Van Morrison, Eric Clapton Detail New Anti-Lockdown Song

Van Morrison and Eric Clapton collaborated on a new anti-lockdown song, “Stand and Deliver,” out digitally on Dec. 4.

Morrison wrote and Clapton performed the track, which continues the former’s Save Live Music campaign. Proceeds will benefit Morrison’s Lockdown Financial Hardship Fund, which assists musicians who are struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown.

“There are many of us who support Van and his endeavors to save live music; he is an inspiration,” Clapton said in a statement, per 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.”

He also called the recent lack of live events “deeply upsetting.”

Morrison enthused that “Eric’s recording is fantastic and will clearly resonate with the many who share our frustrations.” He added, “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.”

“Stand and Deliver” will follow a trio of Morrison songs — “Born to Be Free,” “As I Walked Out” and “No More Lockdown” — focused on the pandemic lockdown. He previously slammed the idea of socially distanced concerts as “pseudo-science,” saying he only agreed to play three limited-audience shows in the U.K. to keep his band working.

“This is not a sign of compliance or acceptance of the current state of affairs,” Morrison wrote on his website. “This is to get my band up and running and out of the doldrums. This is also not the answer going forward. We need to be playing to full-capacity audiences going forward.”