I won't let the sun go down on me
| I won't let the sun go down on me | |
|---|---|
| Nik Kershaw | |
| publication | September 16, 1983 May 1984 (re-release) |
| length | 3:19 |
| Genre (s) | Synth pop , new wave |
| Author (s) | Nik Kershaw |
| Label | MCA Records |
| album | Human racing |
I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me is a song by the English musician Nik Kershaw . It was his first single; it was initially released in 1983 with little success, but when it was re-released in 1984 it was his biggest chart success in Great Britain with second place . The song also appeared on Kershaw's debut album Human Racing .
Emergence
The song was written by Kershaw himself and produced by Peter Collins on the basis of existing demo recordings . The song was originally written as a folk protest song, but it became a pop song in the studio. The synthesizer , an Oberheim OB-8 , was played by Paul "Wix" Wickens. While appearing on BBC One's The One Show in June 2015, Pete Waterman claimed he produced the record, but Kershaw subsequently clarified via Twitter that the song, like everyone else on the album, was produced by Peter Collins. Waterman was the manager of Collins during the recording, but was not involved in the actual production of the track.
text
The song was written during the Cold War , when the possible nuclear war between the two superpowers USSR and the United States was in the media. The text reflects this danger in lines such as: "Old men in stripey trousers, rule the world with plastic smiles" ("Old men in striped trousers, rule the world with plastic smiles") and: "Forefinger on the button, is he blue or is he red? " ("Index finger on the button [of the atomic bomb ], is it blue or is it red?")
In September 1984, Kershaw told Number One magazine :
“It's probably not immediately obvious, but I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me is about the bomb, or rather people who take responsibility for what they do in general. The saying is that it may not be good for a person to shout these things out, but I'll do it anyway. "
Publication and reception
I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me was released on September 16, 1983 and first hit the UK charts in November 1983, where the single was listed for eight weeks and reached number 47. After the success of the other singles Wouldn't It Be Good and Dancing Girls as well as the album release, I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me was re-released as a single in May 1984 and rose to number two in the UK. As a result, the song also became a hit in several other countries, for example in Germany with number twelve, in Switzerland with number six, in the Netherlands and the Flemish part of Belgium with number five, in Sweden with number ten and in Norway with fifth place.
Music videos
There are two different music videos for this song. The first video shows Kershaw singing the song on a hill and in a castle. He is accompanied by children and a minstrel who plays the guitar parts on a lute . The video was shot in Maidstone , Kent .
When the song was re-released in May 1984, a new video was also recorded. Since Kershaw had promotional dates in Europe, there was little time, so a live video was shot, interspersed with the occasional scenes of old men in striped pants. Kershaw was dissatisfied with the hastily shot video, because on the day of the recording the band had to rehearse songs at the same time, as they had not played together for a long time. Among other things, due to the singing of the young, mostly female fans, mixed with the music and the final scene in which Nik Kershaw leaves the building apparently pursued by a fan, the video bears some resemblance to later boy band productions.
Cover versions
The German version was sung by Florian Haidt with a text by Norbert Hammerschmidt under the title Ich will, if I knew that I may and was released in July 1984. On September 22nd, 1984 Haidt sang the song in the ZDF hit parade , could himself but not in the top three. In 1985 a version by Harry Holland & Dieter Reith was published . A version of the Swedish singer and producer Jonas Ekfeldt alias Robin Cook reached the charts in 1996 in Finland (number 16), Denmark (number four) and Sweden (number three).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d https://hitparade.ch/song/Nik-Kershaw/I-Won%27t-Let-The-Sun-Go-Down-On-Me-1135
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225923/http://it.kershaw.net/press/interviews/2002interview.php?id=13
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20090821210633/http://www.nikkershaw.co.uk/drum-talk.asp
- ↑ a b https://web.archive.org/web/20160304112535/http://it.kershaw.net/press/interviews/80interview.php?id=14
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20161101102909/http://it.kershaw.net/press/interviews/80interview.php?id=15
- ↑ Florian Haidt - I want, if I knew that I am allowed