BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

Originally posted September 25, 2012

Limited Edition Italy-only 12″. 5000 copies exist.

“Paninaro” is a song by English synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys. Originally a B-side to the 1986 single “Suburbia”, it was released as a limited-edition single in Italy during the same year. “Paninaro” was produced by the band themselves, and is the first track which features Chris Lowe on lead vocals, although he speaks the lyrics, rather than sings them.

While all 7″ and 12″ releases of “Suburbia” contained only the 7″ version of “Paninaro”, the 12″ version was featured on “Disco: The Remix Album”. Another remix by Ian Levine was done, but only appears as the second track from the Italian 12″ single.

“Paninaro” was written entirely by Chris Lowe, and was originally based on an idea brought forth by Tom Watkins, who later removed himself from the project. The Paninari is the name of a 1980s Italian youth subculture known as the paninari; derived from the word panino, Italian for sandwich, they were known for congregating in restaurants serving sandwiches and in the first US-style fast food restaurants, as well as their preference for designer clothing and 1980s pop music such as the New Romantic music of Duran Duran. Neil Tennant has said that they were drawn to the concept due to having shared those preferences.

The band wanted to remove Versace from the lyrics because Vercase was not really a designer favoured by the Paninari, but it was edited out of every version except the 12″

There was in fact a video shot for ‘Paninaro’, even though it wasn’t a bonafide single. It featured shots taken around Milan and fed through a digital imaging processor to give it a pixelated feel. It was released originally on the “Television” video compilation and again on the “Pop Art” DVD.

“Paninaro” was remixed and released a second time in 1995 as “Paninaro 95” in conjunction with the b-sides compilation “Alternative”.

SIDE A:
Paninaro (Italian Remix) 8:36
Remix – David Jacobs*, Pet Shop Boys

SIDE B:
Paninaro (Ian Levine Mix) 9:54
Remix –  Ian Levine

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Parlophone ‎– 14 2015626
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Limited Edition
Country: Italy
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer – Pet Shop Boys
Written-By – Tennant/Lowe*

NOTES:
Italy-only single. 5000 copies exist.
Track 1 Listed as “The Pet Shop Boys Mix” on sleeve.

Made in Italy by EMI Italiana S.p.A.

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