Tag: Wham!

Wham! U.K. – Wham! U.K. Mega Mix (US 12″ Promo)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1983

NEW 2024 Transfer!
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration!

Originally posted March 22, 2014

“Wham! U.K. Mega Mix” is a 1983 U.S.-only promotional 12″ single released by Wham! U.K. as they were called in America on Clumbia/Innervision Records. The medley was mixed by DMC’s Alan Couthard, and was possibly the U.S. version of the “Club Fantastic Megamix” which was also mixed by Couthard. This single has never been released in any other format. This 12″ is a precious rarity for any complete Wham! collection.

The same track appears on both sides of this single.

SIDE A:
Wham! U.K. Mega Mix Featuring 8:59
Wham Rap (Enjoy What You Do)
Bad Boys
Young Guns (Go For It)

SIDE B:
Wham! U.K. Mega Mix Featuring 8:59
Wham Rap (Enjoy What You Do)
Bad Boys
Young Guns (Go For It)

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint (generic)

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Columbia – AS 1764, Innervision Records (2) – AS 1764
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:

NOTES:
Demonstration Not For Sale

Mega Mix for Disco Mix Club.

Same track appears on both sides.

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 donating using PayPal. I appreciate your help.



Wham! – Freedom (Long Mix) (US 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1985

NEW 2022 Transfer!
NEW Meticulous Restoration!

Originally posted April 16, 2014

++The U.S. “Long Mix” is an alternate mix which is about one minute shorter than the “Long Version” released in Europe and Japan.

“Freedom” is a hit song by British pop duo Wham!. “Freedom” was number one in the UK for three weeks, and featured on the album Make It Big, which was issued at the same time. “Freedom” was the 10th biggest-selling single of 1984. This song also reached number 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in the US in September 1985. The music video, coinciding with the 1985 US release, features the band touring around Beijing, China.

The song finds George Michael telling a girl that he wants to fully commit to her, and not have one of those relationships where they can see other people.

When Wham! went to China in April, 1985, they became the first Western Pop act to play a concert in that country. While there is absolutely nothing political about the song, footage from the trip was used to make a music video for the track, implying a more global meaning of the title.

The video opens with about a minute of the band talking under clips of the Chinese people and the countryside. Wham! was one of the biggest acts on MTV at the time, but the network, fearing the short attention spans of their viewers, wanted to cut out the intro (this was before Michael Jackson changed the game with “Thriller”). The band’s manager, Simon Napier-Bell, refused, and MTV ended up airing the full video. Napier-Bell apparently found the negotiations with MTV much easier than those with the Chinese government.

In an interview with the Christmas 2009 issue of THE BIG ISSUE, Michael said of this song, that when he wrote it he knew he had arrived: “When I was 19, I wrote Freedom – the original version – and I thought, ‘I can’t believe I’ve just done that!’ I was absolutely thrilled. Because until then I had no real understanding of my abilities, but with Freedom, I started to take myself seriously as a writer.”

SIDE A:
Freedom (Long Mix) 6:17

SIDE B:
Heartbeat 4:42
Freedom (Instrumental) 5:04

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1984 Freedom U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #3
1984 Freedom U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks #4

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Columbia ‎– 44-05238
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Arranged By, Producer – George Michael
Written-By – G. Michael*

NOTES:
Taken from the Columbia LP: “MAKE IT BIG”

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO 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

 

**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.



Wham! – Last Christmas (UK 7″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1984

NEW 2021 Transfer!
NEW Meticulous Restoration!
NEW First time in 24bit Flac!

Originally posted December 3, 2018

For those that may have missed this one the first time around I have given this record a fresh new transfer. Since I originally recorded this record in 2018 I have made many upgrades to my gear, and wanted to give the record the best possible transfer that I could. This recording is also being presented in 24bit FLAC Hi-Res Audio for the first time.

In addition I have also newly scanned the artwork.

“Last Christmas” is a song by English pop duo Wham!, released on Epic Records in December 1984, on a double A-side with “Everything She Wants”. It was written and produced by George Michael.

The song reached number one in Slovenia and Sweden and number two in seven countries including Belgium, Netherlands, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Norway and United Kingdom. Wham! donated all of their royalties to the Ethiopian famine.

**This U.K. 7″ pressing contains The early mix and vocal of “Last Christmas” recorded in August 1984, which has never been released on CD or digitally. Everything She Wants (Album Version) is the B side according to the record label. However, Last Christmas has been mis-pressed on both sides. Track time is listed as 4:24 on the record label the actual duration is 4:32.

SIDE A:
Last Christmas (Early Mix) 4:32

SIDE B:
Last Christmas (Early Mix) 4:32

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic ‎– GA 4949, Epic ‎– GA4949
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Single, Mispress, Misprint, Gatefold
Country: UK
Released: 1984
Genre: Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer, Arranged By, Words By, Music By – George Michael
Recorded By – Chris Porter

NOTES:
Issued in a gatefold sleeve.
Made in England.

Everything She Wants (Album Version) is the B side according to the record label. However, Last Christmas has been mis-pressed on both sides of the record.

Find the 7″ at DISCOGS

VINYL 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

Password: burningtheground

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

Wham! – The Edge Of Heaven (Japan 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

“The Edge of Heaven” is a song by English pop duo Wham!, released on Epic Records in 1986. It was written and produced by George Michael, one half of the duo, and was promoted in advance as Wham!’s farewell single.

With the known desire of George Michael to move into a more adult market, Wham! had announced in the spring of 1986 that Michael and his musical partner Andrew Ridgeley would go their separate ways after a farewell single, album and concert. The album was called The Final and the concert was held in front of 72,000 fans at London’s Wembley Stadium on Saturday 28 June 1986. Prior to the official release date of the single, the song had been performed during their 1985 “Whamamerica!” tour.

The single, a five-minute tale of emotional and physical frustration within a relationship, was a slick and upbeat — albeit harder-edged than earlier works — a pop tune which became the fourth and final No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart (and the final US Top Ten hit, reaching #10) for the duo. Elton John, a friend of Michael and Ridgeley, played piano on the track.

Michael has said the lyrics to the song were “deliberately and overtly sexual, especially the first verse”. The reason for this, he says, was he thought no one would care “because no one listens to a Wham! lyric. It had got to that stage.”

Epic released a double record set in the UK, with an updated version of Wham!’s early signature song “Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)” on the flip of disc one, and two new songs – “Battlestations” and a cover of the Was (Not Was) song “Where Did Your Heart Go?”—on the flip of the second disc. “Where Did Your Heart Go?” was later given equal billing and reached a lowly position in the UK Top 40 as a result.

In the United States, “The Edge of Heaven” was backed with a live version of “Blue” from Wham!’s tour of China. “Where Did Your Heart Go?” was released separately as the follow-up and the fourth and last single from Music from the Edge of Heaven (the shortened American version of The Final), and charted at #50 (backed with “Wham! Rap ’86”).

**As a special bonus track, I have added the mega-rare “Extended Edit” of “Battlestations” which should have been released as a single in my opinion. The track is remixed and edited by Steven Bourasa for the Hot Tracks remix service.

SIDE A:
The Edge Of Heaven 4:31
Written-By – G. Michael*

SIDE B:
Where Did Your Heart Go? 5:41
Written-By – Don Was & Dave Was*

BONUS TRACK:
Battlestations (Extended Edit) 6:36
Edited By – Steven Bourasa*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1986 The Edge Of Heaven U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #10
1986 The Edge Of Heaven U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary #22

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic ‎– 12・3P-748
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: Japan
Released: 21 Jul 1986
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Engineer – Chris Porter
Producer, Arranged By – George Michael

NOTES:
Special thanks to Elton for The Edge Of Heaven

“Battlestations” taken from Hot Tracks Series 5, Issue 11

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
DAC/Phono Pre-amp:
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 USED:
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

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

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