BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1987
“Never Let Me Down” is the title track on David Bowie’s album Never Let Me Down. It was issued as the third single from the album in August 1987, and would be Bowie’s last solo single until 1992’s “Real Cool World”, barring a remix of “Fame” (1990). The least successful single from the album, it failed to enter the top 10 singles chart in any country in the world (its highest placement was number 15 on the US rock chart), and it was Bowie’s last single to chart in the top 40 of the US Billboard Top 100 charts until his 2015 single “Lazarus”.
Bowie performed the song on BBC’s Top of the Pops on 16 September 1987, and it was aired on the first broadcast of the American version of the show.
Bowie described the song as a “pivotal” track for himself, calling it the most personal song he had written for an album to that point in his career. The song is about Bowie’s long-time personal assistant, Coco Schwab. Bowie described their relationship, saying:
It’s platonic. But there is a romance in it, I guess, inasmuch as it’s hard for two people to feel totally at ease in each other’s company for that period of time and not expect too much from each other. Always being prepared to be there if the other one needs someone, you know? There’s not many people you find in life that you can do that with, or feel that way with.
Bowie had started with his own chord structure for the song but wasn’t happy with it, calling it “ponderous and funereal.” Long-time collaborator and co-song writer Carlos Alomar reworked the chords for the song into the final version, which was recorded in one day during the last week of mixing the album at New York’s Power Station studios in early 1987.
The record sleeve and labels show the “Dub” and “Acapella” as two seperate tracks. They are actually one continuous song.
SIDE A:
Never Let Me Down (Extended Dance Remix) 7:02
Never Let Me Down (7″ Remix Edit) 3:57
SIDE B:
Never Let Me Down (Dub/Acapella) 5:59
Never Let Me Down (Instrumental) 4:02
’87 And Cry (Single Version) 4:20
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Never Let Me Down | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #27 |
| 1987 | Never Let Me Down | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | #15 |
| 1987 | Never Let Me Down | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | #17 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI America – V-19255
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Rock
Style: Pop Rock
CREDITS:
Alto Saxophone – David Eiland
Design – Mick Haggerty
Engineer – Steve Hodge (tracks: A1 to B4)
Keyboards [Additional] – Steve Hodge
Lyrics By – David Bowie
Music By – Carlos Alomar (tracks: A1 to B4), David Bowie
Photography By – Greg Gorman
Producer – David Bowie, David Richards
Synthesizer [Additional] – Spencer Bernard
NOTES:
Album versions can be heard on the LP, “Never Let Me Down”
Find the 12″ on DISCOGS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
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 Removal: Manual
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
