1. Use in soundtracks

2. Charts

3. Certifications

4. Track listing
    7" UK single (1977)  7" "Old Gold" single (1982)  UK maxi-single (1983, 1988)  7" European single (1990 re-issue)  12" UK single (1990 re-issue)  UK CD single (1990 re-issue)  Live Version  7" US single (1983)  7" Netherlands single (1983)  7" US single (1983) 

5. Personnel

6. Cover versions
     Erasure version   Track listing  Charts   Lou Reed version    Steve Hunter version  

7. References

• Folk pop^[1]
• progressive pop^[2]

"Solsbury Hill" is a song by English musician Peter Gabriel. He wrote the song about a spiritual experience atop Little Solsbury Hill in Somerset, England,{{cn|date=January 2018}} after his departure from the progressive rock band Genesis, of which he had been the lead singer since its inception. The song was his debut single.^[3] The single was a Top 20 hit in the UK, peaking at number 13, and reached number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1977.^[4] The song has often been used in film trailers for romantic comedies.^[5]

Gabriel has said of the song's meaning, "It's about being prepared to lose what you have for what you might get ... It's about letting go."^[6] His former bandmate Tony Banks acknowledges that the song reflects Gabriel's decision to break ties with Genesis, but it can also be applied in a broader sense to situations of letting go in general.{{cn|date=September 2018}}

The song is mostly written in {{music|time|7|4}} time, an unusual time signature that has been described as "giving the song a constant sense of struggle".^[7] The meter settles into {{music|time|4|4}} time only for the last two measures of each chorus.^[8] It is performed in the key of B major with a tempo of 102 beats per minute, with Gabriel's vocals ranging from F{{sharp}}₃ to G{{sharp}}₄.^[9]

Use in soundtracks

It has been used in a number of films and television shows, including the 2001 film Vanilla Sky^[10] and the 2004 film In Good Company.^[11] More recently, it has been used in the trailer of Finding Dory^[12] and featured as the send-off song for the series finale of AMC's Halt and Catch Fire.^[13] Its prevalence in romantic comedy trailers has been called "ubiquitous", particularly its inclusion in a satirical re-cut trailer of The Shining.^[14]

Charts

Certifications

Track listing

7" UK single (1977)

1. "Solsbury Hill" – (3:24)
2. "Moribund the Burgermeister" – (4:17)

7" "Old Gold" single (1982)

1. "Solsbury Hill" - (3:26)
2. "Games Without Frontiers" - (3:50)

UK maxi-single (1983, 1988)

1. "Solsbury Hill" – (3:24)
2. "Moribund the Burgermeister" – (4:17)
3. "Solsbury Hill (Full Length Live Version)" – (5:45)

7" European single (1990 re-issue)

1. "Solsbury Hill" – (4:24)
2. "Shaking the Tree" – (5:06)

12" UK single (1990 re-issue)

1. "Solsbury Hill" – (4:22)
2. "Shaking the Tree" – (5:06)
3. "Games Without Frontiers (Live)" - (6:06)

UK CD single (1990 re-issue)

1. "Solsbury Hill" – (4:21)
2. "Shaking the Tree" – (5:07)
3. "Games Without Frontiers (Live)" - (6:05)

Live Version

7" US single (1983)

1. "Solsbury Hill (Live)" - (3:58)
2. "I Go Swimming (Live)" - (4:29)

7" Netherlands single (1983)

1. "Solsbury Hill (Live)" - (4:41)
2. "Kiss of Life (Live)" - (5:01)

7" US single (1983)

1. "Solsbury Hill (Live)" - (3:58)
2. "Shock the Monkey" - (3:58)

Personnel

• Peter Gabriel - vocals, flute
• Steve Hunter - guitar
• Robert Fripp - guitar
• Tony Levin - bass
• Larry Fast - synths
• Allan Schwartzberg - drums
• London Symphony Orchestra

Robert Fripp is often credited. However, he has written: "I had nothing to add to the track after Steve [Hunter]’s superb & fitting contribution, although I would love to be on it."^[18]

Cover versions

Ingram Hill, a rock group from Memphis TN covered the song in the early 2000's.{{cn|date=January 2019}}

Erasure version

• "Tell it to Me"
• "Searching"
• "Ave Maria" }}

• Gareth Jones
• Erasure}}

"Solsbury Hill" was recorded by British synthpop duo Erasure in 2003 for their cover versions album Other People's Songs and released as a single in the United Kingdom on 6 January 2003 and in the US on 14 January 2003. This Erasure single became a hit, reaching No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 7 in Denmark, No. 29 in Germany, No. 39 in Sweden and No. 41 in the Republic of Ireland. The track was chosen for the album by Erasure member Vince Clarke. Clarke and singer Andy Bell turned the song into a mid-tempo electronic dance tune, displaying the signature Erasure sound. The only major change made to the structure of the song was the modification of the {{music|time|7|4}} time signature to a more basic {{music|time|4|4}}—except for the chorus, which slips back into {{music|time|7|4}} time for one line.

Track listing

1. "Solsbury Hill"
2. "Tell It To Me"
3. "Searching"

1. "Solsbury Hill" (37B Mix)
2. "Solsbury Hill" (Manhattan Clique Extended Remix)
3. "Ave Maria"

1. "Solsbury Hill" (Radio Mix)
2. "Video Killed the Radio Star"
3. "Dr Jeckyll and Mistress Hyde" (Short Film)

1. "Solsbury Hill" (Radio Mix)
2. "Solsbury Hill"
3. "Tell It To Me"
4. "Searching"
5. "Video Killed the Radio Star" (37B Mix)
6. "Solsbury Hill" (37B Mix)
7. "Solsbury Hill" (Manhattan Clique Extended Remix)
8. "Ave Maria"
9. "Dr. Jeckyll And Mistress Hyde" (Short Film)

Charts

Lou Reed version

In 2010, Lou Reed released a version of the song, as part of the project Scratch My Back where Peter Gabriel did cover versions of other artists, and letting them provide covers of his songs, in return. Lou Reed’s version has nothing at all to do with Gabriel’s merry original. Reed has transformed the original into a completely different song, just like Gabriel did with many of the songs on Scratch My Back.

Steve Hunter version

In April 2013, an instrumental version of Solsbury Hill was included in guitar player Steve Hunter's album The Manhattan Blues Project. Hunter had played on the original Peter Gabriel (1977 album) recording and he invited his friend and original Solsbury Hill bass player Tony Levin to play bass on the track. In the 2014 biography by Daryl Easley Without Frontiers Gabriel gave Hunter credit for coming up with the guitar parts which became a signature for the song.{{cn|date=January 2019}}

References

• St John Fisher Catholic High School, Dewsbury
• St John Fisher Catholic High School (Dewsbury)
• St. John Fisher Catholic School
• St. John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy
• St John Fisher RC Comprehensive School
• St.John, FL
• St. John, FL
• St. John Flames
• St John Freight Systems Ltd
• St John (Godalming cricketer)
• St John Graham Young
• St John Green
• St. John Green
• St. John Group
• St John (Hals)
• St. John Health System
• St. John Health System Detroit Hospitals
• St John Henry Newman
• St. John Henry Newman
• St John Hornby
• St John Horseleydown
• St John Horsfall
• St John Hospital
• St. John Hospital (Hong Kong)
• St John Houghton Catholic School