Don't Give Up, versions 1 and 2


A Solsbury Hill Report

It's not like any of Gabriel's music really need videos in the first place. His songs make a lasting impression upon listening to it, forming a firm mental image in the mind of the listener. A good Gabriel video is really just a wonderful bonus.

That said, we would like to introduce "Don't Give Up" version 1. The problem here was that someone tried to make a big visual statement on a song that didn't lend itself to it.

We see Gabriel and Kate Bush in an embrace that lasts throughout the entire video. They sing their parts with a changing sun in the background. The idea looked good on paper, but it just didn't work.

Neither Gabriel nor Bush look comfortable in this scene, and some of the small details that work so well in other PG videos fall through here. Example: Gabriel is wearing a nice suit with tie. The song is supposed to be about the suffering of the working class...instead, you want to ask, "What happened? Did the stock market crash?"

Somebody must've thought the same thing as we did because "Don't Give Up" version 2 was made. Here the scenes do the song some justice. We see a blue collar worker shaking dirt off his work boots, and later, standing in the unemployment line. The soft, slo-mo photography make for dramatic scenes but, like the song, not crossing the line to melodrama.

It was well worth waiting through version 1 to get to version 2.


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