Jeff Beck and Joss Stone have teamed up to record a version of the song No Man’s Land (Green Fields of France) for this year’s annual Poppy Appeal.
The Poppy Appeal was originally created for those returning from World War I and has been continued over the years to honor those who serve in the Armed Forces and their families.
No Man’s Land was written by Scottish folk singer Eric Bogle in 1976 and is about a man, Willie McBride, who died during the first world war. Stone said of picking the song “When we started looking into who Willie was, we found no less than three men that it could have been. Then we realized that finding him was not actually as important as what he and this song stand for – peace and the sacrifice made by so many.”
The song was produced by Jon Cohen and Jonathan Joseph and includes backing by a gospel chorus. A video for the song has been shot outside the Tower of London among a field of thousands of ceramic poppies.
Beck and Stone are also scheduled to perform the song at the Festival of Remembrance on November 8 at Royal Albert Hall.
