''The Promise'' is the third single released by the

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

offshoot band

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

. It was released by Parlophone Records in 1986 as the group's second UK single. It peaked at number 37 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The track features an uncredited backing vocal by

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

. Sometime during the band's stay in Paris to record ''So Red The Rose'', they went to see a Sting concert there, and decided it would be interesting to have him come over and sing on the album, mainly because they liked the combination of Sting's and lead singer

Simon Le Bon Simon John Charles Le Bon (born 27 October 1958) is a British singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the new wave band Duran Duran and its offshoot Arcadia. Le Bon has received three Ivor Novello Awards from the British ...

's voices on the "

Do They Know It's Christmas? "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of pop ...

" single by Band Aid, and wanted to see what would result from putting them together again. Sting was very amicable about the whole idea, and it turned out to be one of the band's favourite moments on the record.Duran Duran Q&A - Sting on "The Promise"
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B-sides, bonus tracks and remixes

The single mix for "The Promise" was heavily edited down from the album's hefty 7:28 to a leaner, more radio-friendly 4:45. In fact, even Alex Sadkin and Ron Saint Germain's "Extended remix" clocked in at only 7:05, almost 25 seconds shy of the album cut. The B-side to the single was an extended mix of album track "Rose Arcana".

Covers, samples, & media references

Novembre covered "The Promise" as a bonus track on their 2006 album ''Materia''.

Formats and track listing

7": Parlophone. / NSR 2 (UK)

# "The Promise" (7" Mix) - 4:45 # "Rose Arcana" (Extended) - 5:37 * The Album Version of Rose Arcana has a running time of only 0:51 seconds.

12": Parlophone. / 12 NSR 2 (UK)

# "The Promise" (Extended Remix) - 7:06 # "Rose Arcana" (Extended) - 5:37 # "The Promise" (7" Mix) - 4:45 * The Album Version of Rose Arcana has a running time of only 0:51 seconds.

Personnel

Arcadia are: *

- vocals *

Nick Rhodes Nick Rhodes (born Nicholas James Bates, 8 June 1962) is an English keyboardist and producer, best known as a founding member, keyboardist, and only continuous member of the band Duran Duran. He is also informally monikered as "The Controller ...

- keyboards *

Roger Taylor Roger Taylor may refer to: *Roger Taylor (Queen drummer) (born 1949), drummer for Queen *Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer) (born 1960), drummer for Duran Duran *Roger Taylor (author), author of epic fantasy Hawklan series *Roger Taylor (college pr ...

- drums Also credited: *

Alex Sadkin Alex Sadkin (April 9, 1949July 25, 1987) was an American record producer, engineer, mixer and mastering engineer. Sadkin grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida across the street from Bennett Elementary School, and played saxophone in Sunrise Junio ...

- producer and engineer *

- backing vocals *

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...

- guitars *

Mark Egan Mark Egan (born January 14, 1951 in Brockton, Massachusetts, United States) is an American jazz bassist and trumpeter known for his membership in the Pat Metheny Group and the Gil Evans Orchestra. He is co-founder of the jazz fusion band, Elem ...

- fretless bass

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Promise, The 1986 singles Arcadia (band) songs Songs written by John Taylor (bass guitarist) 1985 songs Parlophone singles Songs written by Nick Rhodes Songs written by Simon Le Bon Song recordings produced by Alex Sadkin