Dave Stewart releases new record Ebony McQueen based on Sunderland childhood

Now, Dave Stewart has gone back to his roots for his latest release.

Ebony McQueen, released on Friday, May 13, is the title track single from the new album by the award-winning singer, songwriter, musician and producer, who rose to fame as co-founder of The Eurythmics.

Raised in Barnes, and a former pupil at Barnes Infants and Bede Grammar School, the 69-year-old has always maintained strong links with his home city and often speaks of his fondness for Sunderland.

An ambitious, autobiographical story, Ebony McQueen is the story of a teenage boy in Sunderland who is visited by a living, breathing voodoo blues queen, setting into motion an extraordinary journey.

Dave said: “Ebony McQueen’ is the name of a fictional voodoo blues queen, a living embodiment of the blues music that inspired my entire career. She is basically my entry point into music and the title track is the entry point to this story.

"Ultimately, it's a story about destiny. There’s a point in your life when something's put before you and you can either choose this path or that path. If you’re open to it, the right path chooses you. And the whole story is about how that awakening happens.”

Written and produced by Dave, Ebony McQueen was recorded at studios including Nashville’s legendary Blackbird Studio and his own Bay Street Recording Studio in the Caribbean, with contributions from an array of top vocalists, session players, and the 60-piece Budapest Scoring Orchestra.

Dave has enjoyed a long and colourful career in music.

As well as co-writing and producing each Eurythmics album in his world-famous duo with Annie Lennox, he has also produced albums and co-written songs with Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Tom Petty, Gwen Stefani, Damian Marley, Stevie Nicks, Bryan Ferry, A.R. Rahman, Katy Perry, Sinead O’Connor, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Joss Stone, and many others.

He is currently working with Joss on the recently-announced musical of The Time Traveller’s Wife, due to premiere later this year.

His wide-ranging work has earned him a long list of prestigious honours, including more than fifty ASCAP and BMI Awards, four Ivor Novello Awards for Best

Songwriter, four BRIT Awards for Best Producer (including a Lifetime Achievement Award), a Golden Globe Award, and a Grammy Award.

Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) by Eurythmics was recently inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Following the single release on May 13, the music, film, and stage musical project, Ebony McQueen, will premiere on May 20 as a deluxe multi-format box set featuring the complete triple album on 3x vinyl LP alongside two additional vinyl EPs, two cassettes, and an expansive photo book that includes typed lyrics as

well as Dave’s original film ‘scriptment’.

Artworks featured in the project include specially-commissioned pieces by Sunderland artist Kathryn Robertson and features a host of Wearside landmarks including Roker Pier and the city skyline with its distinctive cranes.