B-side Dark Glasses Format 7" vinyl, 12" Vinyl Label MCA | Released 16 September 1983 Length 3:19 | |
Genre Pop rock
synthpop
new wave | ||
"I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw, first released on his hit debut album Human Racing.
Contents
- Lyrics
- Musical arrangement
- Video
- First release
- Second release
- Credits
- Robin Cook
- Track listing
- Sampled by Sveriges Radio
- References
"I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" only reached number 47 in the UK charts when first released. However, the follow-up single from the same album, "Wouldn't It Be Good", reached the top five and on the back of that success "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" was re-released and soared to number two. It was also subsequently a major hit in several other countries and was responsible for bringing Kershaw to greater public attention. During an appearance on BBC One's The One Show in June 2015, Pete Waterman claimed he produced the record. Kershaw took to social media to point out that "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" was in fact produced by Peter Collins, who is credited on all releases as the record's sole producer. (Waterman managed Collins at the time the song was recorded, but had no involvement in the actual production of the track.)
Lyrics
The song was written during the latter part of the Cold War period when nuclear war between the two superpowers of the USSR and United States was still a very real concern, and the lyrics reflect a satirical view of politics and the threat of war with lines such as: "old men in stripey trousers, rule the world with plastic smiles", and: "forefinger on the button, is he blue or is he red?"
In September 1984, Kershaw told "Number One" magazine:
It's probably not immediately obvious but I Won't Let The Sun is about The Bomb, or rather about people taking responsibility for what they do generally. It's saying that it probably won't do much good for one person to shout about these things but I'm going to anyway.
Musical arrangement
The song was originally written as a folk protest song, but as Kershaw's manager had signed him up to Peter Collins and Pete Waterman's Loose Ends production company, it turned into a pop anthem in the studio.
In Kershaw's version, the synth tune was produced with an Oberheim OB-8 played by Paul Wickens (Wix).
Video
There are two different music videos for this song.
First release
The original video for "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" shows Kershaw singing the song on a hillside and in a castle. He is accompanied by children, and by a minstrel, who plays the guitar parts on a lute. The video was filmed in Maidstone, Kent.
Second release
When the song was re-released in June 1984, a new video was shot. Because Kershaw was doing promotional work in Europe, there was little time to arrange anything, so a faux live video was shot. It was interspersed with occasional shots of the old men in stripey trousers. At one point, one of the old men picks a blue rabbit out of a guitar case. This had been sent to Kershaw by a fan named Lauren, and he placed it on stage in front of his right hand monitor during gigs, for luck. Kershaw was not happy with the video, feeling it was hurried:
I'll never forget the day of the shot, it was a real pandemonium. The band was trying to rehearse -'cos we hadn't played live for so long - and do the video at the same time. It would've been a much better video if we'd had more time. The best way to shoot a live gig is over four or five nights then you might get a good set because when you're playing live, there's a lot of excitement and you can't always concentrate on every note.
First release
16 September 1983
7" Single (MCA 816)
12" Single (MCAT 816)
A I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me (Extended Dance Mix) - 6:00 B Dark Glasses (4:20)Second release
4 June 1984
7" Single (MCA NIK 4)
12" Single (MCA NIKT 4)
A I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me (Extended Remix) - 6:35 B Dark Glasses (4:12)Credits
I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me
Produced by Peter CollinsDark Glasses
Produced by Peter CollinsI Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me (Extended Dance Mix)
Remix by Micky Modern and Phil HardingI Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me (Extended Remix)
Remix by Simon BoswellRobin Cook
The song was released by Jonas Ekfeldt as Robin Cook under the name "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down" and later formed part of the album Land of Sunshine in 1997. The song charted in Sweden for 19 weeks in 1996 peaking at no. 3 and in Finland for 2 week peaking at no. 16.
Track listing
- "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down" (Radio Edit) - 3:05
- "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down" (Extended Version) - 4:34
- "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down" (Summer Club Mix) - 7:00
- "Reggae in the Night" - 3:25
Sampled by Sveriges Radio
Ekfeldt filed a lawsuit against Sveriges Radio for sampling "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down" and accused them for using the sample without permission in the parody "I Won't Let Susan Go Down on Me" on the album Rally 2 from the radio show Rally on the channel SR P3. Sveriges Radio denied the accusations, but the Swedish National Laboratory of Forensic Science compared the songs and asserted that the former song indeed had been sampled.
The amount of Ekfeldt's compensation was not made public, but was said to be of a significant amount and a lot more than if the channel had asked for permission first.