Tag: UK

December 13, 2023

The Waitresses – Christmas Wrapping (UK 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1983

NEW 2023 Transfer!
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration!

Originally posted December 19, 2013

“Christmas Wrapping” is a Christmas song by the American new wave band The Waitresses. First released on ZE Records’ 1981 compilation album A Christmas Record, it later appeared on the band’s 1982 EP I Could Rule the World If I Could Only Get the Parts and numerous other holiday compilation albums. It was written and produced by Chris Butler, with vocals by Patty Donahue. The song received positive reviews; AllMusic described it as “one of the best holiday pop tunes ever recorded”.

In 1981, ZE Records asked each of its artists to record a Christmas song for a compilation album, A Christmas Record. The Waitresses were in the middle of a difficult tour and the Christmas song commission was “the last thing we wanted”, Butler said later.

Butler wrote the song that August, assembling it from assorted unused riffs. He finished the lyrics in a taxi on the way to the recording studio, Electric Lady Studios in Greenwich Village. Butler said the lyrics came from his hatred of Christmas: “Everybody I knew in New York was running around like a bunch of fiends. It wasn’t about joy. It was something to cope with.” The bassist, Tracy Wormworth, was inspired by Bernard Edwards’ bassline on the recently released “Good Times” by Chic.

Written while hip hop music was beginning to gain prominence, “Christmas Wrapping” is “almost rapped” by Donahue. Its title, a pun on “rapping”, alludes to the 1979 song “Christmas Rappin'” by Kurtis Blow. Butler said he also “liked the idea of the word ‘wrap,’ like a wraparound, because the story is circular”.

“Christmas Wrapping” is told from the perspective of an unpartnered woman, who was determined not to participate in the exhausting holiday season after a year that was so busy, she has been unable to go on a date with an appealing gentleman she met months ago. Preparing to dine alone on Christmas Eve, she runs into the fellow in a grocery store, bringing “the year to a very happy ending”.

“Christmas Wrapping” was released as a single in the UK in 1981 on Island Records. It did not initially make the charts, but was reissued in 1982 and reached No. 45 on the UK Singles Chart that December. It remains the Waitresses’ highest-charting single in the UK.

Butler said the reception was a rejuvenating gift for the band: “We do the Christmas song, forget about it and go back on the road. The next thing I know when calling back to New York is that it’s all over the radio and much to our surprise it leaps over our heads and hits all the cities where we’re heading and all of a sudden we’re back on an upswing again.”

** The 7″ Single Version has not appeared on CD as far as I know most compilations use the longer version. 7″ Single Version was taken from the UK 7″ single.

SIDE A:
Christmas Wrapping (Long Version) 5:23
Arranged By – Mars Williams
Bass – Tracy Wormworth
Drums – Billy Ficca
Engineer – Mike Firondelli*
Guitar – Chris Butler
Trumpet – Dave Buck
Vocals – Patty Donahue, Tracy Wormworth

SIDE B:
Hangover 1/1/83 4:29
Engineer – Mark Mandlebaum*, Rick Dailey
Guitar – Rick Dailey
Reeds – Mars Williams

BONUS WRAPPING:
Christmas Wrapping (7″ Single Version) 3:52
Arranged By – Mars Williams
Bass – Tracy Wormworth
Drums – Billy Ficca
Engineer – Mike Firondelli*
Guitar – Chris Butler
Trumpet – Dave Buck
Vocals – Patty Donahue, Tracy Wormworth

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: ZE Records – 12WIP 6821
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: 1983
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: New wave

CREDITS:
Producer – Chris Butler

NOTES:
Long Version from the LP “A CHRISTMAS RECORD”

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.

December 8, 2023

Culture Club – The Medal Song (Extended) (UK 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1984

NEW 2023 Transfer!
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration!

Originally posted May 10, 2011

“The Medal Song” was the second single released from the 1984 album “Waking Up With The House On Fire” by British new wave band Culture Club. “The Medal Song” is about the 1930s American actress Frances Farmer, who was featured on the sleeve of the single. The single was only released in Europe, Japan, and Australia. “The Medal Song” peaked at #32 in the UK, #14 in Ireland, and #50 in New Zealand.

The b-side “Don’t Go Down That Street” features Japanese chatting by Miko, Boy George’s friend at the time. That song was recorded especially to be a B-Side after the other songs were made for the Waking Up album. There are two versions of the track: one short for the single in Japan, and another, around six minutes long, which can be found as the B-Side of various singles.

Even though the song was available as a B-side in most countries (it was also the B-side of “Mistake No. 3” in Canada and the U.S.), it still received a separate release in Japan as a single in 1985 for the Japan-only “Love Is Love EP”, where it peaked at number 69.

“The Medal Song (Extended Mix)” was omitted from the remastered re-issue of “Waking Up With The House On Fire”.

SIDE A:
The Medal Song (Extended Mix) 6:23

SIDE B:
Don’t Go Down That Street 6:30

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Virgin – VS 730-12
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Limited Edition, Poster
Country: UK
Released: Nov 19, 1984
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

CREDITS:

Backing Vocals – Derek Green (tracks: A), Helen Terry (tracks: A), Mo Birch (tracks: B), Ruby Turner (tracks: B)
Illustration [Frances Farmer] – John Geary (2)
Keyboards [Additional] – Phil Pickett (tracks: A)
Mixed By – Jon Moss, Steve Levine
Photography By [B/w] – David Levine (11), Stevie Hughes
Photography By [Colour] – André Csillag*
Producer – Steve Levine
Saxophone – Steve Grainger (tracks: A)
Sleeve [Produced By] – Assorted iMaGes*
Voice [Japanese Talk Over] – Miko (12) (tracks: B)
Written-By – Culture Club

NOTES:
includes a Limited Edition Poster.

Produced for Do Not Erase Productions.

Taken From The Album “Waking Up With The House On Fire”

Manufactured in the UK

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

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.

December 7, 2023

Scritti Politti – Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin) (UK 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1984

“Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)” is the seventh single released by British pop band Scritti Politti, issued in the UK on 24 February 1984 by Virgin Records. It later appeared on the band’s second studio album Cupid & Psyche 85 (released in June 1985) and was produced by Arif Mardin. The song’s subtitle is a reference to “I Say a Little Prayer”, Aretha Franklin’s biggest UK hit; Mardin had also produced Franklin.

The single was Scritti Politti’s breakthrough hit on the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at No. 10 in a 16-week chart run. It was also a Top 30 hit in Australia and New Zealand. In the United States it reached No. 4 on the Billboard Dance Chart.

Two music videos were shot for the song. The first, shot in 1984, was directed by John Scarlett-Davis, who also directed the videos for “Absolute” and “The Word Girl” and features the dancing of Michael Clark. A second music video was released for the US in 1986, directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino and featuring model Veronica Webb (who also appeared in the video for “Perfect Way”). Both versions were featured on a video compilation simply titled “Scritti Politti”, released on VHS, Betamax and LaserDisc by Virgin Music Video in 1986. The 1984 version is simply titled “Wood Beez”, while the 1986 version is titled “Wood Beez – USA”.

SIDE A:
Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin) 4:48

SIDE B:
Wood Beez (Version) 5:57

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1984	Wood Beez	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music Club’/Play	#4

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Virgin – VS 657-12
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: Feb 20, 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Electro, Synth-pop

CREDITS:

Arranged By – David Gamson, Green*
Backing Vocals – B.J. Nelson, Fonzi Thornton, Tawatha Agee*
Drums – Steve Ferrone
Guitar – Paul Jackson Jnr.*
Management – Bill Gerber, Lookout Management, Partisan Management Ltd., Robert Warr
Mixed By – Jason Corsaro
Producer, Edited By – Arif Mardin
Synthesizer – David Frank, David Gamson, Robbie Buchanan
Synthesizer [Fairlight Assistance] – Ned EBN*
Vocals, Written-By – Green*

NOTES:
Artwork:
1984
273cm x 273cm
Honeycomb, copper, cotton, acrylic, photo, beeswax, wood.

Recorded + Mixed at: Power Station + Atlantic Studios, New York.

Manufactured in the UK.

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

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.

December 6, 2023

The Dream Academy – The Love Parade (UK 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1985

NEW 2023 Transfer!
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration!

Originally posted March 26, 2012

“The Love Parade” is the fourth single released by The Dream Academy. It was a more “edgy” song than their previous singles, made so by the inclusion of implied themes of adultery and erotic temptation in the lyrics, and was arranged to a brisk bossa nova-esque beat which was in stark contrast to the style of the group’s first single Life In A Northern Town. There were two additional singles released in the UK by Blanco y Negro, a 7″ shaped picture disc and a second limited edition release.

The Love Parade is the only song on The Dream Academy’s eponymous album not to be produced by David Gilmour. Instead, the band recruited Alan Tarney to work with them on the track. Tarney was brought in at the suggestion of Rough Trade Records founder Geoff Travis to work on “The Love Parade”. “What happened was, we had a pretty good demo for “Love Parade,” and we loved it, and when we made the record with David, somehow we never got ’round to it”. Lead vocalist Nick Laird-Clowes noted that Tarney brought some “real special techniques” to the table: he tracked the vocals “12 or 15 times” during certain portions of the song.

There were high hopes for the single, especially from Warner, and there was some degree of promotion of the song (such as a live performance on American Bandstand). However, the single failed to live up to the expectations of their debut single, “Life in a Northern Town”, just making the top 40 (#36) in the US and reaching #68 in the UK.

SIDE A:
The Love Parade (12″) 6:16
Engineer, Mixed By – John Hudson
Producer – Alan Tarney

SIDE B:
The Love Parade (7″) 3:46
Producer – Alan Tarney

Girl In A Million (For Edie Sedgwick) 3:47
Producer – Paul O’Duffy*, The Dream Academy

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1985	The Love Parade	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#36
1985	The Love Parade	U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary Tracks	#13

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Blanco Y Negro – NEG16T, Blanco Y Negro – NEG 16(T), WEA – 920363-0
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop, New Wave

CREDITS:

Artwork By [Screened By] – Art-O-Matic
Design – Peter Saville Associates
Written-By – Gabriel*, Laird-Clowes*

NOTES:
From the LP “The Dream Academy”

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

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.