Members of The Mission, Depeche Mode and more team up for ‘Tower Of Strength’ cover | NME
The Mission’s Wayne Hussey has enlisted members of The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Smiths and more to cover the band’s 1988 single ‘Tower Of Strength’ and raise funds for COVID relief.
Hussey is joined by Martin Gore, Lol Tolhurst, Andy Rourke, Midge Ure, Gary Numan, Budgie of Siouxsie and The Banshees, Slowdive’s Rachel Goswell, Bauhaus drummer Kevin Haskins, and more. It’ll also be a reunion for Jay and Michael Aston from Gene Loves Jezebel, and there’ll be remixes of the track by Trentemoller and Tim Palmer.
The group have dubbed the project “ReMission International” and retitled the track ‘TOS2020’. Sales of the single will be donated to charities chosen by each contributing artist, with a digital release slated for August 28 and 12” vinyl and CD editions out on October 2.
Check out a teaser below.
“When COVID-19 hit I started receiving messages asking ‘why don’t you re-issue Tower Of Strength for the front line workers?’,” Hussey said of the project in a statement.
“The song had apparently been adopted as an anthem by some NHS workers, and it got me thinking that I would like to contribute something to the greater cause at this unprecedented time and the only thing I could really contribute is music.”
Goswell also voiced her enthusiasm for the joint venture.
“When Wayne emailed me with the idea of contributing vocals to this project I jumped at the chance,” she said.
“‘Tower of Strength’ is such an anthemic song it’s only fitting that this has been done to support the various charities. It’s an honour for me to be a small part of the process and what a stellar line up of people involved.”
As well as his involvement with the ReMission International project, Numan is also set to play a host of drive-in shows from August to September for Utilita’s ‘Live From The Drive-In’ series.
Tolhurst’s former outfit, The Cure, are currently working on an album set for release later this year, although they are yet to confirm a date.
