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:
- DJ Mix – Alan Coulthard
- Producer – Steve Brown
- Written-By – A. Ridgely* (tracks: A.1, B.1), G. Michael*
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
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Interesting that the Boys, from what I read, wanted UK fans to boycott this release. Is it the exact same as the UK version, or did they make it “More American” (whatever that means).
Thanks for another dose of WHAM, PaulT!
I’ll always have a soft spot in my cold, black heart for George Michael.
Oh My God , I have been looking for this singles for years, thank you very much, you are the best.
WOW! Another ultra-rare release! Not only a rare WHAM record, but also a super rare DMC Megamix! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
KIQQ 100.3 was the 1st station in L.A. to play “Wham! UK” and yet we never got this very rare megamix, likely serviced only to clubs. Columbia brought the boys by one afternoon to record an interview for a music & words show we did on Fridays. On their way out, they stopped in to see the control room, and ended up doing what’s now called a “station takeover” where they played DJs and dug up old songs we normally didn’t play. They had a ball for three hours taking listener calls along the way. It was so crazy and… Read more »
Wow! That’s… Fantastic! ❤️
So Cool! 🙂
Thank you for this Wham! rarity! An interesting artifact and precursor to their international hit and U.S. breakthrough. No it couldn’t compare to the hits from Make It Big, but interesting nonetheless. Wow I can’t believe all the big anniversaries this year. Too big a number, lol! Thank you Paul!!
I am with you Retro Hound can’t believe it has already been 40 years. I love the “Fantastic” album it has a certain charm. 🙂
George is a legend and I miss him terribly. I’m very disappointed this 40th anniversary year hasn’t been marked with any good reissues. The colored vinyls are ok but the fans want proper CD deluxe editions. Some 12″ vinyl reissues would be nice. 14 May 1984 will mark the 40th anniversary of Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, but there is nothing to mark the anniversary. May will see the premier of the original cut of Wham in China. Surely this should get a deluxe blu ray release. 23 July 1984 will mark the 40th anniversary of Careless Whisper… Read more »
I agree with you very disappointing so far. I would love to see “Wham In China” get a proper physical release hopefully region-free. As I mentioned in another comment I don’t understand why they re-issued their albums on Blu-ray they have ignored the folks who want a CD release.
I totally agree Paul, yet the fact that SDE’s Paul Sinclair was able to pull off ANY Wham! limited edition release is a miracle in itself considering the politics involved between the GM estate and SonyBMG. At least Andrew appeared to be amenable to the idea. I’m just glad Paul at SDE cultivated the contacts, trust, and relationships to allow this gift for us all.
Dear DJ XREY,
I love the personal stories you have to offer us with interesting anecdotes and the coolest trivia. This is, for me, icing on the cake for us Burning The Ground followers, with people in the know, from the Industry and with the perfect passions! Wow, KROQ, what a great Industry leader and such a legacy for progressive music!!!
Have a marvelous weekend!!
Jeff
Both albums come out on blu-ray with Atmos mixes on them in April.
https://www.discogs.com/release/30547819-Wham-Fantastic
I got mine a few days ago. How amazing is it that Paul Sinclair could pull this off?
Whamtastic! Thank you Paul!
You’re welcome, Gary 🙂
Hi Paul, I haven´t been around for a while only to find this gem. I´m a sucker for megamixes as you probably remember. BIG fan of Ben Liebrand´s megamixes who is my godfather of remixes. This Alan Coulthard megamix is just fun. Ok, it´s not of the highest quality with regards to technique but we
mustn´t forget how old it is. I love it no matter what.
All the best to you and Jeff and every music lover around.
s´n´d
Good to see your comment Song And Dance we thought you had abandoned us (just kidding) 🙂 This megamix was a cut-and-paste affair which I think is awesome.
To quote Mr Phil Collins,
“I′m not moving don’t worry
Ah you just try and push me out
No, I’m not moving, nowhere.
Ah there′s no hurry, I can sit it out
So don′t worry turn around, I will still be here”
🙂 🙂
Dear Song And Dance,
Gosh, I’ve missed you so much here. I’m just happy that you’re alright because I was so worried. And although it’s been a while, a happy belated birthday!! You’re one of the best, s’n’d!!!
Have a fabulous day and weekend!!!
Jeff
Fun stuff indeed and interesting timing as I recently received their albums on blu-ray!
Funny side note: a friend of mine from San Diego thinks their first album is called “UK Fantastic,” which I can only attribute to the intial Wham! UK moniker in the states! I didn’t have the heart to correct him… 😆
Thanks for this remaster!!
I am a bit puzzled as to why they are releasing their albums on Blu-ray I get that Atmos is fun and I enjoy it but it seems they left out a whole demographic of people who enjoy CDs not everyone has an Atmos setup. Sometimes saying nothing is better.
Though the Dolby Atmos Blu-rays are new technology to most of us, they are backwards compatible with stereo and standard 5.1 systems, which is shocking in the consumer world. Plus they aren’t peak limited with a steamroller like so many recent “loudness war” CDs. And unlike streaming, you can actually “hold the music in your hands”.
I don’t have an Atmos setup either, LOL. But you can play them in stereo too. I’m getting sucked into the limited edition nature of some of these Blu-rays. The Wham! ones I think I was particularly suckers into in the hopes that this mastering would be great. Some, like the recent Paul Young Blu-ray also had CD and vinyl editions ( I know because I bought the CDs too). The Wham! ones I believe had new vinyl editions, but I’m not sure on the CD end. I personally would prefer it if the Blu-ray came with CDs as well… Read more »
Because of your involvement with the ON-J releases, you’re more familiar with these licensing and release issues than I. I’ve learned some stuff from the Blank & Jones interviews how complex dealing with labels, management, archives, etc. can be just to make a few scheckels on a limited release.
BTW, I found a post of an old ON-J song from 1966 if you’re not familiar with it. It’s on my home machine and I can send it if you haven’t heard it.
Great to see this dusted off for a new polished-up rip. I love mega-mixes and it’s so cool of you, Paul, to feature them on your site!
I just found out recently that DMC’s Alan Coulthard was responsible for coining the term, mega-mix! I love this description more than the overly used, medley. I guess it’s because there seems to be a lot more going on in a mix. To each his own!!
Jeff
This megamix is not one of his best with some sloppy edits. However, it is a must-have for fans. I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Probably done under the gun and with no budget! Still good times!
Thanks for this gem, Paul. It is what it is: A very early megamix in the spirit of the year-end medleys from the Disconet era before folks had easier and affordable access to multitrack DAWs and software. Plus, considering it was commissioned by InnerVision, Alan likely had mo budget or luxury of time to be as creative as he might have liked.
Interesting! I always thought of a medley as a loose stitching together (or perhaps just cross faded into one), whereas a mega-mix can go back & forth and take elements from one track and sprinkle it throughout, etc! Megamix to me was much more a DJ thing than a medley. Good to know who coined the term!
Perfect definition of “medley” and “mega-mix”, ING. A great example of a medley is the Stars on 45 records. Then, we have those great Hot Tracks year end records that are really what a mega-mix should be. Curious though, they called theirs a medley. Ah, the labels we have for things!
Thanks for your definition, ING. Have a great day and weekend!!!
Jeff
❤️ I guess it’s like a townhome apartment or condo. Sometimes things are called whatever someone decides! 😆. Perhaps Stars On 45 is a separate category since it’s not songs strung together but a new recording made purposefully as a continuous medley ? 🤔🎶 I was always confused by my 45 of Stars on 45’s so called Beatles Medley starting with the Archie’s Sugar Sugar!
The Stars On 45 phenomenon has a very interesting story as it started with a limited run DJ club promo using the original artist’s clips under the title “Let’s Do It In The ’80s” with the artist listed as Passion on the Alto label. There were many bootlegs of this, but I believe that’s the original. Though it is commonly known as a Beatles medley, and somehow Apple Corps never heard this first, Robbie van Leeuwen, guitarist with Shocking Blue and the composer of the “Venus” clip heard it in a club years later. Instead of freaking out and suing… Read more »
Fascinating!