Thompson Twins - Hold Me Now

Forgive me if this has been discussed before; I couldn't find the info on the chat board.

I have found two different versions of this song, nearly identical in length, but with a slightly different intro & a slightly different vocal take.

The first, and the one that sounds "right" to my ears as the hit version, appears on Billboard Top Hits - 1984. There's extra percussion and piano on this intro compared to the second version. It runs 4:44 generally.

The second version appears on "The Greatest Hits" (Info on Discography).

It has a much drier intro, very sparse, with basically a couple of chimes and a bass drum, and suddenly "explodes" with the regular instrumentation as the vocals start (it literally sounds like everything was punched in on the downbeat, with residual echo evident over the opening lyrics). The vocals are a different take, too. The "breakdown" middle section is also mixed more sparsely. It runs 4:52.

I don't know if this second version appears anywhere else (like on a domestic release); the notes say "previously unreleased mix."

The 4:44 version that appears EVERYWHERE else is the hit version... yes? ....And it matches the LP version, so there is no distinction between the LP version and the commercial 7" 45 RPM single?

Gene you must have a copy of an import version of "Greatest Hits" as the bar code on your link does not match the US bar code at all. My copy features this song in its original version and runs (4:44) not (4:52) as you indicate. My complete bar code is 0078221894029 and there is no indication in the liner notes that this song is remixed.

The alternate mix was not the UK single release. I have the UK 7" and it's the normal LP/hit single version, same as US.

Nope. These are the versions of "Hold Me Now" I know about:

• 4:45 ("4:44") album version, which is also the 45 version, first released in 1983 (UK), 1984 (US).

• 4:14 ("3:58") early fade, the US promo 45 B-side released 1984.

• 9:45 Extended Version, the 12" A-side first released released in 1983 (UK), 1984 (US).

• 7:05 edit of the Extended Version, released on the 1988 compilation The Best of Thompson Twins / Greatest Mixes.

• 4:48 quiet-intro, rough-vocal version (fan title: pre-mix), first released in 1993 on Old Gold 3-track CD single OG 6192, also released on 1996 Old Gold 2-track CD single 12623 63592, and in 2003 on the compilation CD The Greatest Hits.

• 4:53 Pete Hammond Mix, released in 2024 on the Into the Gap album reissue. It uses the same rough vocal takes as the so-called "pre-mix" but has a hard snare throughout, and many other differences. May have also been released much earlier; I have a CD-quality, slightly early fade of this mix in a fan's MP3 collection from 2005, when it was tagged "Early Demo Version". Original source unknown. (The fan tagged it as being from the 3-track Old Gold single, but that's incorrect, unless there are multiple versions of that disc.)

• 6:37 Pete Hammond Extended Mix, released in 2024 on the Into the Gap album reissue. Same elements as the 4:53 version, just longer.

Edited by mjb50 - 10 minutes ago at 4:33am