Little Steven – Burning The Ground: DjPaulT's 80's and 90's Remixes

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1987

“Biko” is an anti-apartheid protest song by English rock musician Peter Gabriel. It was released by Charisma Records as a single from Gabriel’s eponymous third album in 1980.

The song is a musical eulogy, inspired by the death of the black South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko in police custody on 12 September 1977. Gabriel wrote the song after hearing of Biko’s death on the news. Influenced by Gabriel’s growing interest in African musical styles, the song carried a sparse two-tone beat played on Brazilian drum and vocal percussion, in addition to a distorted guitar, and a synthesized bagpipe sound. The lyrics, which included phrases in Xhosa, describe Biko’s death and the violence under the apartheid government. The song is book-ended with recordings of songs sung at Biko’s funeral: the album version begins and ends with “Senzeni Na?”, while the single began instead with “Ngomhla sibuyayo”.

“Biko” reached No. 38 on the British charts, and was positively received, with critics praising the instrumentation, the lyrics, and Gabriel’s vocals. A 2013 commentary called it a “hauntingly powerful” song, while review website AllMusic described it as a “stunning achievement for its time”. It was banned in South Africa, where the government saw it as a threat to security. “Biko” was a personal landmark for Gabriel, becoming one of his most popular songs and sparking his involvement in human rights activism. It also had a huge political impact, and along with other contemporary music critical of apartheid, is credited with making resistance to apartheid part of western popular culture. It inspired musical projects such as Sun City, and has been called “arguably the most significant non-South African anti-apartheid protest song”.

A live version, recorded in July 1987 at the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, was released as a single later that year, to promote Richard Attenborough’s Biko biopic Cry Freedom. The music video consists of clips from the film and Gabriel singing. The song did not appear in the actual film.

SIDE A:
Peter Gabriel – Biko 6:30
Engineer [Effanel Music Mobile] – Kevin Killen
Engineer [Real World Studios] – David Bottrill
Producer – Kevin Killen, Peter Gabriel
Recorded By [Live] – Kevin Killen, Randy Ezratty
Written-By – Peter Gabriel

SIDE B:
Peter Gabriel / Shankar / Little Steven – No More Apartheid 7:11
Producer – Arthur Baker, Little Steven
Written-By – Little Steven

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Virgin ‎– 609 510, Virgin ‎– 609 510-213
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 45 RPM
Country: Europe
Released: 1987
Genre: Rock
Style: Art Rock

CREDITS:
Bass – Tony Levin
Design [Sleeve Design – At Peter Saville Associates] – Brett Wickens
Drums – Manu Katché
Guitar – David Rhodes
Keyboards – David Sancious
Liner Notes – Peter Gabriel
Percussion – Assane Thiam, Babacar Faye
Vocals, Keyboards – Peter Gabriel

NOTES:
Recorded live at The Blossom Music Centre, Cleveland, 27th July 1987 on Effanel Music Mobile.
Mixed at Real World Studios, Box, England.
Little Steven appears on B2 courtesy of EMI/Manhattan Records, A Division of Capitol Records Inc.

Proceeds from the sale of this record got to: The International Defence and Aid Fund for Southern Africa and the Africa Fund.

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

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

“Sun City” is a 1985 protest song written by Steven Van Zandt, produced by Van Zandt and Arthur Baker and recorded by Artists United Against Apartheid to convey opposition to the South African policy of apartheid. The primary means of that opposition is to declare that all the artists involved would refuse any and all offers to perform at Sun City, a resort which was located within the bantustan of Bophuthatswana, one of a number of internationally unrecognized states created by the South African government to forcibly relocate its black population.

“Sun City” only reached #38 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1985. Only about half of American radio stations played “Sun City”, with some objecting to the lyrics’ explicit criticism of President Ronald Reagan’s policy of “constructive engagement.” (Joey Ramone’s line in the song criticizes Reagan. Ramone also expressed open discontent and criticism towards him with the Ramones song “Bonzo Goes to Bitburg”.) The song was banned in South Africa itself.

The song did somewhat better overseas, reaching #21 on the UK Singles Chart, #4 in Australia and achieving chart action in a number of other European countries, becoming a substantial hit in The Netherlands. It was also a top ten single in Canada in December 1985 and January 1986.

“Sun City” was picked as record of the year by many of the most influential music critics, topping the prestigious international Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for best single of the year.

The album and single raised more than a million U.S. dollars for anti-apartheid projects. It premiered at the United Nations, thanks to the Special Committee Against Apartheid and UN officers such as Aracelly Santana.

Featuring – Afrika Bambaataa, Anthony Williams, Big Youth, Bob Dylan, Bob Geldof, Bobby Womack, Bonnie Raitt, Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Clarence Clemons, Darlene Love, Daryl Hall, David Ruffin Jr, Duke Bootee, Eddie Kendricks, Fat Boys, George Clinton, Gil Scott-Heron, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Herbie Hancock, Jackson Browne, Jimmy Cliff, Joey Ramone, John Oates, Kashif, Kurtis Blow, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Little Steven, Lou Reed, Malopoets, Michael Monroe, Miles Davis, Nona Hendryx, Pat Benatar, Pete Townshend, Peter Gabriel, Peter Garrett, Peter Wolf, Ray Barretto, Ringo Starr, Ron Carter, Ruben Blades, Run-DMC, Scorpio (3), Shankar, Sonny Okosun, Stanley Jordan, Stiv Bators, Tina B, Via Afrika, Will Downing, Zak Starkey
Producer – Arthur Baker, Little Steven

SIDE A:
Sun City (Last Remix) 9:36

SIDE B:
Not So Far Away (Dub Version) 12:32
Tracking By [Emulator Overdubs] – Keith Le Blanc*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1985	Sun City	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#38

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Manhattan Records ‎– V-56013
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: October 25, 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Edited By – Albert Cobrera*, Aldo Miran
Engineer [Mix] – Frank Filipetti
Engineer [Mix], Remix – Jay Burnett
Producer – Little Steven
Producer, Remix – Arthur Baker

NOTES:
The artist royalties from this record are going to The Africa Fund, a charitable trust based in New York City and registered with the United Nations. The income will benefit political prisoners and their families in South Africa, educational and cultural needs of South African exiles, and educational work of anti-apartheid groups in the United States.

Mixed at Electric Lady, NYC.

Find the 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
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

Tag: Little Steven

Peter Gabriel – Biko (Europe 12″)

Artists United Against Apartheid – Sun City (US 12″)