On November 2nd, the ‘One More Yard’ EP will be released on Evamore Records. The EP will be the first release as part of the Evamore project, which chronicles the sacrifice of young World War One soldiers and also aims to raise awareness of today’s war on cancer.
‘One More Yard’ is inspired by the letters home from a young Irish soldier killed at Flanders. The track’s lead vocals come courtesy of Sinead O’Connor, with supporting vocals by Imelda May. Ronnie Wood plays guitar on the track, with Nick Mason on drums. Listen to the track above.
The full ‘Evamore’ EP, out 2nd November, includes a prologue section featuring haunting instrumentation from the iconic producer Brian Eno, with spoken word from acclaimed actor Cillian Murphy as he reads extracts of letters written by Lieutenant Michael Thomas Wall from the Royal Irish Regiment to his mother in Dublin.
In his letters, Michael wrote: “Nothing was spared, nothing – and when done there was not one more yard left”. Battling one more yard across no man’s land was a phrase often repeated by many soldiers in their letters and diaries.
John Reynolds, who produced the EP, said: “The outstanding lead vocal of Sinead O’Connor and the craftsmanship of fellow artists combine to make ‘One More Yard’ a very fitting tribute to these young men as we approach the centenary of Armistice Day. The artists have taken great pride in getting involved and shown real humility and sensitivity.”
The Evamore project started four years ago when leading scientific entrepreneur, Professor Sir Chris Evans, was conducting research on creating a new cancer awareness charity. He was struck by the emotional struggle of young people confronted with cancer and how similar their written expressions and fighting spirit were to those of young soldiers thrust into war.
Reading over 30,000 letters written by young WW1 soldiers in the trenches, inspired Sir Chris and co-artists, to write a collection of original songs using the soldiers’ common themes, words and phrases to tell their stories.
The project will see an album of songs produced and launched within the next six months and proceeds will go to a new Cancer Awareness Trust which will provide expert clinical advice and guidance to cancer sufferers around the world to help maximize their chances of controlling and overcoming their battles with this disease.
The EP was produced by John Reynolds, the overall Creative Producer for Evamore, and was mastered by Real World. The full track listing for Evamore – ‘One More Yard’ EP below:
- One More Yard (Complete)
- One More Yard (ft. Sinead O’Connor)
- One More Yard Letter (ft. Cillian Murphy & Brian Eno)
- One More Yard (Orchestral)
Ronnie Wood said:
I love the track One More Yard – a sad true story set to a haunting melody. It was a pleasure playing on it. I hope everyone gets behind this great initiative – and there will be more news soon.
Nick Mason, of Pink Floyd, said:
This is an outstanding project that allows people such as myself to pay our tribute to the young men of 100 years ago who fought for our freedom but also to do something to help many young people facing cancer today. I am delighted to part of bringing these songs to fruition.
Sir Chris says:
As we approach the centenary of Armistice Day, the sacrifice of all those young soldiers 100 years ago will be rightly honored across the world. I feel exceptionally privileged that some of the greatest names in rock music and wonderful actors feel they too want to contribute and pay tribute to these outstanding young men through our music and words and, at the same time, help raise awareness of the challenges so many young people of today face in dealing with the dreadful disease that is cancer.
LINK:
http://www.evamore.co.uk
