Burning The Ground Exclusive 1983
In TIn my opinion “Listening” is one of the best New Wave songs to come out of the 80s a shame this band is so overlooked. The b-side “In Their Time” is an epic New Wave non-lp track.
“Listening” is the debut single from Australian pop group Pseudo Echo. The song was released in November 1983 as the lead single from their debut studio album, Autumnal Park (1984). The song peaked at number 4 on the Australian Kent Music Report. Following the international success of “Funky Town”, a remixed version of “Listening” was released in America in 1987 for the movie “North Shore” starring Nia Peeples.
Pseudo Echo was formed in Melbourne in 1982 and performed around Melbourne when music journalist Molly Meldrum attended one of their shows at Melbourne’s ‘Jump Club’. Meldrum was impressed, spoke highly of the group, and convinced them to perform on the music TV show Countdown where they performed a demo version of “Listening” on 28 June 1983. While it wasn’t unusual for Meldrum to speak in glowing terms about an up-and-coming artist, Pseudo Echo was the first unsigned artist to perform live on the show.
Meldrum’s introduction was: “We’re about to present a group, a local group, who have got no record contract. We saw them at a gig. I think they have loads of potential, so all you record companies out there, have a look at them, and the public, you judge for yourselves. We think they’re pretty good. A young group, they go under the name of Pseudo Echo. Here they are with “Listening”. Go boys!”
Shortly after, Pseudo Echo were signed by with EMI Music and producer Peter Dawkins (who had worked with Australian Crawl, Dragon) was at the helm at the studio to re-record “Listening”. The single made an immediate impact upon its release in November 1983.
SIDE A:
Listening 2:57
SIDE B:
In Their Time 5:42
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI – EMI.1158, EMI – EMI-1158
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: Australia
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop
CREDITS:
Engineer – Dave Marett
Lacquer Cut By –DB*
Photography By – Cathy Hayton
Producer – Peter Dawkins
Written-By – B. Canham, T. Lugton
NOTES:
Recorded at Studios 301, Sydney, Australia.
An Australian Composition and Recording
Manufactured and distributed by EMI Music Group of Companies, Sydney, Australia and Lower Hutt, New Zealand.
Buy the 7″ at DISCOGS
VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
THE GEAR:
Turntable:Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
DAC: 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:
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
**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!
Password: burningtheground
You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.
Can’t download, says ‘Access Denied’. Working for anyone else?
Dear Paul, when you google “australian 80s pop bands” you get a good overview of just how many bands there were in Australia, many touching the new wave genre. For those who want to explore; many of these bands mentioned online are e.g. on the 3cd 12 Inch Dance Australian 80s Pop. Even though you say Pseudo Echo has not received the deserved attention: if it is a consolation; when you pick a random 80s new wave compilation, they are almost never missed. My new wave Australian favorites are: Deckchairs Overboard – Walking In The Dark Machinations – My Heart’s… Read more »
My family is connected to Pseudo Echo’s Pierre Pierre here in Australia and this was a very exciting time for the band as well as everyone around them. We had a local music program called Countdown. It was an institution in the seventies and eighties. The host, Ian “Molly” Meldrum, was well known for having his finger on the pulse and Pseudo Echo were a band who Molly hand-picked to appear on Countdown without having a record contract. I have this single signed by the whole band. A prized possession. Thanks for everything you do, Paul. We appreciate it so… Read more »
Thanks for posting some more great Pseudo Echo original music. I have always been a fan since day one (here in New Zealand). I have almost everything they have ever released in my collection. All the early stuff pre-Funky Town is pure New Wave/80’s pop goodness. I totally agree that they are underrated, and deserved more international attention.
You’re welcome, Blinky 🙂
Love me some Pseudo Echo, but around here it was word of mouth and then Funky Town (which honestly is one of the greatest covers ever) that got them noticed. Unfortunately it was cut out bins that yielded a little but more of them until the internet took over and I could do a deeper dive into this fantastic band! Should’ve been much bigger!!!! Thanks again for this awesome rip!
You’re welcome, ING 🙂
I used to stay up late watching Nite Trax just to get a glimpse of this original music video long before the audio was replaced with the updated, more guitar -centric version released with Love An Adventure in the U.S.!
Love this band. And agree they are often overlooked. Was listening to Stranger In Me and A Beat For You before putting in their Long Plays remix LP just the other day.
Thanks for sharing a gem from this amazing Australian group. Absolutely love the New Wave goodness here, Paul! ❤️
You’re welcome, dugn. They were so much for than “Funky Town” 🙂
Yes indeed. In fact, I tried to ignore the release of Funkytown as my personal grudge against how much better New Wave ‘Listening’ was…
Thanks! I did not realize this single version had a relatively dry mix as compared to the 1984 Autumnal album version.
You’re welcome 🙂
Thank you, Paul, for giving this band your attention, love and enthusiasm!! They really are so much more than their fantastic cover of Lipps Incorporated’s “Funky Town.” Thanks for continuing with your New Wave posts!! Jeff Bonus Beats: Gotta thank you again for Janet Jackson’s “What Have You Done for Me Lately” 12-inch! The dub version is one of the greatest dubs around!! Better than the regular version by far!! I wish more dubs were like this one. So varied and inventive, with enough vocals to give listeners something to sing along with. Shep Pettibone’s “Bad Boys” dub is another… Read more »
You’re welcome, Jeff 🙂