BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983
Re-Rip Newly Remastered!
Originally I posted this one on March 25, 2010. But for those who may have missed it or if you are a new reader just discovering BTG. I decided to give this one a new rip with my newer Ortofon Super 30 stylus. This 12″ is also being posted in 24 bit flac for the very first time!
“Club Tropicana” is a song by British pop duo Wham!, released in 1983 on Innervision Records. It was written by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.
The song was a mild departure from Wham!’s previous singles, which had all been motivated by social or political issues. “Club Tropicana”, however, was a satire of the boom for cheap package holidays for younger, single people of a hedonistic nature. It was specifically seen in the UK as a swipe at the very popular Club 18-30 scheme.
A memorable video directed by Duncan Gibbins was made at Pikes Hotel in Ibiza, with scenes of George and Andrew on the beach, making eyes at bikini-clad girls played by their backing singers Dee C. Lee and Shirlie Holliman. They were also seen relaxing by a pool and sipping cocktails, along with the famous scene of trumpet-playing taking place in the pool itself. A twist in the sexual tension between the two men and two women was revealed at the end, when it turned out that George and Andrew were airline pilots and Dee and Shirlie were stewardesses.
The song was released in July 1983 and peaked at #4 in the UK, going on to become the 39th best selling single of 1983. It was the fourth and final single to be taken from the album Fantastic. Wham! went on to dominate the UK charts, achieving four #1 singles before splitting at their height in 1986.
The B-side, “Blue (Armed With Love)”, is a semi-instrumental dub track of higher quality than is generally expected for B-side material, and would not have been out of place on Fantastic. It in fact appeared as a bonus track on the Japanese pic disc version of the album. During their “Club Fantastic” tour in late 1983 and in 1985 in China, they performed this song live, complete with sung verses, and the result was released as “Blue (Live In China)” on their 1986 LP Music from the Edge of Heaven as well as the B-side of 1985’s single release of “Last Christmas.” The studio version of the song has not appeared on CD except for a single CD in Japan. It was also overlooked for the 25th Anniversary rerelease of The Final, even though this version claimed to be accurate to the original release.
SIDE A:
Club Tropicana 4:27
Engineer – Tony Taverner
Producer – Steve Brown
Recorded By, Mixed By – George Michael , Steve Brown
Written-By – Andrew Ridgely*
SIDE B:
Blue (Armed With Love) 3:53
Engineer – Chris Porter
Club Tropicana (Instrumental) 3:30
Engineer – Tony Taverner
Producer – Steve Brown
Recorded By, Mixed By – George Michael , Steve Brown
Written-By – Andrew Ridgely*
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Inner Vision – TA 3613
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Mastered By – Arun*
NOTES:
‘Club Tropicana’ is taken from the album & cassette “FANTASTIC” which also includes
‘Bad Boys’, ‘Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?)’ and ‘Young Guns (Go For It!)’.
Special thanks to Margaret Holliman.
Thanks to everybody who has helped put the album & singles together.
Find The 12″ On DISCOGS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Speed Control: Pro-Ject Speed Box S
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removeal: ClickRepair (DeClick Level 3)
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
TY
Thank you so much been searching for this song from a ripped 12 inch. You are the best and never stop posting!!! Love from NYC!
Thanks for bringing Blue out of limbo.
Hi Paul,
pls double check the zip of the 24bit flac and mp3. The Content is the Club Fanatastic megamix instead of tropicana.
Hi Marko it should be fixed now. Sorry for the problem 🙂
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the rips, but I seem to get the Club Fantastic files instead of the Club Tropicana files on the MP3 rar as well…
Keep up the excellent work!
Thanks André the problem should be fixed now. Sorry about that 🙂
Hi Paul, why do i get the Club Fantastic Megamix files instead when I opened the rar?
There seems to be a mislink at the ‘flac’-parts.
Wham! Bam! Paul is our Man! Thank you again! I hope the non-Wham! fans can bear with us a little more…after all, Wham!’s discography is not that extensive compared to their 80s mega-peers. After the #2 success of Bad Boys (blocked by Every Breathe You Take by The Police), George Michael though he had written Whams! first #1 with this. Sadly, it only peaked at #4. I think the fact that it’s the fourth single (and everyone had already bought the album) coupled with the lack of any 12″ version contributed to that. Still, it was a steady seller, and… Read more »
You’re welcome Ric and as always thanks for sharing your chart expertise 🙂
Thanks Paul! This song is refreshing and cool for Spring.
You’re welcome GGNYC 🙂
thank you..thank you..thank you…
You’re very welcome Hugh 🙂
If someone is interested, this is an eac rip of the rare japanese 3” cd single of Club Tropicana.
http://www.filefactory.com/file/3knq57kpev39/Wham%21%20-%20Club%20Tropicana%20%281983%29%20%5B1997%20Japan%203-inch%20CD-Single%5D.7z
Do your own comparisons.
To my ears Paul’s vinyl rip is better. Just pay attention to Blue in particular, and notice how much better definition have the cymbals, and how much warmer and deeper is the bass.
But that’s just my opinion…
Exactly why I love vinyl…warmer and deeper!
Thank you Peter that is why I love vinyl so much 🙂
This song has an amazing personal story attached to it for me, which I won’t repeat here, but makes me love hearing the song, even though it still seems to get played to death every year.
I saw Shirly in a documentary say that it was the trip to Ibiza to film this video where George had ‘an experience’, and was when he first ‘found himself’.
I love hearing the personal stories that go along with the songs. I have a personal one that goes with Wham!’s “I’m Your Man” maybe I will share it when I post it 🙂
(Will that be in a very special 18+ section of this marvellous site?-)
Thanks paul for all the very rare oportunities you offer to listeners worldwide.
Might i sidestep and express hope you do a special GraceJones-week as her Nightclubbing-remastering is due next month?
Thanks Paul. I had your previous rip and noticed a lot of hissing when George sang anything with an “s”… but this rip is hiss-free. Did you get a new copy of the vinyl or have your discovered a way to reduce hiss on vinyl rips? Be keen to know…
Hi Todd a little of both I did replace the vinyl but really once the vinyl starts to hiss generally from wear you really can’t fix it. I also upgraded my needle which helps a lot 🙂
If the vinyl is being cut ‘hard’, the more you get the s-hiss. But the better the stylus is, the more it can track the information without distortion. The Ortofon OM30 stylus has a Van Hull shape, which ‘lies’ a bit deeper into the groove than an elliptical shaped stylus, and therefore produces better frequencies in the higher region and much better tracking.
No overdose whatsoever here, Paul! This Wham! series is just awesome.
Do we get the Club Fantastic also, or are you going to contine with Wake me up?
Thanks for this great re-rip and for the rare B-side, very very appreciated.
“Club Fantastic!” 🙂
Nice, we get the whole bundle.
The Instrumental is a real bonus to have in high quality.
Thanks Paul 🙂
Thank you Junior. Enjoy!
Interesting…
I’ve just compared both your rips on this superb track and (wait for it) and without a doubt the first rip sounds better to me (a little brighter, less flat).
As always thanks for ongoing Whamthology of rips!
Thank you Ex15 apprciate your comment 🙂
What a great way to usher in the first day of Spring Paul. You are probably making Andrew and George very, very happy by your intricate detail to bringing out the sonic quality of their vinyl singles. I somehow wish you were recognized and acknowledged for all of your efforts. I admire you so very, very much.
Cheers!!!
Jeff
Happy first day of Spring Jeff! Thank you so much for all of your thoughtful comments they mean a lot 🙂
Awesome. We’re getting towards the whole collection! Freedom, WMUBYGG, I’m your man, Wham rap ’86 and The edge of heaven off the top of my head
Hope I don’t have a Wham! overdose before I get ther lol
WMUBYGG, I’m your man will be cool.
Thanks Paul on your great work and I hope that you feel better now.
Amazing series of Wham!’s singles. You’re our superman, Paul!!!
Thank you Spring 🙂
Muchas gracias Paul por esta maxigrafia de Wham! no olvides “wake me up..” por favor, de nuevo mil gracias.
It’s coming Carlos 🙂
Thanks Paul once again for your superior work. I think Blue (Armed With Love) should’ve not been a bside but a single on its own or atleast an
album track, don’t u think?
Yes I agree Omar a great track that deserved better.