Eric Clapton & Van Morrison Teaming Up on New Anti-Lockdown Song, ‘Stand and Deliver’ — Premiering 12/4

Recent weeks have seen the premiere of a trio of aggressive and not-too-subtle “anti-lockdown” protest songs from Van Morrison, as the Irish songwriting legend has made no bones about his resistance to restrictions put in place by the U.K. government regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Another song is now headed our way on Dec. 4, but with a twist: “Stand and Deliver” was penned by Van Morrison but performed by Eric Clapton, aligning himself with the cause.

Announced on Friday, “Stand and Deliver” arrives next week. A quote from Clapton on his involvement with this project and Van Morrison’s perspective, which he obviously supports:

“There are many of us who support Van and his endeavors to save live music; he is an inspiration,” Eric Clapton said (via Variety). “We must stand up and be counted because we need to find a way out of this mess. The alternative is not worth thinking about. Live music might never recover.”

Process from the “Stand and Deliver” track will benefit Van Morrison’s Lockdown Financial Hardship Fund, which sprang up with his recent releases as a means of providing support to musicians impacted negatively by the pandemic and subsequent restrictions.

A quote from Van Morrison regarding this new song:

“Eric’s recording is fantastic and will clearly resonate with the many who share our frustrations. It is heart-breaking to see so many talented musicians lack any meaningful support from the government, but we want to reassure them that we are working hard every day to lobby for the return of live music, and to save our industry.”

As for Van Morrison’s previous anti-lockdown songs, here’s “No More Lockdown”:

“As I Walked Out”:

And “Born to Be Free”: