from depression and insomnia throughout his life and often reflected those topics in his lyrics. Gilbert Gabriel, a member of The Dream Academy and co-writer of the song, has also said that the inspiration for the tune came from his experience at Dartington College of Arts. Nick Drake died of an antidepressant overdose in 1974 at the age of twenty six, but his music has influenced songwriters and guitarists well after his death. He was best known for sombre pieces composed on his favorite instrument, the guitar, and The Dream Academy intended the song as a tribute to Drake. The song, which took a year to record, also includes elements of classical music, an “african-esque” chant, and hints of psychedelia.

SIDE A:
Life In A Northern Town (Extended) 5:18
Test Tape No.3 5:04

SIDE B:
Life In A Northern Town (7″ Mix) 4:15
Poised On The Edge Of Forever 3:52

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

CHARTS:

Year Single Chart Position
1985 Life In A Northern Town U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #7
1986 Life In A Northern Town U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks #7
1986 Life In A Northern Town U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks #2
1986 Life In A Northern Town U.S. Cashbox Top 100 Singles #11

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Blanco Y Negro – NEG 10T
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Design – Town & Country Planning
Photography By – Richard Haughton
Producer – David Gilmour (tracks: A1, B1), Dream Academy, The (tracks: A2, B2), George Nicholson (tracks: A1, B1), Nick Laird-Clowes (tracks: A1, B1)
Written-By – Gilbert Gabriel, Nick Laird-Clowes

NOTES:
Dedicated to Nick Drake, Steve Reich & ‘Classics For Pleasure’

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi