Eight-X (36)

Hello, Eight-X time again and first up is a bit of an interlooper, productionally however, it crosses the bridge to the eighties. With Mike Batts first soloalbum, Schizophonia, he immediately gained respect for incorporating intelligent pop, and orchestrated rock. A bit of a golden boy this Mike, as at that time 28 years old, he already had a successful writing and producing career under his belt, one that has extended to this day.......It turned out less fortunate, for the main man of the next band here, Big Country, after a good start US success faltered, and 20 years later Stuart Adamson, battling with alcolism and depression, hanged himself....his second crossing......Finally some vinyl i picked up recently (50c) a spotless album by the Dynamic Duo that went for it, and made the most of a lucky break, that finally brought them the edge of heaven. One half of the duo has scored many hits solo and established his writing, singing and production skills ,only to enter into useless battles continued against the self, a conscience can become hard to bear..Anyway "The Final" wasn't even released in the US where it was deemed "too shocking" perhaps.

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Mike Batt - Schizophonia (77 ^flac 197mb)


Michael Philip Batt (born 6 February 1949 in Southampton, England) began his career in pop music at the age of eighteen as a signed artist with Liberty Records, having answered the same advertisement as Elton John and Bernie Taupin placed by Ray Williams in the New Musical Express. The talented youth quickly became part of Liberty's production team, and in 1969 20 year Batt took over production duties, on blues great McKenna Mendelson Mainline's seminal first release, Stink. Credited on the album only as "Liberty Staff". Also in 1969, Batt released as producer/artist a Liberty single, his bouncy cover of The Beatles' "Your Mother Should Know". Batt subsequently became Head of A&R for Liberty Records. His first hits as a singer/songwriter/producer were by The Wombles, in 1974. After eight hit singles and four gold albums with The Wombles, he moved on to work with various artists as a songwriter/producer, most successfully with Steeleye Span and their most successful single and album All Around My Hat in 1975.

With Batt's solo debut, Schizophonia, he was able to realize, in a tangible way, his desire to incorporate intelligent pop, and orchestrated rock into a unified body of work. A keyboard player by trade, his true skill lies in large-ensemble arrangements that include the standard rock & roll configuration of electric guitars, bass, and drums. On Schizophonia, Batt enlists the services of several key musicians who've worked with him in the past and who would appear in future recordings of his; among them are guitarist Chris Spedding, percussionist Ray Cooper, and steel guitar player B.J. Cole. The result, an ambitious and well-conceived effort that would pave the way for several more such recordings. The follow-up Tarot Suite certainly holds its own as an artfully and literate collection of orchestrated rock & roll. The album is again driven by the creative orchestral (London Symphony Orchestra) arrangements and songwriting of Batt. "Lady of the Dawn," sung by Colin Blunstone, achieved respectable "hit" status in England.

In 1980 Mike Batt released his next album, entitled Waves. Later that year, he went off with his family aboard his boat “Braemar”, ending up in Australia after two and a half years, travelling via France, The West Indies, South America, Central America, Mexico, Los Angeles, Hawaii and Fiji. At the end of that journey, he wrote for the 50th anniversary of the Australian Broadcasting Company the musical Zero, Zero. The album The Hunting of the Snark, based on Lewis Carroll's epic nonsense poem, was recorded in 1984. It was presented as a dramatised concert at Sydney’s State Theatre in 1990, and was produced as a musical in London’s West End in 1991 He was then commissioned to write the official Anthem for the inauguration of the Channel Tunnel by The Queen, entitled "When Flags Fly Together". Batt composed and produced the four million-selling album The Violin Player with classical violinist Vanessa-Mae in 95 , the same year he made another solo album, Arabesque.

Currently, Batt is dedicating most of his time to guiding the career of Katie Melua from Georgia. Katie's album "Call Off The Search" was released on Mike's own Dramatico label in November 2003. It sold over 1.8 million copies - in the UK, making Katie the biggest selling UK female artist of 2004. Her second album, "Piece by Piece" to date has sold 3.5 million copies in Europe. Dramatico has been for the last three years, one of the top 3 UK based Indie labels, based on official sales figures. In 2008, Batt started the year with one concert in Munich and a radio-concert-tour in Germany to promote his new CD "A songwriter's tale" - a best compilation.


01 - The Ride To Agadir (6:38)
02 - Berber's Prayer (2:08)
03 - The Walls Of The World (3:20)
04 - Insh'Allah (4:58)

05 - The Fires Od Rabat (2:45)
06 - It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time (2:51)
07 - Bourree (1:34)
08 - Railway Hotel (3:18)
09 - Voices In The Dark (4:01)
10 - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (4:03)

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Big Country - The Crossing ( 83 flac 530mb)

The England-born Adamson formed Big Country in mid-1981 following his exit from the Scottish punk quartet the Skids, enlisting childhood friend Bruce Watson on second guitar; Clive Parker and brothers Pete and Alan Wishart completed the original lineup, but were soon replaced by bassist Tony Butler and drummer Mark Brzezicki. Signing to Polygram's Mercury imprint, the band issued its debut single, "Harvest Home," in the fall of 1982; a series of opening dates on the Jam's farewell tour increased Big Country's visibility exponentially, and the follow-up, "Fields of Fire," cracked the U.K. Top Ten.
It was rapidly followed by the album The Crossing. Powered by "In a Big Country", their only U.S. Top 40 hit single, the album was a hit in the United States. The song featured heavily engineered guitar playing, strongly reminiscent of bagpipes; Adamson and fellow guitarist, Watson, achieved this through the use of the MXR Pitch Transposer 129 Guitar Effect. Also contributing to the band's unique sound was their early virtuoso use of the e-bow, a device which allows a guitar to sound more like strings or synthesizer.

The band released the non-LP extended play single "Wonderland" in 1984 while undergoing a lengthy worldwide tour. The song, considered by some critics to be one of their finest, was a Top Ten hit (#8) in the UK singles chart but didnt connect in the US. Their second album, Steeltown, entered the charts at number one, but despite good reviews there were already rumblings that all of the band's material sounded much the same. Throughout 1984 and 1985, the band toured the UK, Europe, and, to a lesser extent, the U.S

1986's The Seer, the band's third album, was another big success in the UK, peaking at Number 2, and producing three additional Top 40 UK singles. These included "Look Away" which reached Number 7 (the band's highest charting UK single). Kate Bush provided backing vocals on the title cut, and, as was the norm for the band at the time, the album received good reviews from the music press. In the U.S., the album sold modestly better than Steeltown, reaching #59. In what some critics felt was an apparent attempt to regain their dwindling U.S. following, Big Country hooked up with producer Peter Wolf [6] for their next album, Peace in Our Time (1988), which was recorded in Los Angeles, California. It sold poorly. No Place Like Home (1991) not only effectively killed off the band's commercial hopes in the US, it nearly broke up the band. Drummer Mark Brzezicki left the band.

In 1991, the band was dropped by Phonogram, the label that had released all of their material for ten years. After that, Big Country became a minor act, popping up in the lower echelons of the charts in the UK and Europe with the release of every subsequent album. 1993's The Buffalo Skinners, recorded with yet another new drummer, Simon Phillips; the record launched a pair of British Top 30 hits, "Alone" and "Ships." Brzezicki rejoined the lineup in time for Without the Aid of a Safety Net, a live LP recorded in Glasgow at year's end. Why the Long Face followed in 1995, and after recording the acoustic effort Eclectic, Adamson relocated to Nashville in 1997, prompting Big Country to go on extended hiatus.

1999 saw the release of Big Country's eighth and final studio album, Driving to Damascus (titled in its slightly different, augmented U.S. release John Wayne's Dream). Adamson said publicly that he was disappointed that the album did not fare better on the charts, which led to depression. Later that year, he disappeared for a while before resurfacing, stating that he had just needed some time off. In November 2001, Adamson disappeared again, appeals to return didnt work, a month later, he was found dead in a room at the Best Western Plaza Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 16, 2001. The official autopsy revealed that he had hanged himself

A memorial to Adamson was held at Dunfermline's Carnegie Hall in January 2002, followed by a tribute concert at the Barrowlands in May. It brought together the remaining members of both Big Country and The Skids; Adamson's teenage children, Callum and Kirsten; as well as Steve Harley, Runrig, Simon Townshend, Midge Ure and Bill Nelson. In 2007, to celebrate 25 years of Big Country, founding members Bruce Watson, Tony Butler (now lead vocalist for the first time), and Mark Brzezicki reunited to tour Scotland and England.


01 - In A Big Country (4:44)
02 - Inwards (4:36)
03 - Chance (4:25)
04 - 1000 Stars (3:53)
05 - The Storm (6:18)
06 - Harvest Home (4:20)
07 - Lost Patrol (4:50)
08 - Close Action (4:15)
09 - Fields Of Fire (3:32)
10 - Porrohman (7:51)
Wonderland EP (US Version)
11 - Wonderland 3:58
12 - Al Fall Together (Jimmy Iovine Remix) 5:16
13 - Angle Park 4:08
14 - The Crossing 7:10
Bonus Track
15 - Chance (Re-Recorded Single Version) 4:37

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Wham! - The Final ( 85 , 79min ^ 478mb)

Wham! formed in 1981 by George Michael, Andrew Ridgeley, and David Morrison. George met Wham!'s other half, Andrew Ridgeley, at school in the London suburb of Bushey, and in 1979 they started performing together as part of the ska-based band the Executive. When that group dissolved, they wrote songs, made demos, and rushed into a recording contract with the equally eager independent label Innervision. The first record to be released by the band was "Wham Rap!". It was a double-A side with a Social Mix and Anti-social Mix. The record was banned for general release in the UK due to the profanity in the Anti-social Mix. In October 1982, their song "Young Guns (Go For It!)" was issued. As luck would have a spot would open on BBC's Top of the Pops and they got to perform their bubbling single which subsequently has the girls running for the shop and landed Wham ! their first hit (#3)

Wham! followed up with the reissue "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)", subsequently they released "Bad Boys", and "Club Tropicana", a satire of the Club 18-30 scene. Each song came with a memorable music video. By the end of 1983, Wham! was rivaling Duran Duran and Culture Club as Britain's biggest pop act. Their first album Fantastic reached #1. Driven by Ridgeley, the duo changed their image, and Wham! returned in May 1984 with an updated, cutting-edge pop image quickly copied by other pop bands. Ridgeley changed the band's look from "moody in leather jackets" to smiles and fashionable clothing, with an aim to promote themselves more as sex symbols rather than spokespeople for a disaffected generation. The next single Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, a song Michael wrote reached to the top of the charts around the world.

Although some critics felt that Wham! represented bubblegum pop, many people started to appreciate Michael's proven ability as a songwriter and capable vocalist. The next single "Careless Whisper" was issued as a George Michael solo piece, yet unlike any Wham! single since "Wham Rap!," it was co-written by Ridgeley. The song quickly reached #1. In the autumn of 1984, Wham! came back as a duo with "Freedom", another chart-topper. In November, they released their second album, Make It Big, which coasted to #1 on the album charts. The band set off on another arena tour at the end of 1984. George contributed to the Band Aid project, with Michael providing vocals as the song usurped their own Christmas release, "Last Christmas"/"Everything She Wants", the single became the highest-selling single ever to peak at #2 in the UK charts. As such, Wham! donated all their royalties to the Ethiopian famine appeal to coincide with the fundraising intentions of Band Aid, the song which beat them to the top spot.

In April 1985, Wham! took a break from recording to embark on an enormous world tour including a groundbreaking 10-day visit to China. It culminated in a concert at the Worker's Gymnasium in Beijing in front of 10,000 people. Director Lindsay Anderson documented the tour in his film Foreign Skies. Michael desired to create music targeted to a more sophisticated audience than the duo's primarily teenage fanbase. Therefore, Michael and Ridgeley announced the breakup of Wham! in the spring of 1986, destined to take place after a farewell single and album, along with a historic grand finale concert at Wembley Stadium on June 28, 1986, called The Final. The farewell single was "The Edge of Heaven" which reached #1 in June 1986. The duo's last album was a double-LP collection of all the singles to date, mostly the extended versions, and was also called The Final (released in North America as the severely pared-down Music from the Edge of Heaven with alternate tracks). Wham! then said goodbye to their audience (73,000 of whom attended the eight-hour event) . The band had been together five years, selling close to 20 million albums and 10 to 15 million singles.


Wham! - The Final ( flac 478mb)

01 - Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) (6:36)
02 - Young Guns (Go For It) (5:07)
03 - Bad Boys (4:51)
04 - Club Tropicana (4:17)

05 - Wake Me Up Before You Go Go (3:47)
06 - Careless Whisper (Extended Mix) (6:21)
07 - Freedom (5:14)
08 - Last Christmas (Pudding Mix) (6:35)

09 - Everything She Wants (Remix) (6:23)
10 - I'm Your Man (Extended Stimulation) (6:45)
11 - Blue (Armed With Love) (3:49)

12 - A Different Corner (3:53)
13 - Battlestations (5:21)
14 - Where Did Your Heart Go? (5:37)
15 - The Edge Of Heaven (4:23)

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