Burning The Ground Exclusive 1982
“Make A Circuit With Me” is a 1982 single by the English rockabilly band The Polecats formed in 1977 in north London.
The original line-up was Tim Worman (a.k.a. Tim Polecat, vocalist), Martin “Boz” Boorer (guitarist and vocalist), Phil Bloomberg (bassist), and Chris Hawkes (drummer) who originally played under the name “Cult Heroes”. Finding difficulty persuading promoters to book them on the rockabilly circuit with a name sounding “too punk”, they adopted Hawkes’ suggested band name, the Polecats. Hawkes was later replaced by Neil Rooney, who was subsequently replaced by John Buck. The Polecats played rockabilly with a “punk sense of anarchy and helped revive the genre for a new generation in the early ’80s.”
The Polecats were known for their fresh and energized take on the classic genre. Adding a sense of punk and sparking a multitude of bands to follow on their footsteps. Their arguably most famous song, “Make A Circuit With Me” may be their cheesiest song, but they do it well. It has a perfect balance of infectious guitar work, a danceable beat, and cheesy lyrics about love through electricity.
“Make A Circuit With Me” peaked at #76 on the UK singles chart.
In the Disney Pixar film WALL-E, advertisers used the Polecats’ 1983 hit song “Make a Circuit with Me” in their television trailers for the film. In 2010, the U.S. broadcaster TBS used “Make a Circuit with Me” in two episodes of the TV series Glory Daze.
SIDE A:
Make A Circuit With Me (Rockin’ Mix) 2:53
Producer – Chris Hughes, Ross Cullum
SIDE B:
Juvenile Delinquents (From A Planet Near Mars) 2:40
Producer – Polecats*
Red Ready Amber 2:11
Producer – Dave Edmunds
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Mercury – POLE 412
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1982
Genre: Rock
Style: Rockabilly, New Wave
CREDITS:
- Design – Rocking Russian, Polecats*
- Music By, Lyrics By – Phil Bloomberg (2), Tim Worman
- Other [Tinting] – Helena Zakrzewska-Rucinska
- Photography By [Blac & White] – Chris Gabrin
- Photography By [Colour] – Sheila Rock
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!
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Freaking Fantastic Polecats!!!! Love this….
Hey Paul, this is anything but “totally obscure” in Los Angeles where The Polecats got massive airplay on top 40 and the 2 alternative stations when this came out! There were 2 different 12″ mixes – I recall the UK mix was primarily instrumental (not the dub mix); the US mix was the vocal/siingle mix with the cold ending, which I preferred.
Glad to be your AC-DC man,
DJ XREY.
They don’t even know them at home, pure rubbish..!!
I love these “out of left field” posts!! I have the US 12″ Promo of this, so I’m excited to have the UK 12″ release! I don’t know the Rockin’ Mix or the b-sides, so I’m looking forward to this. UK’s answer to The Stray Cats… or perhaps The Stray Cats were the US’s answer to The Pole Cats. With Dave Edmunds producing both you can’t go wrong. Thanks Paul!!
Three fun tracks here for sure. I hope you enjoy it, Retro Hound 🙂
Hey Retro Hound,
So happy you love this record too. I liked what you had to say about the song. You’ve described it perfectly for those who may not know the piece. I so wish more folks would have an open mind and give it a spin. Paul gives us many sounds to discover!!
Have a great day!
Jeff
Thanks Jeff! I love your backstories you describe so vividly. That’s what Paul does, these wonderful posts take us back to a time and place that was magical.
Wow, Paul!! What a fabulous song to post!! I remember this song so well because I92 out of Philidelphia started a “Rock of the 80’s” format based on KROQ out of California! Although the format only lasted a few months, it was this station that helped me form the music I love. I shuttled between this station and 92KTU which was close on the radio dial. I was exposes to dance music of all types, but New Wave was my absolute favorite. This station introduced me to The Flirts, Ministry, Shriekback, Soft Cell, Depeche Mode, Haysi Fantaysi, The Europeans and… Read more »
Thank you, Jeff. I also appreciate you sharing your memories of heat the song meant to you. Enjoy 🙂