Burning The Ground Exclusive 1985

BTG BARBIE Rewind: Bubblegum Pop Inspired by BARBIE!

“So Macho” is a song by American-British singer Sinitta. The song was released in 1985 as her self-titled début album’s second single.

Sinitta was both Simon Cowell’s and Fanfare Records’ first signing. Cowell had contacted record producer and songwriter George Hargreaves, who in turn provided the song “So Macho”. Armed with a highly infectious pop record, Sinitta looked poised for success; however, Iain Burton changed his mind and called Cowell to advise he was pulling the plug on Fanfare Records. Convinced “So Macho” was destined to be a hit, Cowell persuaded Burton to give him £5,000 to release the record.

The single was first released in late July 1985 and, like Sinitta’s début single “Cruising”, it quickly gained popularity in the gay clubs and on the Hi-NRG dance scene. Although the single failed to chart, it continued to sell throughout the summer, including 15,000 copies on import. The song’s popularity led Cowell to make the decision to delete the single at the end of October 1985 to let demand build up again. As Christmas approached, the song found renewed popularity in straight clubs and discos. The single was re-released as a double A-side with “Cruising” on 17 February 1986.

The record’s sleeve was changed from an image of Sinitta to a cartoon macho man, in an effort to make clear to radio programers that it was a pop record, and not R&B or soul. The re-release was not an immediate success as it remained in the lower reaches of the charts. It was not until four months later that the single started gaining airplay and entered the top 40, upon which it quickly rose to number two in the UK Singles Chart.

The song’s belated video was recorded for £500 in a London flat belonging to one of Cowell’s friends, in the hope of gaining TV exposure. Sinitta supplied her own wardrobe, and there was no budget for hair or makeup.

It was certified gold by the BPI, and has sold 585,000 copies. Iain Burton’s initial £5,000 investment became a profit of £1,000,000 and paved the way for Fanfare’s future.

SIDE A:
So Macho! (Extended Dance Mix) 6:36

SIDE AA:
Cruising (Remix) 7:31
Engineer –Richard Bull
Remix – Tony Atkins

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Fanfare Records – 12 FAN 7
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single, Stereo, White Logo
Country: UK
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Hi NRG, Synth-pop

CREDITS:

• Hair [Sinitta’s Hair By] – Madeline (10)
• Photography By – Leo Lyons (2)
• Producer – G. Hargreaves and Mick Parker*
• Sleeve [Design] – Snap (11)
• Written-By – J.G. Hargreaves

NOTES:
Engineered at Village Recorders, London

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
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
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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