Tag: UK

November 6, 2025

Spandau Ballet – To Cut A Long Story Short (UK 12″) (1980)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

NEW 2025 Transfer
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration

Original post date: January 22, 2018

“To Cut a Long Story Short” was Spandau Ballet’s debut single, released on November 3, 1980, and it quickly became a defining anthem of the New Romantic movement, reaching No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart.

Origins and Release

Spandau Ballet emerged from London’s avant‑garde club scene—most famously the Blitz nightclub—where art, style, and music collided. The band had a devoted following before signing to Chrysalis. Written by guitarist Gary Kemp and produced by Richard James Burgess, the single was released on October 31, 1980 and later appeared on Journeys to Glory (1981).

The track set a template for their early sound: synth‑pop blended with art‑pop, new wave, and a touch of disco and funk—an aesthetic that matched the Blitz Kids’ future‑modern dressing and theatricality.

Musical Style

The 7″ single runs around 3:20; the 12″ expands the arrangement for club play, emphasizing rhythmic drive and layered textures. Tony Hadley’s baritone sits atop metallic synth lines and clipped percussion, producing a sound that is at once urgent and stylish. Burgess’s production foregrounds electronic timbres and a crisp sheen that became emblematic of the band’s early aesthetic.

Lyrics and Theme

Cryptic and evocative, the lyrics—lines like “War upon war, heat upon heat, to cut a long story short, I lost my mind”—suggest identity, disorientation, and psychological strain. Some readings place this language alongside images of post‑conflict confusion; others see it as a more personal, emotional unraveling. The ambiguity gives the song its haunting edge.

Cover Art

Part of Spandau Ballet’s deal with Chrysalis was that the band would have control over every aspect of how their music was marketed, including artwork, videos, and the selection of singles. They found much of their creative support at the Blitz club. Blitz regular and Camberwell College of Arts graphics student Graham Smith designed the sleeve for their debut single as well as the album Journeys to Glory and its accompanying singles: The Freeze, Muscle Bound, and Glow.

“I wanted to create an overall corporate visual package for Spandau that was cutting edge and reflected their aspirations. It had to have style,” Smith explained. The minimalist cover art for “To Cut A Long Story Short” reflected the lyric “I am beautiful and clean.” There was no photo of the band, which Gary Kemp thought would be “too risky, given the speed at which styles were changing.” Smith later remarked that this decision, seen as uncommercial by Chrysalis, gave the band mystique and reinforced their autonomy: “It added strength to Spandau as they were clearly stating they were not packaged by the record company but doing things on their terms.”

Reception and Legacy

Upon release the single peaked at No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart, and helped position Spandau Ballet as leaders of the New Romantic movement. While later singles — The Freeze, Musclebound, and then the more soulful True — explored different textures, this debut remains the clearest statement of the band’s early vision.

Cultural Impact

Fashion and music were inseparable around this record: sharp tailoring, theatrical staging, and club style were part of the package. The single became a Blitz fixture and helped elevate New Romantic aesthetics from underground to mainstream.

SIDE A:
To Cut A Long Story Short (Mix 1) 6:30

SIDE B:
To Cut A Long Story Short (Version) (Mix 2) 3:58

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

Chart Performance — Spandau Ballet: *To Cut A Long Story Short* (1980)
Chart	Peak Position	Date
US Billboard Dance Club Songs	#28	1980
UK Singles	#5	1980

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Reformation – CHS 12 2473, Chrysalis – CHS 12 2473
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: Nov 3, 1980
Genre: Electronic
Style: New wave, Synth-pop

CREDITS:

Graphics – Graham Smith (5)
Producer – Richard James Burgess
Written-By – G. Kemp*

NOTES:
Alternate non die-cut embossed sleeve
Utopia Studios ‘lyre symbol’ etched on the runouts.

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon Concorde Music Black
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 25 (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 donating using PayPal. I appreciate your help.

November 5, 2025

Tears For Fears – Suffer The Children (UK 12″) (1981)

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“Suffer the Children” is the debut single by British band Tears for Fears. Written and sung by Roland Orzabal, it was released in October 1981 and marked the duo’s first official release following the breakup of Graduate, Orzabal and Curt Smith’s previous band.

The single was produced by David Lord and recorded at his own Crescent Studios in Bath, England. Along with “Pale Shelter,” it was one of two demo songs that landed Tears for Fears their first record deal with Phonogram in 1981.

“Suffer the Children was the first song we did together when we left Graduate. It was our very first experimentation with sequencers and drum machines, with a guy called David Lord, who worked with Peter Gabriel and different people down in Bath. So that was actually the first song we did as Tears For Fears.”
— Curt Smith

According to Orzabal:

“We were really big on this at the time – we really thought children were born innocent and good and holy… When you’ve got kids of your own, you realize how bloody difficult it is. But it’s that kind of thing – saying look at what you’re doing with your child.”
— Roland Orzabal

The 12″ version features a Remix and an Instrumental, both distinct from the 7″ version. The remix, handled by David Lord, has a slightly punchier electronic arrangement that highlights the early use of sequencers and drum machines that would later define the band’s sound. The haunting female vocal heard on the track comes from Carol Kenyon, while Orzabal’s wife Caroline provides the childlike voice heard during the bridge.

The B-side, “Wino,” is an unusual Tears for Fears recording — stripped of synthesizers and studio polish, featuring only a simple acoustic performance.

Despite support from influential BBC Radio 1 DJs John Peel and Peter Powell, the single failed to chart upon its original release. In 1985, following the success of Songs from the Big Chair, Phonogram reissued “Suffer the Children” in the UK with a new picture sleeve, using the same audio and track listing as the 1981 release. This reissue narrowly missed the UK Top 50.

The song was later re-recorded for the band’s debut LP The Hurting (1983), produced by Chris Hughes and Ross Cullum. That album version removes an opening lyric sung by Curt Smith and slightly alters the arrangement but maintains the song’s emotional intensity.

No music video was ever produced for the song.

SIDE A:
Suffer The Children (Remix) 4:23

SIDE B:
Suffer The Children (Instrumental) 4:30
Wino 2:24

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Mercury – idea 12
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1981
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

CREDITS:

Producer – David Lord
Written-By – C. Smith*, R. Orzabal*

NOTES:
Their 1st single. “Suffer The Children” later re-recorded for their debut album “The Hurting”

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND

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 donating using PayPal. I appreciate your help.

November 4, 2025

Wang Chung – To Live And Die In L.A. (UK 12″) (1985)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

NEW 2025 Transfer
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration

Originally posted on April 5, 2018, this 12″ single has been given a meticulous 2025 audio restoration, enhancing clarity, dynamics, and depth while preserving the warmth of the original vinyl pressing.

Released in September 1985, “To Live and Die in L.A.” stands as one of the most evocative singles of the decade — a moody, cinematic piece that perfectly captures the neon-lit tension of the era. Written and performed by Wang Chung — the British duo of Jack Hues and Nick Feldman — the song was composed specifically for director William Friedkin’s 1985 crime thriller of the same name.

Following the success of their 1984 album Points on the Curve and the hit single “Dance Hall Days,” Wang Chung were approached directly by Friedkin, who was impressed by the atmospheric quality of their music. He commissioned them to create the entire soundtrack for his upcoming film. Unlike most directors, Friedkin gave the band complete creative freedom, telling them, “I don’t want songs that comment on the action. I want music that becomes the action.”

The result was a strikingly original soundtrack that fused synth-pop, ambient textures, and instrumental experimentation — a soundscape as stylish and dangerous as the film’s Los Angeles setting. The title track serves as both the emotional and thematic centerpiece, with Hues’ cool, detached vocals floating over pulsating synths and slow, haunting percussion. The lyrics speak of honor, love, and freedom — echoing the film’s fatalistic tone and moral ambiguity.

While “To Live and Die in L.A.” peaked at #41 on the Billboard Hot 100, its influence has endured far beyond its chart position. It’s a track that rewards rediscovery — a haunting anthem for dreamers and drifters, shimmering with the melancholic beauty that defined much of mid-’80s electronic pop.

The Extended Version was released exclusively on the UK 12” single (Geffen Records, stretching the song to nearly six minutes with an expanded intro and instrumental sections that heighten its hypnotic mood. No instrumental mix was ever issued, making the extended 12” version the definitive way to experience the track in its fullest form.

After the To Live and Die in L.A. project, Wang Chung returned to mainstream pop success with Mosaic (1986) and the massive hit “Everybody Have Fun Tonight.” Yet this song — and the album it anchors — remains their most artistically ambitious work, a timeless fusion of pop and noir that captures the sound of Los Angeles in all its beauty and decay.

Nearly forty years later, “To Live and Die in L.A.” still glows with the same dangerous allure — a haunting reminder that Wang Chung were more than just party anthems and pop hooks. They could also craft music that felt like cinema.

SIDE A:
To Live And Die In L.A. (Extended Version) 5:57
Producer – Steve Jolley & Tony Swain

SIDE B:
Dance Hall Days (Remix) 8:13
Producer – Chris Hughes, Ross Cullum

Black-Blue-White 2:29

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

Chart Performance — Wang Chung: *To Live And Die In L.A.* (1985)
Chart	Peak Position	Date
US Billboard Hot 100	#41	1985
US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	#21	1985

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Geffen Records ‎– TA 6756
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:

Written-By – Wang Chung

NOTES:
Tracks A1-B2 from the Music From The Motion Picture “To Live And Die In L.A.

Track B2 Recorded in Motion-Rama by Dave Motion

Track B1 from the LP “Points On A Curve”

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND

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 donating using PayPal. I appreciate your help.

October 30, 2025

Echo & The Bunnymen – The Killing Moon (UK 12″) (1984)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

NEW 2025 Transfer
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration

Original post date: October 26, 2016

“Fate, up against your will…”

Some songs don’t just play — they haunt. Echo & The Bunnymen’s 1984 masterpiece “The Killing Moon” is one of those rare tracks that feels like it was conjured rather than composed. Brooding, poetic, and drenched in moonlight melancholy, it’s the perfect entry for Spooky Season.

This has long been one of my all-time favorite tracks from the ’80s, so I just had to give it a brand-new 2025 Meticulous Transfer. A timeless classic deserves to shine (and shimmer) under a full moon once again. 🌕

Released in January 1984 as the lead single from the band’s fourth studio album Ocean Rain, “The Killing Moon” was an immediate standout. Written by frontman Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant, bassist Les Pattinson, and drummer Pete de Freitas, the song became the band’s signature — peaking at #9 on the UK Singles Chart and later cementing its legacy in films, television, and pop culture.

McCulloch has never been shy about the weight of his creation.

“I’ve always said that The Killing Moon is the greatest song ever written,” he explained. “It’s more than just a song. It’s a psalm, almost hymnal. It’s about everything — from birth to death to eternity and God, whatever that is — and the eternal battle between fate and the human will. It contains the answer to the meaning of life. It’s my ‘To be or not to be.’”

According to McCulloch, the song came to him in a dream — almost divinely delivered:

“One morning, I just sat bolt upright in bed with this line in my head: ‘Fate up against your will. Through the thick and thin. He will wait until you give yourself to him.’ You don’t dream things like that and remember them. That’s why I’ve always half credited the lyric to God.”

The melody was inspired by McCulloch playing David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” backward and experimenting with the chords. The rest of the lyrics, rich with celestial and existential imagery — “your sky all hung with jewels” — came naturally, reflecting his childhood fascination with The Sky at Night, Star Trek, and the moon landing.

Recording took place in both Bath and Liverpool, though McCulloch wasn’t satisfied with the early sessions:

“I wasn’t happy with the drums or the way it sounded in Bath, so I refused to sing on it. Me and Pete de Freitas went to Amazon Studios in Kirkby and finished it with Gil Norton mixing. I got home around 9 a.m., slightly the worse for wear, and played the song for my wife. She cried.”

The result was a song that feels eternal — darkly romantic yet strangely comforting. The lush strings, courtesy of producer David Lord, swirl around McCulloch’s voice like mist, while Will Sergeant’s shimmering guitars cast silvery reflections across the mix. It’s lush yet cold, beautiful yet foreboding — the musical embodiment of an October night.

“The Killing Moon” later gained new life in 2001 when it was featured in the cult film Donnie Darko, its fateful tone perfectly mirroring the movie’s eerie, time-bending world.

As McCulloch once said, “When I sing it, I think of death, sex, and the moon.”
Could there be anything more fitting for Spooky Season?

Every October, this one finds its way back onto my turntable — and every time, it feels just as hauntingly perfect as the first. “The Killing Moon” captures that mid-’80s gothic elegance that so many bands chased but few ever caught. It’s cinematic, mysterious, and drenched in atmosphere — a song that belongs to the shadows.

SIDE A:
The Killing Moon (All Night Version) 9:10
Mixed By – Gil Norton
Recorded By – David Lord

SIDE B:
The Killing Moon 5:47
Mixed By – Gil Norton
Recorded By – David Lord

Do It Clean (Live) 6:31
Mixed By – Bill Drummond

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Korova – KOW 32 T, Korova – 249535-0
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: Jan 20, 1984
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave, Indie Rock

CREDITS:

Written-By – McCulloch*, Pattinson*, DeFreitas*, Sergeant*

NOTES:
Do It Clean recorded live at The Royal Albert Hall, London, July 18th 1983.

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND

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 donating using PayPal. I appreciate your help.