Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush - Don’t Give Up

The videos can be found on youtube. I'd planned to tackle the shortest of these myself this week and am happy to post edit points once I've finished if you'd like. :)

Aside from the listed (4:44), actual (4:45) and the listed & actual (5:26)
versions found on the 1987 promo 45, I believe my commercial 45 copy,
which is not handy at the moment, had a listed time of (5:52). Does
anyone happen to have their stock 45 copy accessible at the moment, to
confirm this timing? Obviously, if true, it is longer than either of the
promo 45's edits.   

The version on my "Shaking The Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats" CD is very
close to the stock 45's listed run time, with both a listed & actual time of
(5:54). Up on YouTube, "Nicolas H" has an alleged dub from its original LP,
"So", that runs right around this time.

I'm also certain I own a stock/promo 12" for "Don't Give Up", but as a
non-Top 40 charter, these, too are unfortunately deeply buried at the
moment. But Discogs lists both the promo 12" (PRO-A-2689) and stock
12" singles as containing a (6:30) "LP Version", in addition to the longer DJ
45 edit. The YouTube video with Gabriel and Bush embracing and turning
towards the camera during their vocal parts throughout runs right around
(6:30). I strongly suspect this is the same (6:30) version included on the
"Don't Give Up" stock/promo 12" singles.

To me, this "confusing releases" scenario appears to be right in the
wheelhouse of 80smusicfreak. Did original LP/CD copies of "So" include
the (5:54)-ish version, only to be replaced by the (6:30) video version I've
noted, on later LP copies? Otherwise, why are all these 12" singles noting
the (6:30) version as "LP?"

This is not a query I have initiated, or care a ton about. Due to this thread,
I've just spent a couple of minutes looking into this, so for anyone else
truly curious, please feel free to pick up the mantle from here. I'm only
noting that, at this time, it appears to me that there are *four* "officially
released" versions for "Don't Give Up", not three, and I thought that fact
might be of interest to those who've posted about the track so far.

jimct wrote: To me, this "confusing releases" scenario appears to be right in the wheelhouse of 80smusicfreak.

lol! Not sure how much help I'll be to NightAire on this one, but as I've said before, I certainly don't mind discussing non-top 40 hits from the '70s & '80s here on this board... :-)

I've been a casual fan of both artists since the mid '80s; between cassette & CD, I have about half of both PG's & KB's '70s & '80s output. PG initially came on my radar in the Fall of '82, when he scored his first top 40 hit, "Shock the Monkey". Liked that song, but I sat on the fence about buying its parent album, Security, until I heard more from him. To my surprise, a follow-up hit from Security never materialized, so I ultimately passed. But like many people, when "Sledgehammer" finally came along in the Spring of '86 - accompanied by its fun & very original video - I officially jumped on the PG bandwagon, and bought So on cassette. As for KB, my brother was actually a fan before I was, so I got to know some of her early stuff through him. When "Running Up That Hill" cracked the top 40 in the Fall of '85, my first KB purchase became its parent album, Hounds of Love, which I picked up on cassette as well. (The regular version, that is - finally found the special marbled collector's edition about five years later!) I continued to follow both fairly closely, up until about the mid '90s. Haven't bought any new releases from either in the last 20 years, though...

Anyway, I think you guys have outlined all four versions of "Don't Give Up" very well:

1. (4:45) = short dj 45 edit
2. (5:26) = long dj 45 edit
3. (5:54) = commercial 45 version
4. (6:30) = LP version (also both video versions)

Up on YouTube, "Nicolas H" has an alleged dub from its original LP, "So", that runs right around [5:54]...Did original LP/CD copies of "So" include the (5:54)-ish version, only to be replaced by the (6:30) video version I've noted, on later LP copies? Otherwise, why are all these 12" singles noting the (6:30) version as "LP?"

At this time, I'm not aware of more than one U.S. version/pressing of PG's 1986 album, So, in any format - when it comes to the originals on Geffen 24088, that is. (Of course, it's been re-issued a few times since then, starting w/ a remastered edition on Geffen 069493272 in 2002.) I found the video from "Nicolas H" over on YouTube, and while he does state in his description, "'Don't Give Up' by Peter Gabriel featuring Kate Bush from 'So' (1986)," I think you're reading too much into that - it certainly doesn't sound like the recording is from a vinyl source (at least to my ears), and his video is even labeled as being "HD". I'll bet he simply posted the commercial 45 version from his Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats CD, while referencing the original parent album in his description in an attempt to better inform his listeners/viewers. (That's clearly a stock photo of the So album that he uses, too, and not his personal LP copy - if he even owns one, that is...)

Nevertheless, I took the time to review all of the myriad U.S. pressings of So on both vinyl LP & CD that are currently shown over on Discogs. One thing complicating matters here is that - somewhat surprisingly - neither format gave any printed timings for the tracks (back cover art or discs themselves), making the comparisons even more difficult! However, I saw no notations there about different timings/pressings, nor is there any mention of any on Wikipedia, either (under both the single and album) - and PG's entire discography is detailed quite thoroughly on both sites...

aaronk wrote: I'm not sure when my pressing of "So" was released, but the matrix number on the CD is 24088-2 SRC-01. The version on this CD runs 6:30.

W/o actually seeing it, it sounds like your copy dates from the early to mid '90s. The vinyl LP & cassette versions of So hit U.S. store shelves in late May of '86. The CD followed three weeks later, in mid June; the early pressings from 1986-87 were made in Japan for the U.S. market. I happen to have one of those original Japan-for-U.S. pressings on Geffen 24088 right in front of me, and I can report that "Don't Give Up" has an actual time of (6:28) on it. Therefore, at this time, I'm 95% certain that there is only ONE "LP version" of "Don't Give Up", and that's the one running (6:30)...

I'm afraid I can't be of any help on how to chop up the (6:30) LP version to make the (4:45) short dj 45 edit, though...

Just as an aside, prior to researching this, I'd never seen the (less common) Jim Blashfield version of the video. The Godley & Creme original was the only one I ever saw back in the day (1987), and still see every once in a while on VH-1 Classic. Also, I had no idea that Dolly Parton(!) was PG's original choice as his duet partner on this song (she passed)...

First, a HUGE (and extremely belated) THANK YOU to Jim
for providing copies of the promo versions for me to work
from; without his offering, I would still be completely
in the dark.

The file I worked with was 6:33, and seemed to run
slightly faster than the vinyl.

All edit times are on the file, post-edits to that point.

1) Remove 0:00 - 0:24. The trickiest part of this one
is that it doesn't start either on the downbeat or the
beginning of the bass note strum. The note is present on
the single, but no "hit" at the beginning. There may be
a bit of a fade-in on the note, perhaps 65 ms or so.

2) Take out 4:19 to 4:46. I cut this on the second
"thump" of the bass notes, right before she sings,
"Don't..."

Next is the only tricky part.

3) Copy 4:36 to 4:38. Delete everything from 4:38 to
the end. Paste 4:36 to 4:38 at the end repeatedly until
the file runs to 4:47.

Fade starts about 4:35 for about an 11 second fade.

Hope this helps!

Edited by NightAire