Tag: Jon Astley

Corey Hart – Never Surrender (Canada 12″ Promo)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1985

This song has always been special to me growing up in a conservative state and coming out to my parents at age sixteen who did not take the news well I found myself on my own trying to find my way in a sometimes cruel world. “Never Surrender” and its lyrics “Just a little more time is all we’re asking for ‘Cause just a little more time could open closing doors” spoke to me as a gay teen coming to terms with my sexuality. “Never Surrender” is an anthem of empowerment and hope.

Corey Hart has since become an LGBTQ+ ally performing at various Pride events.

“Never Surrender” is a song by Canadian singer Corey Hart. It was released in June 1985 as the first single from his second studio album, Boy in the Box. The song was number one for four weeks in Canada and was Hart’s highest charting single in the United States, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100 (topping the sales-only chart for one week) in August 1985.

The song won a Juno Award in 1985 for the “Single of the Year”, and was certified Platinum in Canada for sales of over 100,000 copies in 1985.

In 2019, Hart released an updated version of the song on his EP Dreaming Time Again, performed as a slow piano ballad with a new “angels lead you home” coda. He released the new version as a single in 2020, highlighting its message of hope and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the lyrical content, Hart said, “My mother influenced me with this ethic of never quitting on yourself or your dreams no matter how challenging or daunting. I also greatly admired Sir Winston Churchill, reading many biographies of his life. He used this expression ‘Never Surrender’ during the dark days of the Nazi attacks on Great Britain as a motivating inspiration for his countrymen.”

AllMusic has since called “Never Surrender”: “a soaring power ballad of empowerment, giving this album (Boy in the Box) a greater musical and emotional range than his (Hart’s) debut.”[4] Regarding the song becoming another US hit single Hart said “I really think it’s difficult breaking into America regardless of where you’re from. I don’t think it’s any more difficult for a Canadian act than for a band from Oklahoma”.

The music video features a storyline of Hart leaving his home after an argument with his father and hitchhiking his way to a major city where he finds himself alone and ends with a ‘live’ performance with his band. Portions of the video were filmed on Yonge Street, Spadina Avenue, and Queen Street West in downtown Toronto, including the now-defunct Crest Grill. The video’s director, Rob Quartly, had worked with Hart on three previous music videos and Quartly was again nominated for a Juno Award for his work on this video.

SIDE A:
Never Surrender (Album Version) 4:53

SIDE B:
Never Surrender (Edited Version) 4:25

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1985 Never Surrender U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #3
1985 Never Surrender U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks #8
1985 Never Surrender U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary #8

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Aquarius Records (3) – SPRO 601
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single, Promo, Stereo
Country: Canada
Released: June 8, 1985
Genre: Pop
Style: Synthpop

CREDITS:

NOTES:
From the LP “BOY IN THE BOX”

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus:  Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
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

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

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!


Password: burningtheground

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



Corey Hart – Eurasian Eyes (Canada 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1985

“Eurasian Eyes” was the fourth single taken from the second studio album “Boy In The Box” recorded by Canadian singer Corey Hart.

Musicians on “Eurasian Eyes” included keyboardist Gary Breit, who subsequently was featured on several of Bryan Adams albums. British saxophonist Andy Hamilton of Duran Duran (“Hungry Like The Wolf”) was also featured. Hamilton was featured on other recording artists studio albums in the 80’s including Tina Turner, Paul McCartney, Pet Shop Boys, George Michael, Bon Jovi, David Bowie, Elton John and Wham. Canadian singer, Dalbello, provided backup vocals for Hart, something she was doing elsewhere for Heart (“These Dreams”) Nena (“99 Red Balloons”) and Glass Tiger (“Don’t Forget Me When I’m Gone”).

“Eurasian Eyes” peaked at #12 in March 1986 after spending 6 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart. The song was also featured on the soundtrack for the film 9½ Weeks.

SIDE A:
Eurasian Eyes (Edit) 4:41

SIDE B:
Eurasian Eyes (Full Length Version) 5:28
Sunny Places/Shady People 4:20

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Aquarius Records (3) – SPRO-AQ6022
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: Canada
Released: 1985
Genre: Rock
Style: Pop Rock

CREDITS:
Producer –Jon Astley, Phil Chapman
Written-By, Producer – Corey Hart

NOTES:
From the LP “BOY IN THE BOX”

Tracks are listed incorrectly on sleeve and labels.

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black
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

**24nit FLAC only available for seven days!


Password: burningtheground

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

Corey Hart – Sunglasses At Night (US 12″ Promo)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

“Sunglasses at Night” is a song by Canadian singer Corey Hart. It was released on January 21, 1984, as the first single from his debut album, 1983’s First Offense, and became a hit single in the United States, rising to number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1984. The song combines an unflagging synthesizer hook, characteristic arpeggio, rock guitar, and cryptic lyrics. AllMusic has since described it as “an instant classic with its distinctive melody and catchy chorus”.

According to co-producer Phil Chapman, the recording sessions for the album took place in a studio whose air conditioning/heating vents were directly above the mixing console. Air from the vents blew directly into the faces of the control room personnel, so they often wore sunglasses to protect their eyes. Hart, working on a new song, began to improvise lyrics that included the line “I wear my sunglasses at night.”

The music video, directed by Rob Quartly, shot at the Don Jail in Toronto, reflects the vision of a “fashion” police state, with scenes of Hart in a prison cell, without sunglasses, being strong-armed by police officers and paraded past various citizens wearing their regulation shades. Near the end of the video, Hart is taken to the office of a female police officer (who releases Hart in the song’s end), played by Laurie Brown, who later became the host of The NewMusic as well as a VJ on MuchMusic. This video uses the shorter single version instead of the longer album version.

On early Canadian pressings of the vinyl LP “First Offense” the shorter 3:54 version was used for the album version. Later pressings throughout the world used the 5:16 version as the LP version.

Pretty sure I posted this back in 2010 but removed it from the site. In any case, this is a new transfer.

SIDE A:
Sunglasses At Night (Extended Version) 5:16

SIDE B:
Sunglasses At Night (Edited Version) 3:54

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1983 Sunglasses At Night U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #7

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI America ‎– SPRO 9097
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Promo, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer – Jon Astley, Phil Chapman
Written-By – Corey Hart

NOTES:
Track A: Taken from the LP, “First Offense”
Promo Copy Not For Sale

Recorded In England

Sleeve states Track A: Extended Version
Track B: Album Version

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.