Tag: Culture Club

April 22, 2019

Culture Club – The War Song (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

“The War Song” is a 1984 song by the British band Culture Club which features background vocals by Clare Torry. It was the lead single from the band’s third album Waking Up with the House on Fire. The song became the group’s seventh top-five hit on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number two. In the U.S. the single peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit the top ten in many countries including Canada (#7), Ireland (#1), Italy (#3) and Australia (#2). While very popular at the time, it was not appreciated by some music critics for some weakness in the lyrics and less original arrangements.

The song was assisted by a popular music video, directed by Russell Mulcahy, which features hundreds of children dressed as skeletons. Lead singer Boy George is shown with his new flame-red hair, and also employs four wigs in black, white, yellow and blue.

In many countries, the single was released with a B-Side consisting of a native-language version (Spanish, French, Japanese or German) of the song. It was available in two different extended versions, a first in Culture Club discography. Its 7″ picture disc was shelved, and the only remaining copies are very rare.

It was Culture Club’s last UK top 5 hit before 1998’s “I Just Wanna Be Loved”.

The record labels list the album title as “Waking Up In A Burning House”.

SIDE A:
The War Song (Ultimate Dance Mix) 6:50

SIDE B:
The War Song (Shriek Mix) 6:17
La Cancion De Guerra 4:05

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1984	The War Song	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#17
1984	The War Song	U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles	#87
1984	The War Song	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#7

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic ‎– 49-05107
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Artwork [Sleeve Produced By] – Assorted iMaGES
Backing Vocals – Alanda Marchant, Alice Kemp (2), Andriana Loizou, Imogen Exton, Tara Thomas
Mixed By – Jon Moss
Mixed By, Producer – Steve Levine
Other [Styling] – Kim Bowen
Photography By, Other [Make Up] – Stevie Hughes
Voice [Primal Scream] – Clare Torry
Written-By – Culture Club

NOTES:
Special Version from the Virgin / Epic LP “Waking Up In A Burning House”

Produced for Do Not Erase Productions.
Mastered at Sterling.

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.

December 20, 2018

Band Aid – Do They Know It’s Christmas? (Japan 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

Originally posted December 17, 2012

Do They Know It’s Christmas?” is a song written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in 1984 to raise money for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The original version was produced by Midge Ure and released by Band Aid on 29 November 1984.

In October 1984, a BBC report by Michael Buerk was aired in the UK, which highlighted the famine that had hit the people of Ethiopia. Irish singer Bob Geldof saw the report and wanted to raise money. He called Midge Ure from Ultravox and together they quickly co-wrote the song, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”.

Geldof kept a November appointment with BBC Radio 1 DJ Richard Skinner to appear on his show, but instead of discussing his new album (the original reason for his booking), he used his airtime to publicise the idea for the charity single, so by the time the musicians were recruited there was intense media interest in the subject. Geldof put together a group called Band Aid, consisting of leading British and Irish musicians who were among the most popular of the era. On 25 November 1984, the song was recorded at Sarm West Studios in Notting Hill, London, and was released four days later.

The 1984 original became the biggest selling single in UK Singles Chart history, selling a million copies in the first week alone. It stayed at Number 1 for five weeks, becoming Christmas number one, and has sold 3.69 million copies domestically. It remained the highest selling single in UK chart history until 1997, when Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind 1997” was released in tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, which sold almost 5 million copies in Britain. Worldwide, the single had sold 11.8 million copies by 1989.

Following the release of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” in December 1984 and record sales in aid of famine relief, Geldof then set his sights on staging a huge concert, 1985’s Live Aid, to raise further funds.

The song was re-recorded in 1989 by Band Aid II and in 2004 by Band Aid 20, again raising funds for famine relief. The 2004 version of the song sold 1.16 million copies.

SIDE A:
Do They Know It’s Christmas? (12″ Mix) 6:14
Remix –Trevor Horn

SIDE B:
Do They Know It’s Christmas? (Standard Mix) 3:52
Feed The World 4:17

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

CHARTS:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1984	Do They Know It’s Christmas?	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#13
1984	Do They Know It’s Christmas?	U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	#32

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Phonogram ‎– FEED 112
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Japan
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Engineer – Steve Lipsom*
Producer – Midge Ure, Trevor Horn
Written-By – Geldof*, Ure*

NOTES:
Many thanks to all the fine artists who kindly donated their time and effort in the making of this record.

All proceeds of this record are to assist famine relief in Ethiopia, this includes merchandise, sales, publishing & performance contributions.
Many thanks for the aid in manufacturing this record go to: Graphic Origination, Peter Blake, Torchlight, Robert Stace.

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: Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

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.

April 5, 2017

Culture Club – It’s A Miracle/Miss Me Blind (Japan 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

“Miss Me Blind” is a song by English new wave band Culture Club. In the U.S. it was the third single released from Colour by Numbers, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the spring of 1984. This gave the band its sixth consecutive Top 10 hit.

The single was also released in Canada (where it also reached number 5), Brazil, Australia and Japan. It was also the band’s biggest R&B hit, reaching #5 on Billboard’s ‘Soul’ chart.

The song includes a reference to the title of Culture Club’s previous album. Lead singer Boy George states in the song “But you know, I’m never really sure, If you’re just kissing to be clever”, the name of Culture Club’s debut album.

“It’s a Miracle”, was released on it’s own as the fifth and final single from Colour by Numbers. The song became the group’s sixth top-five hit on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number four. It reached number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit the top five in Canada. It was the band’s first US release to miss the Top 10; however, the song still received considerable airplay there during the summer of 1984.

A very popular 12″ was issued, gaining big success in American clubs and elsewhere. The popular extended 12″ version contained extracts of the other Culture Club hit of the spring, “It’s a Miracle”. In the US, the “Miss Me Blind” / “It’s a Miracle” 12″ single reached #10 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in May 1984.

Backing vocals on “Miss Me Blind” were performed by R&B singer Jermaine Stewart.

The B-side is a live rendition of “Love Twist”, a track from their first album. It was recorded in December 1983. An additional live track, “Melting Pot” (a cover of the song by the group Blue Mink), from the same show was available only on the 12-inch single.

SIDE A:
It’s A Miracle / Miss Me Blind (US Remix) 9:09
Composed By – Culture Club, O’Dowd*, Moss*, Craig*, Pickett*, Hay*
Producer, Remix – Steve Levine

SIDE B:
Love Twist (Live) 4:24
Composed By – Culture Club
Engineer – Paul Hulme, Peter Wandless*
Mixed By – Steve Levine
Producer, Mixed By – Jon Moss

Melting Pot (Live) 4:30
Composed By – Culture Club
Engineer – Paul Hulme, Peter Wandless*
Mixed By – Steve Levine
Producer, Mixed By – Jon Moss

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
OBI: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1984	It’s A Miracle/Miss Me Blind	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#10

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Virgin ‎– VIP-5916, Virgin ‎– VIRG-5196
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Limited Edition
Country: Japan
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Engineer – Gordon Milne
Mastered By – Tim Young (tracks: TY & timtom)
Photography By – David Levine (11)
Sleeve – Assorted Images
Vocals [Female] – Helen Terry

NOTES:
Multimix
Made In Japan
Also available the LP “COLOUR BY NUMBERS”

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

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: 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