BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982
“It Ain’t What You Do (It’s the Way That You Do It)” is a calypso song written by jazz musicians Melvin “Sy” Oliver and James “Trummy” Young. It was first recorded in 1939 by Jimmie Lunceford, Harry James, and Ella Fitzgerald.
The jazz tune was transformed into a pop song with ska elements in 1982. With the title slightly altered to “It Ain’t What You Do….”, it was included on Fun Boy Three’s debut self-titled album, but it was not available on a Bananarama album until 1988’s Greatest Hits Collection.
Terry Hall of Fun Boy Three owned a copy of Bananarama’s previous single “Aie a Mwana” and after seeing an article about the trio in The Face he decided he wanted them to sing background vocals on this song, solely based on the fact that he liked their look. “It Ain’t What You Do….” became a big hit in the UK, climbing to number four in the UK singles chart. The success of this single also prompted Bananarama to return the favour and have Fun Boy Three sing on their next single “Really Saying Something”.
SIDE A:
It Ain’t What You Do….(Extended Version) 5:50
Written-By – S. Oliver*, J. Young*
SIDE B:
The “Funrama” Theme (Extended Version) 5:58
Written-By – Golding*, Staples*, Hall*
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
CHARTS:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | It Ain’t What You Do | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play | #19 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Chrysalis – CDS 2570
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Producer – Dave Jordan, Fun Boy Three, The*
NOTES:
Mastered at Allen Zentz L.A., Calif.
Find The 12″ On DISCOGS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
Another great FB3/Bananarama collaboration! An interesting FB3 12 inch is the “Our Lips Are Sealed (Special Remix Version)” which has some amazing spaced out dub parts – only recently found out the single was produced by David Byrne.
Links are fixed!
Excellent! 24-bit FLAC … Thank you, Paul!
What’s the funny star-shaped edge round the top of the sticker on the sleeve? Is it one sticker on top of another?
I’m not sure I have never tried to remove it I just assumed it was so you could peel it off easier (lol) but did notice on Discogs that other releases had a different sticker. My 12″ is actually a promo copy.
Really good your doing this series of 12″ gems from Fun Boy Three and Bananarama.
Thank you!
More Bananarama in amazing quality, thanks so much. I remember this coming out as a kid and the start of my love for Bananarama.I had the 7″ single and it stuck on a do-do-la-la bit and carrried on and on, I thought it was an extended mix at first ha ha, but it was just a glitch on the record! I am glad to hear there is more Bananarama postings on the way 🙂
That is a fun story thanks for sharing it. Yep stay tuned more on the way!
More Potassium goodness? Delicious!
Thank you, Paul for always feeding us our daily dose of musical nutrition here.
I remember seeing this collaboration in 1982 and thought it was super cool…three ska guys pairing up with three spunky girls.
Aie a Mwana didn’t even crack the UK Top 75, so the ‘nana’s had lots of thanking to do to The Fun Boy Three for bringing them into the limelight.
Ric I hope that I don’t give everyone a potassium overdose this week, I have a few more nana’s to peel lol.
Peel away I say!
Thanks for more early Bananarama, Paul. 🙂
You are very welcome Steve.
I love you, Paul! Thanks so much!
Now I’m blushing 🙂 You’re welcome Jbird