BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

“Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)” is a 1982 song by British pop duo Wham! Released in June 1982, this was the pair’s debut single. Credited to Panos/Ridgeley (ie George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley), it was produced by Bob Carter on the Innervision label.

According to Rob Jovanovic in his 2007 biography of George Michael, the song “depicted the world as they saw it” although it was “hardly a rap as we know it today.” The message is that if you’re young and unemployed, have fun. Of course, most people who are faced with especially long term unemployment find life a struggle, but youthful optimism certainly paid off for this dynamic duo. David Austin and Paul Ridgeley (Andrew’s brother) added backing vocals.

The first DJ to play “Wham Rap!” on BBC Radio was Peter Powell; it was chosen by the music paper Sounds as its single of the week, but could reach only #105 in the UK chart.

This 7″ includes the original 1982 version on the A side which is the video version. Side B is the “club mix” whic is an edit of the “social mix”.

SIDE A:
Wham Rap (Enjoy What You Do) 3:30

SIDE B:
Wham Rap (Enjoy What You Do) (Club Mix) 4:02

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic ‎– EPCA 2442, Inner Vision ‎– A 2442
Format: Vinyl, 7″, Single, 45 RPM
Country: Netherlands
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer – Bob Carter
Written-By – Ridgeley*, Panos (2)

NOTES:
Printed in Holland

Find The 7″ 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