Burning The Ground Exclusive 1982
TOTALLY OBSCURE 80s!
“Never Say Never” is a 1982 song by the new wave band Romeo Void. One of their best-known songs, “Never Say Never” was a favorite on early MTV, featuring a black-and-white music video that spoofs Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless. The song is driven by a throbbing, funky bassline and punctuated by jagged guitar and saxophone, incorporating post-punk influences. The song reached #27 on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock songs chart in October 1982.
The song was featured in the 1984 film Reckless starring Aidan Quinn as a football star and renegade. Quinn’s character takes over the school dance’s DJ booth to play the single, much to the dismay of all his classmates. A dance sequence ensues with Quinn’s character moshing about while a somewhat distraught Daryl Hannah tries to figure out how to dance with him.
This four-track, 20-minute EP was actually a 12-inch dance single introducing Romeo Void’s signature song, “Never Say Never.” Against an accelerated disco beat, singer Deborah Iyall perfected her romantic put-down persona with the devastating one-liner, “I might like you better if we slept together.” Meanwhile, the band had improved since the release of the debut album, with saxophonist Benjamin Bossi becoming an especially notable soloist. But it was the provocative nature of Iyall’s lyrics and delivery that caught the ear of enough listeners to put this indie label EP on the charts and cause Columbia Records to come calling with a manufacturing and distribution deal, leading to a major-label reissue.
SIDE A:
Never Say Never (12″ Version) 6:05
In The Dark 4:25
SIDE B:
Present Tense 5:47
Not Safe 3:54
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Never Say Never | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs | #27 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Columbia – 5C 38178, 415 Records – 5C 38178
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1981
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave
CREDITS:
- Bass, Design – Frank Zincavage
- Design – Peter Soe, Jr.
- Drums – Larry Carter
- Engineer [Assistant Engineer] – Walter Turbitt
- Guitar – Peter Woods (2)
- Lyrics By [Words By], Music By – Romeo Void
- Producer [Produced By] – Ric Ocasek
- Producer [Produced By], Engineer [Engineered By] – Ian Taylor
- Saxophone – Benjamin Bossi
- Vocals – Debora Iyall
NOTES:
Recorded at syncro sound studios boston, massachusetts october 1981
thanks to louie beeson and dal booth
Buy the 12″ 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
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Grand Theft Auto: Vice City introduced me to this song!
So funny (or notso funny story) In Ohio, USA, I was a DJ on radio, primarily live from clubs doing an Alternative Rock mixshow from local nightclubs for WENZ 107.9 Cleveland, and WRQK 106.9 Canton, and later at a Public School owned station. This exact copy was used for both live shows on 106.9 and 107.9. . After a few years into the mixshows, I was now also working at the School owned station, WAPS 91.3 Akron when I noticed a CD copy said the song was an “EDIT” with the same song length. My wheels were spinning then and… Read more »
Yes, I also love this song, one of the ‘handful’ of pop tracks I actually do remember from the 80s. During the 80s-90s, whenever I’d be working double shifts, or on long road trips, I’d have this track playing in a continuous loop for hours at a time. Like I wrote above, I absolutely LOVE. THIS. SONG! OTOH, maybe that’s the reason I always prefer to drive by myself. I hate distracting conversation while I’m driving. It’s annoying. But that’s just my special brand of crazy. What’s yours? Anyway, I’m grateful for this fine upgrade which will replace my existing… Read more »
An Absolute MUST HAVE awesome disc. Thanks for the excellent Rip!!!!
Thank you, DJ Paul
Hardly an obscure ’80s track, this hit was produced by The Cars’ late singer Ric Ocasek, and was a monster L.A./O.C. hit on KROQ and the “rock & rhythm” version of KNAC/Long Beach. Originally in the Rick Carroll/Freddy Snakeskin era KROQ didn’t censor the “f-word” at 1:46 until several years later when a Major Corporation purchased them, Columbia got hold of the tapes and “swooshed” the “f-word”, remixed and edited it a few times, after the FCC started cracking down on “indecency”. Then MTV played it.
It might be obscure to some of my overseas readers since it did not chart anywhere else, and not all of us got to hear the famous KROQ station. 🙂
Thank you for saying this Paul. Living in New Jersey, I really didn’t get to hear the music I came to love best. 92 WKTU, once in a while would play something New Wave-esque, along with their popular dance music. I did discover a “Rock of the 80’s” station out of Philadelphia, which became my favorite. It was patterned after KROQ from the original creator of that station. Unfortunately, the format only lasted six months!! Don’t know why it went away, but I was devastated. I still kept up with the music via the trade publications. Sure, KROQ was awesome,… Read more »
5 STARS!!! This song just oozes “COOL”!!! I never get tired of this song! Thanks for another fantastic rip!!!
You’re welcome, Martika 🙂
Thanks a ton, another great post!!
You’re welcome, Grant
At first I was like “obscure 80’s”? Like every ‘80’s kid knows this song! Then I saw the details about it that I did not know! Thanks for this EP and the background info! Obscurity knocks, 1982 rocks!
You’re welcome, ING. Enjoy 🙂
New wave + Obscure80s? Explosive combo! Thank you for sharing dear Paul! 🙂
You’re welcome, Bloko 🙂
Dear Paul, You are firing on all four cylinders!! This EP is a total classic and I am thrilled to see it pop up on your site!!! You can’t help but dance and sing along with it when it’s played. A total earworm and body worm(!?!), one could say. And Deborah Iyall’s delivery, that incessant beat, thrilling bass line and that searing saxophone makes “Never Say Never” a floor filler like nothing else!! I love being pummeled by its ferocious sound!! Paul, heaps of praise —– AGAIN —– for what you do to us!!! I am drenched in sweat already… Read more »
Thank you so much, Jeff 🙂
All 4 of these tracks are fantastic. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Dean 🙂
Great track. Thanks Paul for share!
You’re welcome, Julio 🙂