September: I'll Stand By You

JF & Lail sing The Pretenders!

We released a cover of I’ll Stand By You by The Pretenders!

PART 1:

I was going to tell you the whole backstory — why we were asked to do a folk cover of a 90s smash-hit, why we chose this particular track. I was going to write about how brilliantly the song is written — those perfect key changes, that enviable universality. I was even going to advocate for a harmonica revival. But it’s September — there’s a heatwave in London, the kids are back to school, the grown-ups are back to work, and nobody has time to read overenthusiastic preambles.

CLICK HERE TO HEAR THE SONG!

Please save it, share it, add it to your playlists, do whatever you’re supposed to do with new releases these days… and tell us what you think!

I’ll Stand By You - The Pretenders
Written by Billy Steinberg, Chrissie Hynde and Tom Kelly
Performed and produced by JF Robitaille & Lail Arad in London
Released by Coco Morier's Vault of Heaven covers club in LA
Mastered by Rob Kleiner in LA
Artwork by Jac Harries in London 
Photo by Mary Martin in St Aldhelm's Church, Poole

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PART 2:

You may already be familiar with Substack’s resident Bob Dylan and Tom Waits expert

Ray Padgett

. You may even remember that JF and I took him on a folk history walking tour of our neighbourhood. What you may not know is that Ray is the author of Cover Me: The Stories Behind the Greatest Cover Songs of All Time and runs the biggest cover song website in the universe. So it’s pretty pretty cool to have had our little duet covered by the man himself.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REVIEW!

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PART 3:

What better way to mark this occasion than with a playlist of our favourite covers! (Thanks to my super-subscribers for the excellent suggestions — special shoutout to Dan in California!) This way for Post-Punk Motown and Bossa Nova Ska…

Until next time! Photo by Mark Cocksedge, London 2023.