Sunderland icon Dave Stewart releases video for first original song from new musical Ebony McQueen

Musician Dave Stewart is collaborating with Northern Stage Artistic Director Lorne Campbell in the musical Ebony McQueen. Picture: North News & Pictures.

In an exclusive interview with the Echo earlier this month, the singer and songwriter revealed that work was under way on a new musical, titled Ebony McQueen, in collaboration with Northern Stage.

Set in Sunderland and told through the journey of a Wearside teenager who encounters a mysterious Voodoo Queen from another world, the show aims to touch audiences of all backgrounds with its universal message of hope in places of darkness.

And now, Dave has released the video for the show’s title track to give fans a flavour of what to expect from the production when it finally hits the stage.

He said: “I wanted the first song I put out to be very uplifting. I wanted people to hear it and it to make them feel good.

“There always is that other path and other way of looking at things – the road less travelled.”

Filmed in the Caribbean, where Dave’s studio is located, the song Ebony McQueen sounds both comfortably familiar and like nothing we have heard before.

And that was the promise of both the musician and Northern Stage’s Lorne Campbell, who directed the UK production of Sting’s The Last Ship.

Dave Stewart outside the Barnes Infant and Junior school in Sunderland.

The show will see two worlds collide, as our teenage protagonist from Sunderland and how his ability to feel, hear and play the blues transports him to somewhere else.

Dave explained: “The story really is universal, and particularly for our time when teenagers are a bit lost.”

“A lot of kids are suffering from anxiety and depression and aren’t sure what the future holds and are bombarded with terrible news about the state of the world.”

The musician said he wanted to tell the story of how a moment can change your life, if you let it, and how that moment can send your life on a certain path.

Dave Stewart pictured at Northern Stage in Newcastle. Picture: North News & Pictures.

On the same week the track that the Ebony McQueen track was revealed, Rolling Stone confirmed Dave would reunite with Eurythmics co-star Annie Lennox to perform at the 2019 Rainforest Fund benefit alongside Bruce Springsteen, Bob Geldof and John Mellencamp.

The show will take place this December in New York.