"Sun City" - Artists Against Apartheid
Single
U2 Related Content:
- "Sun City" (7" Edit) - Artists Against Apartheid (featuring Bono) (04:58)
- "Sun City" (The Last Remix) - Artists Against Apartheid (featuring Bono) (09:37)
Full Track Listing:
- Sun City (7” Edit) – Artists Against Apartheid (4:58)
- Not So Far Away – Artists Against Apartheid (5:56)
- Sun City (The Last Remix) – Artists Against Apartheid (9:37)
- Not So Far Away (Dub Version) – Artists Against Apartheid (12:30)
Background Information
“Sun City” was a project brought together by Little Steven aka Steven Van Zandt. Sun City was a resort in South Africa that catered to wealthy white tourists. Many artists would perform there despite South Africa’s racist Apartheid policy at the time. Van Zandt discovered Sun City while traveling in Africa after finishing on a Springsteen tour. He was disgusted that western artists would play such a facility, and decided to organize the “Sun City” project upon his return to the USA, after further inspiration struck hearing Peter Gabriel’s “Biko”. The idea was to get artists to make it known that they were not going to play “Sun City” until such time that the apartheid laws had changed.
A total of 49 performers joined together on the track. The album featured three different mixes of the title track, as well as a number of tracks recorded quickly by the artists on the project and inspired by the recording of the title track. Bono is present on all three mixes of “Sun City”. He also contributed a new song he wrote for the project titled “Silver and Gold”. Bono arrived just hours before the album was to be mastered with the song, which Van Zandt said he could not pass up. Bono is not a participant on the other two tracks included on the single atributed to “Artists Against Apartheid”.
The fourth mix of the song is an edit of the Album version. It is that edit which is included here on the single in the 7-Inch format, and it is just shy of five minutes in length. The single also included “The Last Remix” on the 12-Inch release of the single.The single was released with a cover that was much the same as the album version.
Liner Notes
Sun City:
Words and music by Little Steven. Drums: Ringo Starr, Zak Starkey, Keith LeBlanc, Tony Williams. Guitars: Pete Townshend, Stanley Jordan, Little Steven. Bass Guitar: Doug Wimbish. Acoustic Bass: Ron Carter. Keyboards: Herbie Hancock, Richard Scher, Robbie Kilgore. Additional Keyboards: Zoe Yanakis. Trumpet: Miles Davis. Saxophone: Clarence Clemons. Double Violin: Shankar. Conga: Ray Barretto. Talking Drum: Sonny Okosuns. Scratchers: Jam Master Jay, D.J. Cheese. Drum Programming: Little Steven, Benjamin Newberry, Keith LeBlanc. Background vocals by BLT: B.J. Nelson, Lottie Golden, Tina B. Additional background vocals: Daryl Hannah, Kevin McCormick, The Dunnes Stores Strikers, Annie Brody Dutka, and the I.D.3: Gil Scott Heron, Robert Gordon, Steve Walker.