Eric Clapton And Van Morrison Team Up For Anti-Lockdown Single
Van Morrison and Eric Clapton have teamed up for a new single, Stand And Deliver, in support of Van Morrison’s Save Live Music campaign.
The bluesy number was written by Morrison and is performed by Clapton. It follows a further three songs that Van Morrison released in protest of the UK’s lockdown measures. Across September and October he issued, Born To Be Free, As I Walked Out and No More Lockdown as digital-only single, with all proceeds going to The Lockdown Financial Hardship Fund, an arm of his Official Rhythm and Blues Foundation.
Featuring lines such as, “Well, on the government website from the 21st March 2020/It said COVID-19 was no longer high risk/Then two days later/They put us under lockdown.” (As I Walked Out) and, “The new normal, is not normal/It’s no kind of normal at all/Everyone seems to have amnesia/Don’t need the government cramping my style/Give them an inch, they take a mile.” (Born To Be Free), Morrison made his feelings very clear about the UK’s response to global coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement published on his website on 4th November, Van Morrison called on the government to, “support in word and deed a timeline and roadmap for the recommencement of live music”, also launching a petition.
He added, “The restrictions currently imposed by the Northern Ireland Executive are needlessly crippling the livelihoods of everyone who is part of the live music eco-system. Venues have spent millions of pounds on the implementation of additional safety measures in order to operate in line with government guidance, only to now be shut down again.”
Van Morrison’s new track, Stand And Deliver, will be available to download on 4th December, exclusive to Save Live Music. A snippet of the song can be heard below, via Van Morrison’s Twitter.
? NEW TRACK RELEASE ?
In a bid to save live venues and support musicians, @vanmorrison and @EricClapton are releasing a new single, ‘Stand and Deliver’
Download the exclusive track on December 4th to #SaveLiveMusic
Available on @AppleMusic @AmazonMusicUK @Deezer @Spotify pic.twitter.com/ehDdKGhoL0
— Save Live Music (@Save_LiveMusic) November 27, 2020