Tag: 1985

March 7, 2014

Divine – Hard Magic (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

RIP DIVINE (October 19, 1945 – March 7, 1988)

“Hard Magic” is a single from the album Maid in England by Divine.

“Hard Magic” was Divine’s last single to chart on the UK Singles Chart. It debuted and peaked at #87 before falling to #90 in its second week.

The music video for the single has a African jungle setting and features Divine in two roles. One as a female captive of a voodoo tribe and one as the male chief (whose also a witch doctor) who controls the captive with a voodoo doll. It starts out with the captive trying to resist the control of the doll (as shown with him with the doll fully bound to a pole like the one the captive’s foot it tied to). The witch doctor is then shown to put the doll in a pot with water (not boiling) and the captive is shown with the same position. Then the captive is shown being chased by tribe members around the pole from earlier and then they catch her and are tying her to the pole. After freeing herself the captive manages to upset the chief and is imprisoned in a cage that is then wrapped with cloth by the tribe. A fire is lit and there is a close up of the cage and the members of the tribe are seen eating chunks of meat (from an unknown source).

SIDE A:
Hard Magic 7:09

SIDE B:
Hard Magic (Magic Mix) 6:50
Hard Magic (Instrumental Mix) 4:16

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Proto Records ‎– ENAT 131
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Hi NRG, Synth-pop
Credits: Artwork [Hair, Make-up] – Van Smith
Design, Artwork – Bouncing Ball*
Engineer – Charles Gray
Lyrics By [Additional] – N. Titchener* (tracks: A, B1), P. Ware* (tracks: A, B1)
Management – Bernard Jay Management Inc.*
Photography By – Greg Gorman
Producer – Nick Titchener, Pete Ware
Written-By – M. Flinn*, P. Morris*

NOTES:
“Divine Thanks” To Andrew Logan, Phillip Miller, and Lee Le Cuyer.

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Speed Control: Pro-Ject Speed Box S
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 Removeal: ClickRepair (DeClick Level 3)
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

February 5, 2014

Boy Meets Girl – Oh Girl (US 12″ Promo)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

Re-Rip Newly Remastered!

Originally I posted this one on September 7, 2011. But for those who may have missed it or if you are a new reader just discovering BTG. I decided to give this one a new rip with my newer Ortofon Super 30 stylus. This 12″ is also being posted in 24 bit flac for the very first time!

Boy Meets Girl is an American pop music duo consisting of keyboardist and vocalist George Merrill and singer Shannon Rubicam. They are perhaps best known for their hit song “Waiting For a Star to Fall” from 1988. As songwriters, the duo composed a pair of #1 hits for Whitney Houston, “How Will I Know” and “I Wanna Dance With Someone (Who Loves Me)”. They also provided backing vocals on “Let’s Hear It For The Boy” by Deniece Williams.

The duo’s first album was self-titled, and its lead-off song, “Oh Girl”, a bitter tale of a failed relationship was released as a single by A&M Records. The song reached #39 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on June 4, 1985.

SIDE A:
Oh Girl (Specially Remixed Version) 6:07
Remix [Assistant] – “Hutch” Hutchison
Remix – George Merrill

SIDE B:
Oh Girl (Album Version) 4:18

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Mint (generic)

CHARTS:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1985	Oh Girl	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#39

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: A&M Records – SP-17316
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Promo, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Downtempo, Synth-pop
Credits: Producer – Tom Werman
Written-By – George Merrill, Shannon Rubicam

NOTES:
Promotional Copy Not For Sale
Original version appears on the album “BOY MEETS GIRL”

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

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

February 4, 2014

Thompson Twins – Don’t Mess With Doctor Dream (Smackattack!) (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

REQUEST

“Don’t Mess With Doctor Dream” is the second single by the band Thompson Twins taken from the 1985 album Here’s to Future Days. It was written by Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie, and Joe Leeway. The single peaked at No. 15 in the UK, spending six weeks on the chart. In the US the single failed to chart. A promotional music video was made for to the single version of the song and was directed by Godley & Creme along with Meiert Avis.

SIDE A:
Don’t Mess With Doctor Dream (Smackattack!) 6:10

SIDE B:
Very Big Business 5:05

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Arista ‎– TWINS 129
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Art Direction – Alannah Currie
Design [Artwork] – Andie Airfix, Satori (14)
Mastered By – Arun*
Photography By – Rebecca Blake (2)
Producer – Nile Rodgers, Tom Bailey
Written-By – Alannah Currie, Joe Leeway, Tom Bailey

NOTES:
“Don’t Mess With Doctor Dream” taken from forthcoming album and cassette “HERE”S TO FUTURE DAYS”.

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

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

February 1, 2014

The Chicago Bears Shufflin’ Crew – The Super Bowl Shuffle (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

Super Bowl Flashback!

Re-Rip Newly Remastered!

Originally I posted this one on February 5, 2011. But for those who may have missed it or if you are a new reader just discovering BTG. I decided to give this one a new rip with my newer Ortofon Super 30 stylus. This 12″ is also being posted in 24 bit flac for the very first time!

“The Super Bowl Shuffle” is a rap song performed by players of the Chicago Bears football team during 1985. It was released 3 months prior to their win in Super Bowl XX, peaking at No. 41 in February, 1986 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The 1985 rap hit recorded by the players of the Chicago Bears known as the “Super Bowl Shuffle” instantly became a mainstream phenomenon. The single sold more than a half-million copies and reached No. 41 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making the Chicago Bears the only American professional team of any sport with a hit single.

The Bears finished with a 15–1 record for the 1985 season. Randy Weigand, a die-hard Bears fan and music lover, had the idea to write, produce, and choreograph a rap song for the Chicago Bears. Weigand’s girlfriend, cheerleader Courtney Larson, introduced them to Willie Gault who put them in touch with other Bears players and the “Super Bowl Shuffle” was born. The lyrics related to each player and his craft on the field, and fame in the community.

“The Super Bowl Shuffle” fell in line with the Bears high-media attention as they completed their one-loss regular season. The Bears backed up their musical strutting by dominating their playoff opponents and hammering the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl by a score of 46–10, the most lopsided victory in Super Bowl history at the time (the record was broken just four years later when the San Francisco 49ers beat the Denver Broncos by a score of 55–10 in Super Bowl XXIV).

The 1985 Chicago Bears were the first sports team to have their own rap video. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1985 for best rhythm and blues performance by a duo or group, eventually losing to “Kiss”. The 20th Anniversary DVD was released in 2004, including the making of the video, outtakes, and the music video itself. Julia Meyer has kept the copyright to the video. Over $300,000 in profits from the song and music video was donated to the Chicago Community Trust to help needy families in Chicago with clothing, shelter, and food. This was consistent with Walter Payton’s rap lyrics in the song: “Now we’re not doing this because we’re greedy, the Bears are doing it to feed the needy.”

SIDE A:
The Super Bowl Shuffle (Vocal Mix) 5:50

SIDE B:
The Super Bowl Shuffle (Extended Vocal Mix) 6:27
The Super Bowl Shuffle (Instrumental Mix) 5:32

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Cover: Near Mint

U.S. ChART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1986	The Super Bowl Shuffle	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#41

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Red Label (2) – V-70060
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Hip Hop
Style: Pop Rap, Electro
Credits: Co-producer – F. Breitberg* , R. Milasky*
Executive Producer – R. Meyer
Producer – B. Daniels* , R. Tufo*
Written By – B. Daniels/L. Barry/R. Meyer/M. Owens

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

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