Tag: Daniel Miller

September 24, 2026

Depeche Mode – Everything Counts (In Larger Amounts) (UK 12″) (1983)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

Released in the UK on July 11, 1983, “Everything Counts” marked an important turning point for Depeche Mode. The single introduced a tougher, more experimental sound that would play a major role in the band’s evolution throughout the rest of the decade.

Written by Martin Gore, “Everything Counts” was the first single taken from the band’s third studio album, Construction Time Again. The album would also mark the first time Alan Wilder appeared as a full member on a Depeche Mode studio LP.

By this point the group had begun moving away from the cleaner synth-pop sound of their first two albums. Sampling became an important part of the recording process, with metallic noises, unusual percussion, and sounds gathered from everyday objects finding their way into the music.

“Everything Counts” was one of the first major examples of that new direction.

The lyrics were changing as well.

Instead of focusing on relationships, Martin Gore turned his attention toward greed, competition, and corporate culture. The song’s image of “grabbing hands” became one of the most recognizable lyrics in the Depeche Mode catalog.

The darker subject matter is paired with one of the band’s catchiest early melodies. Dave Gahan handles the verses while Martin Gore takes a more prominent role during the chorus. Add the distinctive melodic hook and all of those strange metallic sounds, and you have a record that sounded quite different from most of the synth-pop appearing on the charts in 1983.

And “Everything Counts” did very well on those charts.

In the UK, the single entered the Official Singles Chart at No. 41 and steadily climbed during the following weeks. It eventually reached No. 6 and spent eleven weeks on the chart, including three weeks inside the Top 10.

The record also found success across Europe and beyond. “Everything Counts” reached No. 8 in Switzerland, No. 15 in Ireland, No. 18 in Sweden, No. 23 in West Germany, and No. 27 in New Zealand. It also reached No. 20 in South Africa.

The original single did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, where Depeche Mode were still some distance away from becoming a major mainstream act. However, the record made an impression in American clubs, reaching No. 17 on Billboard’s dance chart.

For the UK 12-inch, Mute Records gave the extended version the wonderfully appropriate title “Everything Counts (In Larger Amounts).”

And larger amounts are exactly what you get.

Running more than seven minutes, the 12-inch version gives the percussion, samples, synthesizer lines, and instrumental sections much more room. Rather than simply extending the beginning and ending, “In Larger Amounts” pulls apart elements of the original recording and lets you hear just how much was going on underneath that instantly recognizable melody.

It is exactly the kind of extended mix that made the 12-inch format so interesting during the 1980s.

The B-side, “Work Hard (East End Remix),” is equally interesting. Written by Martin Gore and Alan Wilder, “Work Hard” was a non-album track recorded during the same period and fits perfectly with the mechanical sound Depeche Mode were exploring.

The extended East End Remix stretches the track to more than six minutes and makes an already unusual B-side even stranger.

“Everything Counts” became one of the defining singles from Depeche Mode’s early years. More importantly, it offered a glimpse of where the band was headed. The bright synthesizers were still there, but now they were surrounded by sampled machinery, harder rhythms, darker lyrics, and a growing willingness to experiment.

The transformation from the band that recorded “Just Can’t Get Enough” only two years earlier was well underway.

For me, the UK 12-inch is the version to hear. “In Larger Amounts” gives all of those rhythms, samples, and production details the space they deserve.

After all, when it comes to a great 12-inch…

Everything counts in large amounts.

SIDE A:
Everything Counts (In Larger Amounts) 7:21
Written-By – M.L.Gore*

SIDE B:
Work Hard (East End Remix) 7:00
Written-By – A. Wilder, M.L.Gore

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

1983 CHART PERFORMANCE
Chart	Peak Position
UK Singles Chart	#6
Switzerland	#8
Ireland	#15
US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#17
Sweden	#18
South Africa	#20
West Germany	#23
Italy	#24
Austria	#26
New Zealand	#27
Netherlands	#50

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Mute – 12 BONG 3
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single, Stereo, Beige Labels With Grey Print, Not “MVS” Pressing
Country: UK
Released: Jul 11, 1983
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:

Engineer [Tonmeister] – Gareth Jones
Producer [Produced By] – Daniel Miller, Depeche Mode

NOTES:
Recorded at the Garden Studio, London.

“Everything Counts” mixed in Hansa Mischraum, Berlin.

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon Concorde Music Black
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Ject Tube Box DS2
Phono Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
Audio Interface: MOTU M4
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Cleaning Solution: Turgikleen Record Cleaning Solution
Scanner: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 25 (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

PLEASE READ

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**24-bit FLAC Only Available For SIX Days!

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July 2, 2026

Frank Tovey – Luxury (US 12″ Promo) (1986)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

“Luxury” is a 1985 single by Frank Tovey, the man many of us first came to know as Fad Gadget.

Frank Tovey was one of those artists who never really fit into a neat little box. As Fad Gadget, he helped shape the darker, stranger side of early electronic music. He could be funny, disturbing, sharp, theatrical, and oddly catchy, sometimes all in the same song. By the mid-1980s, Tovey had put the Fad Gadget name aside and began releasing music under his own name.

“Luxury” was one of those moments where he stepped a little closer to pop without losing that bite.

Produced by Frank Tovey and Daniel Miller, with Flood engineering, “Luxury” has a bright, almost polished surface. But don’t let that fool you. Under the sheen, Tovey is still poking at greed, image, class, and all the shiny things people chase to feel important. The song moves with a sharp electronic snap, but there is a sly grin behind it. It is catchy, but it is not empty.

Chart-wise, “Luxury” did not break into the official UK Top 100, but it did make a respectable showing on the UK Independent Singles Chart, reaching No. 20 in 1985. That feels about right for Frank Tovey. Too strange for the mainstream, but right at home with the listeners and DJs who were paying attention.

My copy is the U.S. 12″ promotional pressing released by Sire Records in 1986. The A-side features both “Luxury (12″ Mix)” and the LP version of “Luxury,” giving DJs the choice between the extended mix and the album cut. The B-side pairs “Collapsing New People (London Mix),” recorded as Fad Gadget, with the LP version of “Concrete,” another Frank Tovey track from Snakes and Ladders.

That track listing is what makes this promo especially interesting. It does not just promote one single. It gives us Frank Tovey in transition, with his solo work sitting right next to one of the best-known Fad Gadget tracks.

“Collapsing New People” is tense, metallic, and very much tied to the early 1980s underground electronic scene. The “London Mix” gives the track a harder club push while keeping all of its strange, nervous energy intact. Placed next to “Luxury,” it also shows how much range Tovey had. He could move from abrasive electronic art-pop into something more streamlined and still sound completely like himself.

For me, that is what makes this 12″ such a cool piece. “Luxury” may be one of Tovey’s more accessible moments, but it still carries that restless spirit that made his work stand apart. Whether recording as Fad Gadget or under his own name, Frank Tovey always sounded like he was pushing against the walls.

This U.S. promo is a great little snapshot of that story.

SIDE A:
Frank Tovey – Luxury (12″ Mix) 7:00
Engineer – Flood
Producer – Daniel Miller, Frank Tovey
Recorded By [Additional] – Tony Harris
Remix – Alistair Clay, Flood, Frank Tovey

Frank Tovey – Luxury (LP Version) 4:02
Producer – Daniel Miller, Frank Tovey

SIDE B:
Fad Gadget – Collapsing New People (London Mix) 9:21
Featuring – Einstürzende Neubauten
Producer – Daniel Miller, Flood, Frank Tovey, Gareth Jones

Frank Tovey – Concrete (LP Version) 4:36
Engineer – E.C. Radcliffe
Producer – E.C. Radcliffe, Frank Tovey

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label:Sire – PRO-A-2573
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: New Wave, Industrial, Synth-pop

NOTES:
Housed in a custom one-sided Sire Records picture sleeve

Original versions of “Luxury”, “Collapsing New People”, and “Concrete” are available on the Frank Tovey album “Snakes & Ladders” on Sire Records.

Promotional Copy Not For Sale

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

PLEASE READ

There are two 24-Bit links; if one does not work, try the other

**24-bit FLAC Only Available For SIX Days!

Password: burningtheground

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April 24, 2026

Yaz – Nobody’s Diary / State Farm (US 12″) (1983)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

Released in May 1983, “Nobody’s Diary” was the final single by British synth-pop duo Yazoo—known as Yaz in North America—and the only single taken from their second and final studio album You and Me Both (1983). It also marked the final chapter of one of the most influential synth-pop partnerships of the early ’80s: Alison Moyet and Vince Clarke.

Written by Alison Moyet when she was just 16 years old, “Nobody’s Diary” carries a raw emotional honesty that makes it one of Yazoo’s most enduring songs. At the time, Moyet was still playing in local bands around South East Essex, and even then the song had the lyrical maturity and emotional depth that would later define her solo work. Although written years earlier, it became one of the last tracks recorded for You and Me Both. Vince Clarke later recalled that it immediately stood out as the obvious choice for a single.

Recorded at Eric Radcliffe’s Blackwing Studios and produced by Yazoo, Eric Radcliffe, and Daniel Miller, the track perfectly balances Clarke’s icy synth precision with Moyet’s rich, soulful vocal delivery. That contrast between emotional vulnerability and machine-like rhythm is exactly what made Yazoo so special.

Lyrically, “Nobody’s Diary” is about privacy, emotional distance, and the pain of being misunderstood or exposed. Moyet delivers every line with conviction, making the song both intensely personal and universally relatable at the same time. It remains one of her finest recorded performances.

The single reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming one of Yazoo’s biggest hits and a fitting final statement before the duo split.

The original sleeve artwork is also memorable. Designed by Steven Appleby with the sleeve produced by Acrobat Design, the cover depicts what was described as a “rather hip young man in a bathtub” who seems so lost in his private thoughts that he has forgotten to turn off the water. It’s a clever visual metaphor for the song’s themes of introspection and emotional isolation.

Mute Records also issued a second, limited-edition 12-inch single in the UK featuring “Situation” on the flip side. “Situation,” of course, became one of Yazoo’s signature club tracks and appeared on the U.S. version of Upstairs at Eric’s, though it was only added to later UK pressings of that album.

My copy is the U.S. Sire Records 12-inch, where “Nobody’s Diary” was issued as a double A-side with “State Farm.” In the UK, “State Farm” served as the standard B-side to “Nobody’s Diary” and did not appear on the UK version of You and Me Both. It was later included on the North American version of the album, making it a natural pairing for the U.S. release.

“State Farm” is one of Yazoo’s darker and moodier tracks, with a stark electronic atmosphere that contrasts beautifully with the emotional sweep of “Nobody’s Diary.” Together, they made a perfect club package for American DJs.

That strategy paid off—the double A-side “Nobody’s Diary” / “State Farm” reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in July 1983, giving Yazoo one final U.S. dancefloor triumph.

Even decades later, “Nobody’s Diary” still sounds timeless. It captures everything that made Yazoo extraordinary: sharp songwriting, emotional honesty, inventive production, and that unique tension between heartbreak and synthesizers.

It was the end of the duo—but what a beautiful way to say goodbye.

SIDE A:
Nobody’s Diary (Extended Version) 6:08

SIDE B:
State Farm (Extended Version) 6:38

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

Chart Performance — Yaz: *Nobody’s Diary / State Farm* (1983)
Chart	Peak Position	Date
US Billboard Dance Club Songs	#1	1983

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Sire – 0-20121, Sire – 9 20121-0 A, Mute – 0-20121, Mute – 9 20121-0 A
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Specialty Pressing
Country: US
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:

Design [Sleeve Design] – Acrobat Design Ltd.
Illustration – Steven Appleby
Producer – Daniel Miller (tracks: A), Eric Radcliffe, Yaz*
Written-By – Moyet*, Clark* (tracks: AA)

NOTES:
Recorded at Blackwing Studios 1983.

Made in U.S.A.

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon Concorde Music Black
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
Audio Interface: MOTU M4
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
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)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!

Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by donating using PayPal. I appreciate your help.

May 13, 2025

Yaz / Sunfire – Don’t Go / Shake Your Body (US 12″ Promo) (1982)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

Double Discovery: Yaz & Sunfire – A Sire Records Promo Exclusive

Today’s post is a Double Discovery courtesy of Sire Records—two standout tracks from two very different but equally essential acts of the early ’80s. This special promotional 12″ brings together synth-pop and soul/funk on one slab of vinyl, offering a rare pairing that’s both surprising and satisfying.

Side A: Yazoo – “Don’t Go” (Long Version)
Kicking things off is the synth-pop classic “Don’t Go” by the English duo Yazoo (known simply as Yaz in North America). While the label lists this as the “Long Version,” what’s actually pressed here is a unique edit of the “Re-Mix + Re-Re-Mix” found on most commercial 12″ singles—making this version exclusive to this promotional release. A high-energy track driven by Vince Clarke’s signature synth work and Alison Moyet’s powerhouse vocals, “Don’t Go” climbed all the way to #1 on the US Billboard Dance Chart and remains a dancefloor staple.

Side B: Sunfire – “Shake Your Body”
Flipping the record, we dive into a soulful, funk-infused groove from New York-based trio Sunfire. Their track “Shake Your Body” is a tight, feel-good jam produced by none other than Reggie Lucas—best known for his work on Madonna’s “Borderline.” Sunfire only released one self-titled album in 1982 before quietly disbanding, but this track shows they certainly left behind a few gems.

This promo 12″ not only showcases the diversity of Sire Records’ roster at the time but also delivers two dancefloor-ready cuts that span genres and styles. A must-have for collectors and fans of early ’80s dance music.

SIDE A:
Yaz– Don’t Go (Long Version) 5:57
Written-By – Clarke

Yaz– Bring Your Love Down (Didn’t I) (LP Version) 4:40
Written-By – Moyet

Yaz– Bad Connection (LP Version) 3:18
Written-By – Clarke

SIDE B:
Sunfire– Shake Your Body (Long Version) 5:22
Written-By – Dean Gant, Rowland Smith

Sunfire– Shake Your Body (Edit) 3:33
Written-By – Dean Gant, Rowland Smith

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Sire – PRO-A-1072, Warner Bros. Records – PRO-A-1072, Mute – PRO-A-1072
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Promo, Double Discovery
Country: US
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Style: Synth-pop, Funk

CREDITS:

Noises, Producer [Additional] – Daniel Miller (tracks: A1 to A3)
Producer – E.C. Radcliffe* (tracks: A1 to A3), Reggie Lucas (tracks: B1, B2), Yaz* (tracks: A1 to A3)

NOTES:
Promotional Copy – Not For Sale.

On cover: Double Discovery.

Side A: From the Sire Album Upstairs At Eric’s (1-23737)
Side B: From the Warner Bros Album Sunfire (1-23730)

Made in U.S.A.

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon Concorde Music Black
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

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

You can help show your support for this blog by donating using PayPal. I appreciate your help.