Not Giving In

Album: Home (2012)
Charted: 14
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The second single by Hackney collective Rudimental features guest vocals from John Newman, who also sung on their chart-topping debut release "Feel The Love," and from singer-songwriter Alex Clare, who is best known for his hit single "Too Close." The song was released on November 11, 2012. The band originally approached John Newman after they saw him singing in a pub.
  • Photographer Josh Cole directed the song's music video, which was shot on location in Manila. The clip mirrors the extraordinary true life-story of Josh's close friend and Three-Time Bboy World Champion B-Boy Mouse, who is played by B-Boy Allen. While Mouse discovers the dance sub-culture in Manila, his older brother, portrayed by Tugo, follows a less fortunate path and falls into drug dealing and gang culture. Mouse appears in a cameo teaching his younger self to dance.
  • After moving to London, from his Yorkshire home town of Settle, Newman worked briefly at an Old Dairy pub with the sister of Rudimental's Piers Agget. After Newman got sacked from his job he moved in with the Agget family. The pair started jamming and this was the first song that they wrote together. The vocalist recalled to Digital Spy: "I'm really good friends with Piers, one of the producers, he was my keyboard player. We wrote 'Not Giving In' in a house and took that version to a little studio in Hackney. The friendship with the Rudimental guys has just grown and grown since I met them."
  • Newman explained the inspiration for this song to The Sun: "Me and Piers wrote 'Not Giving In" in his bedroom about a close friend of ours who was going through a tough time," he said. "It's about our friend Max – we didn't tell him for a while, till he sorted his head out."
  • Frontman DJ Locksmith told Digital Spy this is his favorite track from Home. He explained: "The reason we called the album Home is because we knew that once we released it, we weren't going to be at home for a while, so the album became our home - if that makes sense. 'Not Giving In' stands out for me because my son was about three years-old when this all started to get off. I didn't get much of a chance to see him and I started getting miserable during gigs. But when we performed that song, all my worries would just vanish. It was the song that really got me through album one."
  • The song was co-written by James Newman, who is the brother of "Feel The Love" and "Not Giving In" singer John Newman.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

David Bowie Leads the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men

David Bowie Leads the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired MenSong Writing

Bowie's "activist" days of 1964 led to Ziggy Stardust.

Billy Joe Shaver

Billy Joe ShaverSongwriter Interviews

The outlaw country icon talks about the spiritual element of his songwriting and his Bob Dylan mention.

Marvin Gaye

Marvin GayeFact or Fiction

Did Marvin try out with the Detroit Lions? Did he fake crazy to get out of military service? And what about the cross-dressing?

Subversive Songs Used To Sell

Subversive Songs Used To SellSong Writing

Songs about drugs, revolution and greed that have been used in commercials for sneakers, jeans, fast food, cruises and cars.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music Scene

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music SceneSong Writing

With $50 and a glue stick, Bruce Pavitt created Sub Pop, a fanzine-turned-label that gave the world Nirvana and grunge. He explains how motivated individuals can shift culture.