Dave Stewart
Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart is taking a look at one of music’s most iconic names for his latest record, Dave Does Dylan.
Arriving as part of the global Record Store Day celebrations on April 12, Stewart’s 14-song homage to Bob Dylan sees the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer performing live, one-take covers of Dylan’s catalog – armed only with guitar and vocals. Featuring cover artwork evocative of Dylan’s Nashville Skyline, the record largely features tributes to Dylan’s songs from the ‘60s and ‘70s, though latter-period tracks also make the cut.
In a statement, Stewart explained that he had been a fan of Dylan since childhood, going so far as to perform two Dylan covers as part of his earliest gigs as a teenager in the mid ‘60s.
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“I was insistent on getting into folk clubs, but I looked about 12 years old, so they kept me out for a while,” he recalled. “Then one chap, Mick Elliot, took pity and allowed me to play at The George & Dragon which became the center of the folk music scene in my hometown, Sunderland N.E. England, in the 1960’s. It was like stepping into a sacred room where visionaries and rebels converged — actually, it was simply a room upstairs in a pub full of older folk singers, beer, whisky and cigarette smoke everywhere. I was allowed to sing two songs, so I would play Bob Dylan songs from his albums that my brother had left behind when he went to college.
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“The audience was always a bit shocked that this kid, who looked so young, was singing these lyrics — especially in that kind of folk club,” Stewart continued. “It was mostly old folk music that was being played from the local area about the coal mines and about the shipyards, which I loved too…and Dylan would have loved also. I started to sing and play these Dylan songs anywhere I could; in other folk clubs, even on the street all over the north east of England. From then on, I got every Bob Dylan album — and still do to this day — on vinyl and in every possible variation.”
“Captain Dave is a dreamer and a fearless innovator, a visionary of high order, very delicately tractable on the surface but beneath that, he’s a slamming, thumping, battering ram, very mystical but rational and sensitive when it comes to the hot irons of art forms,” Dylan himself said in a statement.
“An explosive musician, deft guitar player, innately recognizes the genius in other people and puts it into play without being manipulative. With him, there’s mercifully no reality to yesterday. He is incredibly gracious and soulful, can command the ship and steer the course, dragger, trawler or man of war, Captain Dave.”
Ahead of the release of Dave Does Dylan, Stewart is also set to tape an episode of the Recorded Live at Analog series on March 22 at Analog inside Nashville’s Hutton Hotel. The appearance will see him performing tracks from his upcoming record with the addition of strings, pedal steel guitar, and keys. The episode will air on PBS on an as-yet-unspecified date in July, with tickets available for audience members to attend the taping.
“I’ve played on stage with Bob in London, L.A. and Tokyo, and I find conversations with him — whether on the phone or when we’re together — really relaxed and easy,” Stewart added. “As you can imagine, he is full of great observations and wisdom, all wrapped up in a poetic language.
“I’m so, so grateful for getting to know him personally and to now record this album of songs after years of singing them to friends and to myself. It’s been a long road and these lyrics and melodies have kept me company through the best and the worst of times. I hope my album can do the same for Dylan fans out there—who understand the mastery and the mystery Bob has bestowed on us, and still does to this day.”
Joss Stone and Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart have partnered with SongBits to allow fans the chance to own part of Stone’s 2021 single “Never Forget My Love”.
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Stewart – who produced and co-wrote the song – is also a co-founder of SongBits, which aims to empower independent artists by providing fans the chance to own a share in their favorite songs.
Utilizing blockchain technology, fans are able to own a ‘bit’ of these songs and share in their success. The purchase includes lifetime ownership of the ‘bit’, along with the appropriate revenue that comes along with that respective percentage of the streaming rights.
Now, Stone and Stewart have offered Stone’s 2021 single “Never Forget My Love” to fans, with purchases going live on Friday (Jan. 31). 20% of the profits will be donated to the World Central Kitchen charity, which provides food to communities affected by war or natural disasters. Founder José Andrés is currently on-ground in Los Angeles aiding those impacted by the devastating fires.
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“I’m excited to be working again with my friend Dave on this project,” Stone said in a statement. “‘Never Forget My Love’ is one of my favourite tracks from the last album we did together. He’s such an innovator – always looking at new tech stuff and also finding ways to help fellow musicians. This one also helps the brilliant charity World Central Kitchen.”
Alongside the basic purchase of a ‘bit’ of “Never Forget My Love”, additional benefits are also available depending on the cost of purchase, including signed items from Stone, vinyl variants, exclusive concert tickets, and guitar and songwriting lessons from Stewart.
“Basically, we did lots of tests with more sort of indie, semi-unknown artists, to make sure SongBits was working fully, and it is, and it worked for every artist thus far,” Stewart added. “And then I talked to Joss, and we decided this would be a great song, because we’re giving a percentage to World Central Kitchen and, appropriately, it’s called, ‘Never Forget My Love’.
“It’s one of our songs we did together that we both really love. It was a single, and we always thought it was a song that potentially worked kind of as a radio single, but never really got the chance so much to fully promote it, but it’s one that, after Joss has played it live many times, fans love, and it’s one that grows and, could grow exponentially, depending on which way DSPs move, in different directions, for example, with Web3.”
Stewart co-founded SongBits with Russell Sheffield in 2021, and has been passionate about the impact that a platform such as this can potentially have on the wider music world, including offering younger artists the opportunity to earn greater income in an industry dominated by streaming.
“One of the reasons I’m interested in developing SongBits is the alternative route for younger artists to actually have some income to even get going,” Stewart added. “You know, at the moment, lots of artists can’t afford to even start going on any tours because the income from DSPs is so minimal, and you need to get started and be able to go and play shows.
“And I just noticed recently, that 80% of artists in the U.K. say they can’t tour. There’s no way to finance their tours, whether they’re small, medium or even larger ones, and this is one of the actual ways of ensuring that there is some money coming in, immediately, and it connects with their real fans and involves them and gives them equity in the journey.”
Stone’s “Never Forget My Love” was originally released in 2021 as the lead single from her 2022 album of the same name. Though the record was her first not to chart in the U.S., it did top the U.K. R&B Albums chart.
Fans can purchase a ‘bit’ of Joss Stone’s “Never Forget My Love” via its page on SongBits.
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