Tag: George Michael

Wham! Featuring George Michael – Careless Whisper (Japan 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

35 years ago today July 24, 1984, George Michael released ‘Careless Whisper’. The song went on to be a defining moment in his career.

“Careless Whisper” is a pop ballad written by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley of Wham!. It was released on 24 July 1984 on the Wham! album Make It Big.

The song features a prominent saxophone riff, and has been covered by a number of artists since its first release. It was released as a single and became a huge commercial success around the world. It reached number one in nearly 25 countries, selling about 6 million copies worldwide—2 million of them in the United States.

The song went through at least two rounds of production. The first was during a trip Michael made to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where he went to work with producer Jerry Wexler at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. Michael was unhappy with the original version produced by Wexler, and decided to re-record and produce the song himself; the second version was the one ultimately released as a single.

After the backing track and George’s vocal had been recorded, Wexler had booked the top saxophone player from Los Angeles to fly in and do the solo. “He arrived at eleven and should have been gone by twelve”, recalled Wham! manager Simon Napier-Bell. “Instead, after two hours, he was still there while everyone in the studio shuddered with embarrassment. He just couldn’t play the opening riff the way George wanted it, the way it had been on the demo. But that had been made two years earlier by a friend of George’s who lived round the corner and played sax for fun in the pub.”

While the saxophonist appeared to be playing the part perfectly, Michael told him, “No, it’s still not right, you see …” and he would lower his head to the talkback microphone and patiently hum the part to him yet again. “It has to twitch upwards a little just there! See …? And not too much.”

Napier-Bell consulted with Wexler over Michael’s dispute with the sax sound. “Is there really something George wants that’s different from what the sax player is playing?” Napier-Bell asked.

“Definitely!” replied Wexler.

The version Wexler produced was released later in the year, as a B-side “Special Version” on 12″ in the UK and Japan.

The record label Innervision were going to put out the Wexler version of “Careless Whisper” after the Club Fantastic Megamix as far back as 1983. Song publisher Dick Leahy said that while he could not stop the release of the Club Fantastic Megamix, he could stop the release of this single on the basis that as a publisher they “have the right to grant the first license of the recording of a tune of which he controls the copyright”. He was unable to do anything about the Club Fantastic Megamix because it was already released material. He said: “We knew how big that song could be, so it was necessary to upset a few people to stop it.”

Michael later went back to London’s Sarm West’s Studio 2 to rework the track. According to English jazz musician Dan Forshaw, saxophonist Steve Gregory had received a call to re-record the song’s distinctive solo; he was the eleventh saxophone player to record the solo, for Michael was determined to get the sound he wanted. “Session musicians do not have much idea what they are going to be recording until they arrive, and this was the case for Steve and another saxophonist who was ahead of him in the (queue)”, Forshaw recalled.

The officially released single was issued in August 1984, entering the UK Singles Chart at number 12. Within two weeks it was at number one, ending a nine-week run at the top for “Two Tribes” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood. It stayed at number one for three weeks, going on to become the fifth best-selling single of 1984 in the United Kingdom; outsold only by the two Frankie Goes to Hollywood tracks, “Two Tribes” and “Relax”, Stevie Wonder with “I Just Called to Say I Love You”, and Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”. The song also topped the charts in 25 other countries, including the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in February 1985 under the credit “Wham! featuring George Michael”, Spending three weeks at the top in America, the song was later named Billboard’s number-one song of 1985.

Despite the success, Michael was never fond of the song. He said in 1991 that it “was not an integral part of my emotional development … it disappoints me that you can write a lyric very flippantly—and not a particularly good lyric—and it can mean so much to so many people. That’s disillusioning for a writer.”

SIDE A:
Careless Whisper (Extended Mix) 6:29
Arranged By, Producer – George Michael
Written-By – Andrew Ridgeley , George Michael

SIDE B:
Careless Whisper (Special Version) 4:42
Producer – Jerry Wexler
Written-By – Andrew Ridgeley , George Michael

Careless Whisper (Instrumental) 5:04
Arranged By, Producer – George Michael

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1985 Careless Whisper U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #1
1985 Careless Whisper U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles #8
1985 Careless Whisper U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks #1

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic ‎– 12・3P-570
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Japan
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Ballad, Synth-pop

NOTES:
Manufactured by Epic/Sony Inc., Tokyo, Japan
From the LP “MAKE IT BIG”

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

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Wham! – Freedom (US 12″ Promo)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

“Freedom” is a hit song by British pop duo Wham!. It became the group’s second number one hit on the UK Singles Chart and reached number three in the United States. It was written and produced by George Michael, one half of the duo.

Wham! had already enjoyed a successful 1984 by the time “Freedom” was released in August of the year. “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” had given them their first UK number one and had then reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. George had then gone to number one with a solo single, “Careless Whisper”. Then after, Wham! had their second American number one song with “Everything She Wants”.

SIDE A:
Freedom (Single Remix) 5:19

SIDE B
Freedom (Album Version) 5:02

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1985 Freedom U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #3
1985 Freedom U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary #4

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Columbia ‎– CAS 2122
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, Promo, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer, Arranged By, Written-By – George Michael

NOTES:
From the album “MAKE IT BIG”

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

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.

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

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.

Elton John – Nikita (US 12″ Promo)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

“Nikita” is a song by English singer Elton John set in the Cold War from his 1985 album Ice on Fire. Released late in the year, the song was successful in many countries and was a top ten hit in almost all of them.

In the song, Elton John describes his crush on a person called Nikita, an East German border guard whom he cannot meet because he is not allowed into the country. It features George Michael on backing vocals with Nik Kershaw on electric guitar and is notable for a distinctive synthesizer solo. The song charted at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart, and at number 7 in the US.

SIDE A:
Nikita (LP Version) 5:42

SIDE B:
Nikita (U.K. Edit) 4:54

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1985 Nikita U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #7
1985 Nikita U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks #3

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Geffen Records ‎– PRO-A-2440
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 33 ⅓ RPM, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Pop
Style: Pop Rock, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Backing Vocals – Davey Johnstone, Elton*, George Michael
Electric Guitar – Nik Kershaw
Engineer – Stuart Epps
Producer – Gus Dudgeon
Written-By – Elton John / Taupin*

NOTES:
From the LP “ICE ON FIRE”
In custom promo sleeve.

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:
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