Tag: Colin Thurston

Kajagoogoo – Ooh To Be Ah (The Construction Mix) (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

“Ooh to Be Ah” is a song by English band Kajagoogoo, released in 1983 as the second single from their debut album White Feathers, and was produced by Duran Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes and producer Colin Thurston. It was the band’s second-biggest hit, peaking for two weeks at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart. It was the follow-up single to “Too Shy” and describes the fact that the clothes you wear do not make you famous.

SIDE A:
Ooh To Be Ah (The Construction Mix) 6:38
Lyrics By – Limahl

SIDE B:
Ooh To Be Ah 3:36
Lyrics By – Limahl

Interview Rooms 3:23
Lyrics By – Nick Beggs

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI ‎– 12 EMI 5383, EMI ‎– 12EMI 5383
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Design [Cover] – Nick Beggs, Shoot That Tiger!
Engineer –  Colin Thurston
Lacquer Cut By –Jeff*
Music By, Arranged By, Written-By – Kajagoogoo
Producer – Colin Thurston, Nick Rhodes

NOTES:
A side dead wax says “Concrete Mix”.
B side dead wax says “Kaja Mix”.
Tritec Music Ltd.

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.

The Human League – Empire State Human (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1980

“Empire State Human” is a song by the British synthpop group The Human League. The song was written by Philip Oakey, Martyn Ware, and Ian Craig Marsh. It was co-produced by The Human League and Colin Thurston and recorded at Monumental Studios in Sheffield.

The song was the third single to be released by the original line-up of the Human League, and the first and only single from the band’s 1979 debut album Reproduction. Upon its first release in October 1979, the single failed to chart. However, it was re-released in June 1980 and fared slightly better, reaching number 62 in the UK Singles Chart. For the re-release, Virgin Records included a free copy of the single “Only After Dark” with the first 15,000 copies as a sweetener.

Lyrically, “Empire State Human” is a song about becoming powerful using the analogy of size, with Oakey declaring that he wants to be “tall” a total of 60 times in 3 minutes. The uncut magazine drew a comparison with Oakey’s own personal ambition:

“ “I wanna be tall, tall, tall, as big as a wall, wall, wall”. Oakey’s Nietzschian pop fantasy reflected his own burgeoning full-on pop ambitions… ”

The B-side, “Introducing”, is an instrumental produced by The Human League. Oakey sang on the original recording but the vocals were not used on the released version.

The open-shirted man on the cover artwork is band member Ian Craig Marsh’s father.

SIDE A:
Empire State Human 3:11
Producer – Colin Thurston, The Human League

SIDE B:
Introducing 3:14
Producer –The Human League

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Virgin ‎– VS 351-12
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single, Reissue
Country: UK
Released: Jun 1980
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Other [Clothes] – Colley
Written-By – Marsh*, Ware*, Oakey*

NOTES:
Reissue as 12″ with the same tracks as the original 7″ VS 294 (released 12 October 1979)

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck 
Phono Pre-amp: Schiit Mani
Soundcard: ESI Juli@ XTe Audio Interface
Monitiring: Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
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

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

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

Duran Duran – Careless Memories (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1981

“Careless Memories” is the second single by Duran Duran, released on 20 April 1981.

The band’s debut single “Planet Earth” had been a Top 20 hit, so it was regarded as a major setback when “Careless Memories” stalled at No. 37 in the UK charts, particularly as it was to herald the June release of the debut album Duran Duran.

It has since come to light that the decision to release the single was not the bands but EMI’s. After its failure, executives decided to let Duran Duran choose their own single releases. The band’s first selection was “Girls on Film” and it duly became their first Top 5 hit in the UK.

The song “Khanada” (pronounced “keh-NAY-duh”) was included as the B-side to the single. It is reported to have been written for fashion designer Jane Kahn who owned, with partner Patti Bell, the Hurst Street shop Kahn & Bell where Duran Duran (and numerous other clubgoers of the day) shopped for clothes.

“Careless Memories” is one of three original-era singles that didn’t include a remix of the title track (although the fade-out on the 12″ is slightly longer), the other two being “Save A Prayer” and “A View to a Kill”. To compensate for this, EMI issued a bonus B-side on the 12″, a faithful cover of David Bowie’s “Fame”. However, the “Careless Memories” 12″ version fades out at 3:44 seconds, the 7″ version three seconds earlier at 3:41. The 7″ version is included in the “Singles Box Set 1981-1985” but runs to 3:44 as it includes three seconds of silence after the fade out. The album version has a cold end.

SIDE A:
Careless Memories 3:46
Written-By – Duran Duran

SIDE B:
Fame 3:18
Written-By – Alomar*, Bowie*, Lennon*

Khanada 3:27
Written-By – Duran Duran

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI ‎– 12EMI 5168, EMI ‎– 12 EMI 5168
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: 1981
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Pop
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Photography By – Peter Ashworth
Producer – Colin Thurston

NOTES:
B2 styled with diacritics as “KHĀ̑NĀDĂ” on back sleeve and labels.

Assorted Images ®

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck 
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7 TubeGold Pins
Soundcard: Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
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

Duran Duran – Girls On Film (Night Version) (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1981

Twenty years ago today we lost Diana Princess Of wales. She often said that her favorite band was Duran Duran. This ones for you Diana.

“Girls on Film” is the third single by Duran Duran, released on 13 July 1981.

The single became Duran Duran’s Top 10 breakthrough in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at Number 5 in July 1981. The band personally selected the song for release following the failure of its predecessor, “Careless Memories”, which had been chosen by their record company, EMI. Its popularity provided a major boost to sales of the band’s eponymous debut album, Duran Duran, which had been released a month earlier.

The song did not chart in the United States on its initial release, but it became popular and widely known after receiving heavy airplay on MTV when the Duran Duran album was re-issued in 1983.

The song begins with a recording of the rapid whirring of a motor drive on a camera. Both manager Paul Berrow and photographer Andy Earl claim to have supplied the camera for the recording.

Over the years, “Girls on Film” has become a staple of the encores for Duran Duran’s live performances and is often the final song of a concert, during which lead singer Simon Le Bon introduces the rest of the band.

The song, along with “Rio”, was originally omitted from the 1984 live album Arena to make room for newer and less familiar album material from 1983’s Seven and the Ragged Tiger. Both tracks were included as bonus material in the 2004 CD reissue of Arena.

The b-side of the single was another song initially unavailable anywhere else, a synthesiser-heavy dance track called “Faster Than Light”.

SIDE A:
Girls On Film (Night Version) 5:31

SIDE B:
Girls On Film 3:31
Faster Than Light 4:30

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI ‎– 12EMI 5206
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1981
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Pop
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
hotography By – Gered Mankowitz
Producer – Colin Thurston
Sleeve – Assorted Images
Written-By – Duran Duran

NOTES:
Mastered at Townhouse.

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
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: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
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