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Peter Gabriel: Previously unheard “Sledgehammer” remix on CD

By Paul Sinclair

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Don’t know whether to laugh or cry over this one….

Remember I told you about the three-CD Extended 80s compilation earlier this week? I think we were all quite excited that John ‘Tokes’ Potoker’s ‘Dance Mix’ of Peter Gabriel‘s Sledgehammer was finally getting a mainstream CD release. Well, SDE reader Daneil Hunt got in touch via Facebook to point out that if you take a listen to the iTunes preview it is clear that this mix is NOT the actual Dance Mix from the original remix twelve-inch (PGS113) but it appears to be a previously unreleased remix that no one has ever heard!!

The running time is 5.08, which is just 19 seconds longer than the seven-inch version of the classic 1986 single and well short of the Dance Mix which was over seven minutes long. The iTunes preview plays vocal elements not heard on any previous version including the standard Extended Mix.

So not only did we get no Sledgehammer remixes on the now infamous So deluxe box, but rare, unheard mixes are getting put out via cheap remix compilations!

tokes
The ‘dance mix’ everyone was expecting to hear…

I decide to skip through the rest of the tracks and also spotted that the so-called ‘N.A.D. Mix’ of Swing Out Sister‘s Breakout is actually the ‘A New Rockin’ Version’ – although to be fair that has been mislabelled for 25 years and was only properly corrected on the anniversary edition of It’s Better To Travel. Oh, and Alison Moyet‘s All Cried Out is the same version everyone has owned on the Alf CD for the last 30 years. Hooray!

So what’s your view on this? Delighted that a unheard Gabriel remix is slipping out, or annoyed that you STILL don’t have Mr Potoker’s excellent version on CD? Leave a comment and let me know?

Extended 80s is released on 19 May 2014.

Track listing

Disc: 1

  • 1. Relax (12inch New York Mix) – Frankie Goes to Hollywood
  • 2. Situation (Extended Version) – Yazoo
  • 3. Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go (Extended Version) – Soft Cell
  • 4. Girls On Film (Night Version) – Duran Duran
  • 5. Everything She Wants (12inch Remix) – Wham!
  • 6. Don’t You Want Me (Oliver Lieb Extended Remix) – Human League
  • 7. Atomic (Diddy’s 12inch Mix) – Blondie
  • 8. Sledgehammer (Dance Mix) – Peter Gabriel
  • 9. It’s My Life (US Mix) – Talk Talk
  • 10. (Feels Like) Heaven (Extended Version) – Fiction Factory
  • 11. Absolute (Gary Langan Version) – Scritti Politti
  • 12. Shout (US Dub Version) – Tears For Fears

Disc: 2

  • 1. Lullaby (Extended Mix) – The Cure
  • 2. Spellbound (12inch Mix) – Siouxsie and the Banshees
  • 3. Pretty In Pink (Berlin Mix) – The Psychedelic Furs
  • 4. Never Stop (Discotheque Mix) – Echo & The Bunnymen
  • 5. Quiet Life (12inch Mix) – Japan
  • 6. Fade To Grey (Extended Version) – Visage
  • 7. Close To the Edit (Closely Closely, Enough’s Enough) – Art Of Noise
  • 8. You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) (Murder Mix) – Dead or Alive
  • 9. Welcome to the Pleasuredome (Escape Act Video Mix) – Frankie Goes To Hollywood
  • 10. Diggin Your Scene (Long Version) – The Blow Monkeys
  • 11. Poison Arrow (US Remix) – ABC
  • 12. Really Saying Something (Extended Mix) – Bananarama feat Fun Boy Three
  • 13. Our House (12inch Extended Version) – Madness

Disc: 3

  • 1. Chant No.1 (12 inch Version) – Spandau Ballet
  • 2. Pull Up To The Bumper (12inch Remixed Version) – Grace Jones
  • 3. Sometimes (12inch Mix) – Erasure
  • 4. I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me (Extended Mix) – Nik Kershaw
  • 5. Love Of the Common People (Extended Version) – Paul Young
  • 6. Breakout (N.A.D Mix) – Swing Out Sister
  • 7. A New England (12inch) – Kirsty MacColl
  • 8. All Cried Out (Extended Version) – Alison Moyet
  • 9. Duel (Bitter-Sweet MIx) – Propaganda
  • 10. Genetic Engineering (Extended Mix) – Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
  • 11. All Stood Still (12inch Version) – Ultravox
  • 12. Pacific State (Origin Mix) – 808 State
  • 13. Sign Of The Times (Extended 12inch Version) – The Belle Stars

 

 

 

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44 Comments

44 thoughts on “Peter Gabriel: Previously unheard “Sledgehammer” remix on CD”

  1. I have the mini-CD-single from “sledgehammer”. It’s from 1986 and it includes an extended version of sledgehammer (5:39). The main difference to the album version (5:14): a longer start.

    2nd title: Don’t Break This Rhythm 3:53
    3rd: I Have The Touch (85 Remix) 3:48

  2. I agree Mike. Any new Gabriel product is welcome – I was hoping for something that really does the song justice though – not that 80s remixes are the place to look for that by and large. But it’ll stay in the collection along with the thousands of Gabriel recordings I have over his illustrious career. The fact that this sort of thing can happen at all gives me hope that one day he’ll finally issue a boxed set of rarities including unreleased stuff like the alternative Lay Your Hands On Me he lip sync’d to on Italian TV in February 1983.

  4. I’ve now heard the mix of Sledgehammer in full and can see why this was not released at the time. It’s OK if you can live without 80% of the lyrics but inferior to the released Dance Mix and the commonly available original 12″. It’s good to have rarities come along when you least expect it, but on balance I’d have taken the proper Dance Mix over this version now I’ve heard it.

  5. Pingback: 16 May: Music News round-up | superdeluxeedition

  7. Shows what idiots amazon are, ten pounds for awhile (free delivery) then now nine pounds plus delivery – more expensive. Capitalism…..

  8. @Stefano, The Essential NOW That’s What I Call Christmas (UMG Recordings B0011941-02, 2008). On second disc there was a post about it! Sorry, Paul, hope this is okay! :P

  9. The Latin Rascals remix of Notorious is quite similar to the standard 12″, but has loads of stutter editing IIRC. Not different enough from an already underwhelming 12″ mix, IMHO.

  10. My expectation wasn’t high when this CD box was posted here. Like others said: many mixes were on many previous compilations, extended mixes were just the longer album versions, 90’s or even 2000’s remixes on it, even when tracklisting looks okay the final product could be included with a shorter version/incorrect mix instead.

    About Sledgehammer, I listened to the itunes preview! It doesn’t sound like a remix to me! It’s very rough & at a very slow speed! I first thought perhaps the DNA demo from SO. But preview I found sounds different. The one from itunes sounds like an early unfinished version, perhaps even prior to the album or single versions. I remember one of the X’mas compilation had included an early rough mix of Wham’s Last Christmas (not the single mix nor the pudding mix)!

    Quincy’s suggestion of the Sony digital release 80s: 100 Remixes is way better than this!

    1. Hi Griffin: which Xmas compilation do you refer to? Would that early mix of Last Christmas perhaps be the official alternative version?

  11. Peter Gabriel – Sledgehammer (7’19” dance version) is once released on the 2CD Meto 2 de Baile vol. dos (1995) in Spain on Virgin records.

  13. How incredibly boring. Who needs another mix of Sledgehammer? Who needs an Archive-Box-Set of US? By now it must have become pretty obvious to anyone that the oh so quality-yearning Mr Gabriel has had gone a long time ago. So, why bother at all?

  14. I would love to see a list of what it would look like. I make lists with 80’s 12″ versions so i am curious of what you consider to be on a list.

  15. BE.D12 – Such A Shame (US Remix) by Talk Talk can be found on a german CD called Best Of Pop & Wave – The 12″ Mixes though not released in the UK on CD unlike It’s My Life (US Remix).

    There’s a couple of other Talk Talk US remixes I’ve never found on CD and they are Life’s What You Make It and Living In Another World.

    We could probably make a good list of 80’s remixes unreleased on CD. One I came across in my vinyl collection last week is a US 12″ of Robert Palmer’s Early In The Morning with an unreleased on CD Extended Version.

    1. Sam – thanks for the good advice !!! about “Life’s What You Make It” (US remix) do you mean the dub version by Mark Berry or the extended version by Dennis Weireich of 8.16″ length? and for “Living In Another World” (US remix) I think you mean the Gavin Mackillop remix of 8.59” length that is on the CD 12 x 12 original remixes.

      Another great remix missing on this new compilation of 80’s 12″ is the Duran Duran “Notorious” remixed by The Latin Rascals – fantastic!!!

      1. BE.D12 – The version of Life’s What You Make It (US Remix) I was thinking of is the extended version at 8.16 in length.

        As for Living In Another World (US Remix) it clocks in around 8.20. It’s different to the one found on 12×12 and begins with an acapella intro of the chorus. You’ll find it with an online search though it has been confused with the version you mention.

        1. Sam – thank a lot, it’s another great mix I’ve never heard before (that’s why the majors have to work much more to fans of the 80’s, especially for the search of the hidden remixes).

          And about “Why is it so hard?” (US remix by Steve Thompson) where can I find it? – Once it was on “It’s my mix” Ep – there are also two 7″ different versions (once in Asides Besides and another on the OST of First Born)

          1. BE.D12 – “Why is it so hard?” (US remix by Steve Thompson) that’s another mix that I haven’t come across on CD. I had to make a transfer to digital from a cassette version of the ‘It’s My Mix’ compilation.

            The three other versions I’ve found on CD are
            Zabou OST (German Soundtrack CD) 3.59
            Sedated In The Eighties No. 4 (US Compilation CD) 4.17
            Talk Talk A Sides B Sides CD 4.04

  16. Unfortunately – There’s now no point in buying – as everything left on here has been on multiple compilations. Who compiled this? – Is there no thought or research into what hasn’t appeared on CD so far – there’s scores of tracks – this is just lazy

  17. Firstly, thank you Paul for bringing this collection to my attention as it would probably passed me by.
    It’s clearly an error on the compilers part to have gone with this unreleased mix, which in the basis of the iTunes sample does sound really interesting to me. Yes it’s a pity the genuine dance mix isn’t included but of the two scenarios I would take an unreleased mix over one that I already own and have digitised.
    I just hope the release isn’t pulled when the mistake gets widely known about.
    The remixes within the Gabriel discography are numerous and some of the variations would take most of the day to describe.
    Perhaps I’ll post something over at pg.com on his forum that gets to get to the heart of the matter regarding the various remixes and labels which are often unhelpfully inconsistent.
    I’ve preordered the compilation and am looking forward to hearing this new mix.

  18. Why there isn’t “Such a shame” (US mix) instead of “It’s my life” (US mix) ??? (only the dub mix appears on Talk Talk 12 x 12 original remixes)
    It’s a shame…such a shame!!!

  19. If I had a choice, I’d take a ‘previously available only on vinyl’ mix over a ‘never previously released’ mix. I’m trying to migrate vinyl to digital in a reasonable time-frame, not find more ways to prolong the process.

  21. It is very unfortunate that edited collections always with the same groups and the same songs, so much good music from the 80’s versions 12 “inches and remixes that have never seen the light in any collections or in deluxe edition. A expected by lords of the companies for editing. want to sell music, but they do to it (NO EDITIONS EDIT WELL MADE LUXURY WITH ALL tHE MIXES 12 “). For this collection a zero for not contributing anything, nothing new and 10 songs that are very good but some not in its version 12 inches.

  22. A bit pedantic I know, (and I assume its the same mix) but ABC Poison Arrow (US Remix) was only known as Poison Arrow (Jazz Mix) when first released commercially with the Be Near Me 7″ double pack in 1985. It was included again as the “Jazz mix” in “The Deluxicon of Love” set (2004). The only time I ever saw it referred otherwise was in the 12″/80s Pop box set from 2007.

    1. As for record companies and their archives ! Don’t get me started… I have through a friend who is a recording artist got an archive list for his stuff,all in warehouses in London,mislabelled and staff with attitudes

  24. Wow, that is different….and I thought I had every remix Gabriel ever released.

    And Trash, I’m with you. I loved the Deluxe So box. Granted, like everyone else, I would have liked to have had all the remixes and b-sides but the box had more than enough previously unreleased content (more than most box sets) to make me happy. The DNA disc is a fascinating listen.

    And Todd R, the mix of “Biko” isn’t really extended (I don’t think) just a remix, but a very nice one. It also appeared on its own 12″ back in 1980. The ’85 remix of “I Have the Touch” is the same as the ’83 remix (which appeared as the b-side of the “Walk Through the Fire 12”) the only difference being that the ’85 version is edited/shorter.

  25. Record companies are generally too cavalier (or unconcerned) to actually care what the fans what to hear whereas the artist generally has an interest in their own back catalogue.

    Speaking of Gabriel specifically:
    I’m probably one of the few people that actually like (mostly) the ‘So’ deluxe box – hearing how the songs evolved from the original demos was an education in itself. However I would have liked to have had remixes and b-sides included in the package. This would have included possibly my favourite Gabriel track ever – ‘Across the River’ which features some blistering drums from the one and only Stewart Copeland.

    Gabriel’s ‘people’ should get their act together and just make the various mixes available for purchase from his website.
    Having said that it’s probably not quite that simple due to the issue of ownership…

    1. Across the River was actually the B side to the 2nd single taken from the album PG IV, namely I Have the Touch so it doesn’t belong to the SO era or box. I, for one would love a deluxe version of PG IV. There is so much stuff to be included there: Various versions of Shock the Monkey, bsides Soft Dog, Across the River, the german language version of the album which instrumentally is quite different and has been remixed making idifferent from the English language version, footage from the first Womad festival in Shepton Mallet in July 82, the making of the album that was shown as part of the South Bank Show, video for Shock the Monkey, Interesting footage from the San Remo Festival. As for live material, the original reciordings of the 82 US tour that made the bulk of the Plays Live album that followed… That tour was covered by photographer Armando Gallo and was such a visual tour – Peter Gabriel with tribal make-ip – that it needs a meaty book to accompany the release!

  27. A fantastic surprise to be sure, but sadly, just another chapter in an already frustrating story. By only listening to the iTunes preview, I agree that some of the vocals haven’t been heard before, but some definitely are PG’s own backing vocals, brought up in the mix.

    My original thought that this was the “extended mix” that was available on the US 12″, featuring a new intro (basically the band “building up to the full mix with horns etc, no keyboard/wind instrument intro like the album/single)….

    If I may also ask – what does the “Biko 12″ extended mix” sound like? The US 12″ included (perhaps not in this order) 1) “Sledgehammer” (The Tokes Remix (7+ minutes)), 2) “Don’t Break This Rhythm”, 3)”Sledgehammer” (extended mix) and 4) “I Have The Touch (85 Remix)”
    [oh, and wasn’t there an 83 mix of that song as well? I’m so confused….]

    Perhaps we can hope that the archive edition of US will get better treatment now that fans have been so frustrated…. we can hope….

  28. Well, that’s ticked me right off. Finally, I thought, the Tokes version to be readily available…. And now barely a mix at all it seems. Someone is playing a cruel game…the sods.

    1. Well that has hacked me off. What with labels putting out poor vinyl rips of 12″ versions, remixes that are so common they practically fall out of the Sunday Morning supplements and the rarer decent remixes being constantly overlooked, I feel as if there should be some guerrilla movement to grab the label execs by their wotsits and tell them if they want our hard earned then they should stop p*****g about and do it properly. Otherwise we’ll just stop buying in the end.

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