Song · The Smashing Pumpkins
“Never Let Me Down Again” by The Smashing Pumpkins
Released 1994
“Never Let Me Down Again” by The Smashing Pumpkins appears on 11 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 1995 and 2024. It was first released in 1994. Its best result is #89 on the Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1995. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #312 alternative song of 1995 and #2,417 alternative song of all time.
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The Smashing Pumpkins took "Never Let Me Down Again", Martin Gore's song for Depeche Mode from their 1987 album Music for the Masses, and in 1994 they made it their own, slowing it to a hushed, dreamy drift. Ted de Bono produced it, with Jeff Moleski engineering.
Gore's lyric follows a narrator trying to run from addiction, and the Pumpkins let that undertow do the work, trading the original's push for a half-asleep shimmer that sounds like the ride has already gone too far. The recording later found a home on For the Masses, the 1998 tribute album.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 89 | Q101 Chicago, IL | Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1995 | 101 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 420 | Q101 | Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 1017 |
| 2007 | 391 | KROQ | KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) | 500 |
| 2007 | 1074 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) | 2008 |
| 2008 | 1133 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) | 2009 |
| 2009 | 1141 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) | 2010 |
| 2010 | 1178 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) | 2011 |
| 2011 | 1222 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) | 2011 |
| 2013 | 1267 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) | 2012 |
| 2014 | 1308 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) | 2013 |
| 2024 | 461 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Cover Songs | 850 |
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