Steve McQueen, Greenpeace Team on Fleetwood Mac Cover – Video
A reimagined version of Fleetwood Mac’s all-time classic song “Don’t Stop” is the soundtrack to environmental organization Greenpeace’s new call to action.
Fleetwood Mac vocalist and keyboard player Christine McVie wrote the song, which featured in hit 1977 album “Rumours,” and she gave Greenpeace the rights to use the song before she died in 2022.
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Created by Grammy-winning producer Fraser T Smith, who has worked with Stormzy, Adele, Dave and Drake, and acclaimed British rapper Avelino (“God Save The Streets”), the song features instrumentation from jazz talent development organization Tomorrow’s Warriors and vocals from the House Gospel Choir.
The song is accompanied by a short film executive produced by Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen (“12 Years A Slave”), directed by McQueen’s protege Samona Olanipekun of Lammas Park productions and featuring Will Poulter (“Midsommar,” “Guardians of the Galaxy 3”).
The film is set in a vibrant but unsettling party which is spinning out of control. “We’re confronted with the reality of our situation: greedy corporations are partying like there’s no tomorrow, and if they keep acting like that, there won’t be one. But this is the darkness before the dawn. As the madness accelerates, people are shaken awake as they confront the immediacy of the problem and the urgent need for change,” Greenpeace said in a statement describing the film.
The film will air on the big screens at the upcoming Glastonbury Festival’s main stages throughout the weekend, with the project’s branding used on-site, including tote bags reading: “Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow.”
The video was unveiled on Thursday at Greenpeace’s London warehouse to a select group of journalists and supporters, including Benedict Cumberbatch.
McQueen said: “This short film is an arresting look at the state of a world hurtling out of control. I’m so proud to have been involved in this project with Greenpeace and Samona, who’s once again shown what a talented writer and director he is. It captures the unease at seeing corporations (especially those of oil and gas) and their enablers, do damage to the environment on our behalf, acting like there’s no tomorrow and driving the climate crisis solely for their profit. But we have collective power to realise a different future. It’s imperative that people don’t forget, tomorrow is promised to no-one.”
Areeba Hamid, executive director of Greenpeace U.K, added: “When you look at the state of the world that older generations have wrought, oil companies partying like there’s no tomorrow, politicians watching as our house is on fire, it can feel overwhelming. But awareness and resolve to save our planet, to save lives and livelihoods, has never been stronger. People all over the world are incredibly worried about their future, but they hold enormous power. This film is a message of hope: that demanding a better tomorrow is not only possible, but critical.”
Watch the video here:
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