Tag: 1982

February 17, 2012

ABC – The Look Of Love (Parts One, Two, Three & Four) (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

BTG week of LOVE!

“The Look of Love” is a song recorded by ABC in 1981, included on their debut album, The Lexicon of Love.

Released as a single and as a 12″ remix, it went to number one on the Billboard Dance/Disco chart as well as the Canadian pop singles chart. It was their biggest hit in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 4, and was a Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S., peaking at number 18.

The single consists of four parts, referred to as “Parts One, Two, Three and Four”. Part One is the standard album version, Part Two is an instrumental version, Part Three is a vocal remix and Part Four is a short acoustic instrumental part of the song, containing strings and horns, as well as occasional harp plucks and xylophone. A different remix version by producer Trevor Horn appeared on the 1982 U.S. 12″.

The ’82 U.S. Extended Remix was not widely available after its initial release, but the track remained much in demand by club DJs and fans alike, and copies of the original 12″ version fetched high prices. When Neutron (the band’s UK label) discovered this, they issued a limited edition re-pressing of the Horn remix in 1985 (though they did not officially re-release the song).

SIDE A:
The Look Of Love (Part One) 3:28
The Look Of Love (Part Two) 3:44

SIDE B:
The Look Of Love (Part Three) 4:16
The Look Of Love (Part Four) 0:56

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

CHARTS:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1982	The Look Of Love	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#18
1982	The Look Of Love	U.S. Billboard Hot dance Club Play	#1
1982	The Look Of Love	U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	#32

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Neutron Records – NTX 103
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Arranged By [Strings] – Anne Dudley
Engineer – Gary Langan
Other [Sleeve Notes] – Martin Fry
Producer – Trevor Horn
Written By, Performer – ABC

NOTES:
Part One from the forthcoming long player “The Lexicon Of Love”
Mastered at Townhouse.

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

November 30, 2011

Bananarama Featuring Fun Boy Three – Really Sayin’ Somethin’ (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

“He Was Really Sayin’ Somethin’ is a soul song written by Motown Records songwriters Norman Whitfield, William “Mickey” Stevenson, and Edward Holland, Jr. in 1964. The song is notable in both a 1964 version by American Motown girl group the Velvelettes, and a 1982 hit version (with the title altered to “Really Saying Something”) by British girl group Bananarama.

In 1982, the British girl group Bananarama recorded a cover version of the song and released it as the first single from their debut album Deep Sea Skiving. Providing background vocals is Fun Boy Three, a male vocal trio who had a hit with Bananarama earlier in the year with another cover, “T’ain’t What You Do (It’s the Way That You Do It)”

The 1982 single became the second consecutive top-five hit for both Bananarama and Fun Boy Three, peaking at number five in the UK singles chart. It also received heavy play on the then-young MTV network in America. “Really Saying Something” was both groups’ second chart entry in Australia, peaking at number seventy-four.

In the US the 12″ contained “Aie A Mwana” as the b-side.

“Aie A Mwana” was the first single released by Bananarama. Group members originally recorded the track as a demo and ultimately it was the demo version that was pressed onto the record. Originally released as a stand-alone single, “Aie A Mwana” was eventually added to the group’s debut album Deep Sea Skiving two years later.

Bananarama’s previous experience in a recording studio was as background vocalists on the Department S b-side “Solid Gold Easy Action”, a T. Rex cover. Prompted by friend and early supporter Paul Cook (of Sex Pistols), Bananarama decided to release their own single. As they had been including several cover versions in their repertoire (including later hit “Venus”), they decided on the song which had been recorded by Black Blood, sung in Swahili, which they had heard in a French disco. Group members Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward had to learn to sing the song phonetically. The “tropical” nature of the single inspired the group’s name: banana coming from the vibe of “Aie A Mwana” and -rama added to the end as a nod to an early Roxy Music song called “Pyjamarama”.

Issued by independent label Demon Records, “Aie A Mwana” reached number ninety-two in the UK singles chart. Write-ups in the English music and fashion press (NME, The Face) caught the attention of Terry Hall, who invited Bananarama to sing on his new vocal group Fun Boy Three’s next single.

SIDE A:
He Was Really Sayin’ Somethin’ 7:54
Producer – Dave Jordan, Fun Boy Three
Written-By – E. Holland*, N. Whitfield*, W. Stevenson*
Performed By – Bananarama And Fun Boy Three

SIDE B:
Aie A Mwana 6:45
Producer – ohn Martin (2), Paul Cook
Written-By – Daniel Vanguard*, Jean Kluger
Perfomed By – Bananarama

Aie A Mwana (Dub Mix) 4:38
Producer – ohn Martin (2), Paul Cook
Written-By – Daniel Vanguard*, Jean Kluger
Perfomed By – Bananarama

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

CHARTS:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1981	Aie A Mwana	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play	#66
1982	He Was Really Sayin’ Somethin’	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play	#16

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: London Records – 6400 661
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 33 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic
Style: New Wave
Credits: Design [Cover] – Nick Egan, Pete Barrett*
Performer [Bananarama] – Keren*, Sarah*, Siobhan*
Performer [Fun Boy Three] – Lynval*, Neville*, Terry*
Remix – John Luongo

NOTES:
Fun Boy Three appears through the courtesy of Chrysalis Records.

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

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

November 29, 2011

The Fun Boy Three with Bananarama – It Ain’t What You Do…. (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

“It Ain’t What You Do (It’s the Way That You Do It)” is a calypso song written by jazz musicians Melvin “Sy” Oliver and James “Trummy” Young. It was first recorded in 1939 by Jimmie Lunceford, Harry James, and Ella Fitzgerald.

The jazz tune was transformed into a pop song with ska elements in 1982. With the title slightly altered to “It Ain’t What You Do….”, it was included on Fun Boy Three’s debut self-titled album, but it was not available on a Bananarama album until 1988’s Greatest Hits Collection.

Terry Hall of Fun Boy Three owned a copy of Bananarama’s previous single “Aie a Mwana” and after seeing an article about the trio in The Face he decided he wanted them to sing background vocals on this song, solely based on the fact that he liked their look. “It Ain’t What You Do….” became a big hit in the UK, climbing to number four in the UK singles chart. The success of this single also prompted Bananarama to return the favour and have Fun Boy Three sing on their next single “Really Saying Something”.

SIDE A:
It Ain’t What You Do….(Extended Version) 5:50
Written-By – S. Oliver*, J. Young*

SIDE B:
The “Funrama” Theme (Extended Version) 5:58
Written-By – Golding*, Staples*, Hall*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

CHARTS:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1982	It Ain’t What You Do	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play	#19

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Chrysalis – CDS 2570
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Producer – Dave Jordan, Fun Boy Three, The*

NOTES:
Mastered at Allen Zentz L.A., Calif.

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

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

November 28, 2011

Bananarama – Cheers Then (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

REQUEST

“Cheers Then” is a song recorded by English girl group Bananarama. It appears on their 1983 debut album Deep Sea Skiving and was released as its third single. The song was the first Bananarama single to be written by group members Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward and also their first ballad release.

Coming off three consecutive top-ten hits, “Cheers Then” peaked at a disappointing number forty-five in the UK singles chart. Fahey said in a 1986 interview about this song, “We started taking our careers seriously after ‘Cheers Then’ bombed. Before then we thought all groups just brought out records and had them go to the top of the charts. It bought us down to reality a bit.”

Even with its relatively low sales, the song is regarded by critics as one of Bananarama’s best recordings . The group’s fortunes would rebound, however, with their UK follow-up single, a cover version of Steam’s “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye”.

The B-side, “Girl About Town,” has been issued on CD for the first time on the 2007 UK reissue of Deep Sea Skiving as one of five bonus tracks. However the version used is a slightly longer version (3:31) with an additional 4 bars just before the instrumental break (roughly 1:45 – 1:59).

The music video was a recreation of the musical film The Sound of Music. Filmed in Salzburg, the girls re-enact many of the scenes from the film, including the step-jumping scene for “Do-Re-Mi” and running in the hills, and the gazebo scene. It was directed by Keef for Keefco.

SIDE A:
Cheers Then (Extended Version) 5:19

SIDE B:
Girl About Town (Extended Version) 5:39

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: London Records – NANX 3
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Artwork By [Cover Design] – Peter Barrett
Performer – Keren*, Sarah*, Siobhan*
Photography [Faces] – Bay Hippisley
Photography [Wall] – Nobbly Neil Matthews
Producer – Barry Blue
Written-By – Bananarama

NOTES:
Produced for Bluey Tunes Ltd.

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

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