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"Burn You Up, Burn You Down"
Single by Peter Gabriel
from the album Hit
Released	2003
Genre	Rock
Length	4:14 (album version) 3:47 (single edit)
Label	Reprise Records
Songwriter(s)	Peter Gabriel Neil Sparkes Karl Wallinger
Producer(s)	Peter Gabriel Stephen Hague Karl Wallinger
Peter Gabriel singles chronology
"Growing Up" (2003) "Burn You Up, Burn You Down" (2003) "Whole Thing" (2007)
Peter Gabriel singles chronology
"Whole Thing" (2007) "Burn You Up, Burn You Down (Big Blue Ball Version)" (2008) "Down to Earth" (2008)

"Burn You Up, Burn You Down" is a song co-written and performed by English rock musician Peter Gabriel. The initial recording sessions were conducted at Gabriel's Real World Studios in 1991, although the song would remain unreleased for another decade. Gabriel originally intended for the song to appear on his 2002 Up, but he ultimately pulled it from the track list shortly before the album's release. It was instead included on Gabriel's Hit compilation album the following year and released as a single, where it charted in both Italy and the UK. An alternate mix of "Burn You Up, Burn You Down" was also included on Big Blue Ball in 2008.

Background

The origins of "Burn You Up, Burn You Down" date back to the summer of 1991 during the first of three Real World Recording Weeks. The recording sessions took place in the workroom of Real World Studios, with Billy Cobham playing drums. Gabriel commissioned the help of multiple musicians around the world for this project, including western, Asian, and African artists. However, the tapes from these sessions took several years to organize, which delayed the song's release. Members of The Holmes Brothers were enlisted to record backing vocals; Gabriel commented that one of the members of the group, Popsy Dixon, had "a hauntingly beautiful voice, and he'd come up with these high notes that hit me hard every time he reached them." Snippets of the song appeared on Xplora1: Peter Gabriel's Secret World, a musical computer game released in December 1993.

"Burn You Up, Burn You Down" was in contention to appear on Gabriel's Up album in September 2002. Earlier in July, the song was included on a promotional CD for Up, where it appeared as the sixth track That same month, Gabriel spoke about the song in an interview with Nigel Williamson and called it "the odd man out on the album". Gabriel ultimately removed the song from the track list during the album's final review sessions. On his decision to pull the song from Up, Gabriel explained that it did not fit in with the rest of the album, but said that he wished to save it for a future release. The omission of "Burn You Up, Burn You Down" disappointed Gabriel's European label, who believed that the song was "radio friendly".

In 2003, the song was featured on the soundtrack for Uru: Ages Beyond Myst. That same year, it was the only new song to appear on Gabriel's Hit and also served as the album's lead single. Gabriel performed the song on his Still Growing Up Tour in 2004 and included it on his Still Growing Up: Live & Unwrapped DVD film the following year. An alternate mix of "Burn You Up, Burn You Down" was later included on Big Blue Ball, an album consisting of songs that emerged from the Real World Recording Weeks during the 1990s.

Track listing

1. "Burn You Up, Burn You Down" – Radio Edit – 3:47
2. "Darkness" – (Engelspost Remix) – 14:10

Personnel

• Peter Gabriel – lead vocals, keyboards
• Justin Adams – guitar
• David Rhodes – guitar
• Jah Wobble – bass
• Wendy Melvoin – bass
• Billy Cobham – drums
• Arona N'diaye – djembe, sabar
• Tchad Blake – guitar synth, organ, skin shake, hi-hat, frame drum
• Chuck Norman – programming
• The Holmes Brothers – backing vocals
• Karl Wallinger – backing vocals
• Jules Shear – backing vocals

Charts

2003 version

2008 version

References

1. Easlea, Daryl (2014). Without Frontiers: The Life and Music of Peter Gabriel. London, UK: Omnibus Press. p. 333. ISBN 978-1-4683-0964-5.
2. ^ "Burn You Up, Burn You Down". PeterGabriel.com. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
3. "Gabriel Has A 'Ball' With Long-Gestating Album". Billboard. 2011. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
4. "Peter Gabriel - Recording Compendium, Part 7: 1991 - 1994 (US)". www.genesis-news.com. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
5. Gerhardts, Christian. "Peter Gabriel - The Making of UP". Genesis News Com. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
6. Williamson, Nigel (4 July 2002). "UP Generic Interview". PeterGabriel.com. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
7. "Peter Gabriel – Press Kit – UP". Genesis Archive. September 2002. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
8. Kot, Greg (5 October 2002). "Peter Gabriel Takes the Test of Time". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 16 April 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
9. Kipnis, Jill (25 October 2003). "Ubisoft Bullish on Music Tie-ins". Billboard. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
10. Scarfe, Graeme (2021). Peter Gabriel: Every Album, Every Song. United Kingdom: SonicBond. p. 124. ISBN 978-1-78952-138-2.
11. "(Still) Growing Up Tour - 2002-2004". Genesis News Com. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
12. "Still Growing Up Live & Unwrapped". PeterGabriel.com. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
13. Engler, Eric. "Big Blue Ball". Genesis News Com. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
14. "Top Singoli – Classifica settimanale WK 23" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
15. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
16. "Peter Gabriel Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 April 2024.

• 2003 songs
• 2003 singles
• 2008 singles
• Peter Gabriel songs
• Songs written by Peter Gabriel