Tag: A Flock Of Seagulls

A Flock Of Seagulls – Nightmares (UK 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1983

NEW 2021 Transfer!
NEW Meticulous Restoration!

Originally posted July 28, 2011

“Nightmares” was the 7th single released by the synth-pop band A Flock Of Seagulls. The single was taken from the band’s second album “Listen.” “Nightmares” peaked at #53 on the UK singles chart on April 16, 1983, and #62 on the US Billboard Dance Chart.

The two B-sides reveal the often-overlooked experimental side of A Flock of Seagulls. Slightly edited versions of “The Last Flight of Yuri Gagarin” and “Rosenmontag” appeared on the original cassette and CD pressings of “Listen.” Both tracks are extended for this 12″ and have never appeared on CD.

Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin was a Russian cosmonaut and the first man in space. He orbited the earth in April 1961, a humiliating blow to the U.S. spaceflight team which at the time was in heated competition with its communist counterparts. His “last flight” took place on March 27, 1968, when the UTI MiG-15 (an experimental jet he was piloting) crashed. He was 34 years old. The Apollo 15 astronauts put a plaque on the moon naming all of the men who’d died in the space race. Gagarin was honored among them.

“Rosenmontag” (German for “Rose Monday”) is a festival that takes place in Cologne, Germany in the days leading up to Lent. Rosenmontag is the Monday prior to Ash Wednesday. It is likely that the band learned about this Catholic holiday while in Germany during the recording of “Listen.” Coincidentally, it is also the title of a 1930 film directed by Hans Steinhoff.

SIDE A:
Nightmares (12″ Version) 5:02
Producer – Mike Howlett

The Last Flight Of Yuri Gagarin 6:59
Producer – Mike HowlettMike Score

SIDE B:
Rosenmontag 8:02
Producer – Conny PlankDave HutchinsMike Howlett

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1983 Nightmares U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Plat #62

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Jive – JIVE T 33
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: Apr 1983
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Bass, Vocals – Frank Maudsley
Composed By [All Material], Performer – A Flock Of Seagulls
Design [Sleeve] – Pete Watson (2)
Drums – Ali Score
Lead Guitar, Vocals – Paul Reynolds
Lead Vocals, Keyboards – Mike Score
Management – Checkmount Ltd.
Mastered By – BilBo (3)
Photography – Eric Watson
Written-By – A. ScoreF. MaudsleyM. ScoreP. Reynolds

NOTES:
Recorded at Conny Plank’s Studio, Neunkirchen, W.Germany.
Mixed at Union Studios, Munich.

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
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


Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.

A Flock Of Seagulls – Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You) (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

“Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)” is a 1982 song by A Flock of Seagulls, the opening song and only hit single from their second album Listen.

The song exemplifies “synth-pop’s spaced-out loneliness” and yearning for imagined absent lovers, and is noted for its Wall of Sound-styled layer of synthesizer padding – a “multi-layered, hypnotic song”, according to AllMusic.

Unlike the band’s 1982 hit “I Ran (So Far Away)”, largely a United States and Australian hit, “Wishing” performed strongly in the band’s home country, the United Kingdom, and reached the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart; in the US it reached the Top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the middle of 1983. It was popular in South Africa, reaching #8.

SIDE A:
Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You) (Long Version) 9:09

SIDE B:
Committed 5:34
Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You) (Short Version) 4:58

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1982 Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You) U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #26
1982 Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You) U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks #3
1982 Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You) U.S. Billboard Hot DanceMusic/Club Play #26

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Jive ‎– JIVE T 25
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: Nov 1982
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Art Direction – Pete Watson (2)
Lacquer Cut By – BilBo (3)
Photography By – E. Watson*
Producer –  Mike Howlett

NOTES:
From the LP “Listen”

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
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


Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.

A Flock Of Seagulls – I Ran (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

a-front

“I Ran (So Far Away)”, also released as “I Ran”, is a song by English new wave band A Flock of Seagulls. It was released in 1982 as the second single from their self-titled debut album. Since then, it has been their most successful single, topped the chart in Australia, and reached #7 in New Zealand #9 United States respectively.

The version featured on this 12″ is the video mix which omits most of the introductory section and begins with a cymbal crash but retains the full ending of the long version. This version was featured on some vinyl pressings of A Flock of Seagulls.

SIDE A:
I Ran (Edit Video Mix) 3:58

SIDE B:
Messages 2:50
Pick Me Up 3:07

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1982 I Ran U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #9
1982 I Ran U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks #8
1982 I Ran U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play #3

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Jive ‎– JIVE T 14
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: Mar 1982
Genre: Electronic
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Artwork – Pete Watson (2)
Engineer – Mike Shipley
Management – Checkmount Ltd.
Producer – Mike Howlett
Written-By – A. Score*, F. Maudsley*, M. Score*, P. Reynolds*

NOTES:
Recorded at Battery Studios, London.

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

b-back

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck 
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 Removal: Manual
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

A Flock Of Seagulls – Heartbeat Like A Drum (Canadian 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

Side A Label

Left with three members with the departure of Paul Reynolds, the band waited and toured. Brothers Mike and Ali Score wanted to base the band out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With past success in the USA, both brothers thought leaving the UK and a new life in America was a perfect solution. With the popularity of the first two albums and the name “A Flock of Seagulls” still having some equity, they had 4 straight sell-out shows in Philadelphia. Mike, Ali and Frank Maudsley all applied for and were conditionally awarded green cards based on celebrity status under the O-1 work visa. The conditional approval was granted to all three, who settled in Philadelphia.

Frank became disillusioned with living in a strange city; he loved A Flock of Seagulls but had no family. Missing the UK, he returned to England. Mike and Ali stayed in Philadelphia and satisfied the terms of the visa. With Frank in Britain and the brothers in the USA it would appear the band was split into two camps. In fact it was Frank Maudsley who kept the band communicating. Unfortunately the brothers had a falling out that resulted in Mike remaining as the sole remaining original member of the touring band and Ali going to Boston. Ali played in a hard rock band and then worked for a computer company in Cambridge once the work visa turned into a permanent resident.

Frank was the go-between for the brothers and, during the recording of Dream Come True, some have indicated that Ali played on only 3 songs, Frank on 4 and Mike did all 9. One of the songs that all three did play on was entitled “Cosmos (Effect of the Sun)” and was dropped from the album. This dropping of the song brought the track listing down to 9 songs for the album. A large row ensued where Frank and Ali wanted to drop “Love on Your Knees” and include Cosmos. It was with this argument that two videos, “Who’s That Girl” and “Heartbeat Like a Drum,” were filmed in quick succession. These two videos were the last time the three remaining members were together in a recording or music capacity until 2004.

“Heartbeat Like A Drum” was the second single released from the album “Dream Come True” and included the dropped album track “The Effects Of The Sun” as the b-side. “Heartbeat Like A Drum” failed to chart in the US or UK.

This Canadian 12″ contains the same mix on A1 and B1 and oddly the mixes are not named.

**Please note there may be a bit of vinyl noise on B2 as a purist I left this noise as to not further damage the recording with extra processing.

DISCOGS LINK

RELEASE/PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Label: Jive
Catalog#: 12CDN-264
Format: Vinyl, 12″
Country: Canada
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits:  Written-By – A Flock Of Seagulls , Mike Score

NOTES
Side A = AOR Side / Side B = Club Side
Tracks A1 and B1 are the same mix as shown by track times no mix names are given.

An Original Sound Recording Made By ZOMBA Productions Ltd. Publisher: Zomba Enterprises Inc. (ASCAP)

A.O.R. SIDE
(A1) Heartbeat Like A Drum 6:55
(A2) Heartbeat Like A Drum 3:59

CLUB SIDE
(B1) Heartbeat Like A Drum 6:55
(B2) The Effects Of The Sun 12:29

Side B Label

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 20
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