Tag: 1985

March 11, 2014

Falco – Rock Me Amadeus (US 7″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

“Rock Me Amadeus” is a 1985 song by Austrian pop musician Falco from his album Falco 3. It topped the singles charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was Falco’s only number one hit in both the United States and the United Kingdom, despite his popularity in Germany, his native Austria, and much of Europe. The song was written by Falco and Dutch music producers Bolland & Bolland.

The song is about the classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). Mozart was a child prodigy who performed his first musical tour at the age of five. His last three years were his most successful and he had an extremely excessive lifestyle. The basic concept is the suggestion that Mozart was the rock’n’roll rebel of his day. Some of the lyrics in “Rock Me Amadeus” reflect this. Here’s an English translation:

He was the first punk ever to set foot on this earth.
He was a genius from the day of his birth.
He could play the piano like a ring and a bell
And everybody screamed: Come on, rock me Amadeus
With a bottle of wine in one hand and a woman in the other
His mind was on rock and roll and having fun
Because he lived so fast he had to die so young
But he made his mark in history
Still everybody says: Rock me Amadeus

SIDE A:
Rock Me Amadeus (The American Edit) 3:10
Edited By – Boris Granaich*, Christer Modig

SIDE B:
Rock Me Amadeus (Canadian Version) 4:02

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint (company sleeve)

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1986	Rock Me Amadeus	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#1
1986	Rock Me Amadeus	U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles	#6
1986	Rock Me Amadeus	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	#4

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: A&M Records ‎– AM-2821
Format: Vinyl, 7″, Single, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Electro, Synth-pop
Credits: Directed By – Falco
Producer, Arranged By – Rob And Ferdi Bolland*
Written-By – R. & F. Bolland*, Falco

NOTES:
Issued in a die-cut A&M company sleeve.
Original version appears on the A&M album “FALCO 3”

Find The 7″ 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

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

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