Levellers and Bellowhead collaborate for Just The One

Levellers and Bellowhead collaborate for Just The One

Veteran Folk-Rockers the Levellers have teamed up multi-BBC Folk Award winners Bellowhead, to record a fantastic new version of their cautionary tale of all things alcoholic, Just The One.

As part of their recent Greatest Hits Collaborations project, Levellers offered Bellowhead completely free reign to rearrange their 1995 hit in any way they saw fit. They accordingly transformed Just The One to into raucous, bombastic hoedown where Bellowhead frontman Jon Boden sings the lead vocals, accompanied by no less than thirteen backing musicians from both bands.

Recorded 'live' at the Levellers own Metway Studios in just one day, the performance was a huge challenge for producer Sean Lakeman just to fit everyone into the same studio, let alone record them. 

Jeremy Cunningham, Levellers Bass player describes the recording as, "Organised chaos...Just to get about thirteen people - all of us and all of them - in our studio and playing live all at the same time. It was a logistical nightmare but we managed to pull it off."

Jon Boden says, Bellowhead frontman says, "As a Levellers fan myself from way back it's a thrill that we've have been asked to do this. Levellers and Bellowhead collaborating on a song about drinking. Who would have thought it!?"

A strictly limited edition Blue coloured 7" vinyl version is being released, alongside a CD single, a digital download bundle and a Spotify EP.

The original version of Just The One appeared on the Levellers' fourth and most successful album Zeitgeist, which debuted at Number One on the UK album chart in September 1995. Released as a single featuring the legendary Joe Strummer on piano, it earned Levellers two appearances on Top Of The Pops and reached Number 12, making it the Levellers highest charting single to date. 

Just The One is the fourth and final track in a series of collaborations to be released by the Levellers as part of their Top 40 charting Greatest Hits album, which was released on September 29th. The album includes every single and video ever released by the band. Both the newly recorded collaborations and the original versions appear on the album.

Levellers are on an major UK tour during November, supported by The Selecter and She Makes War. They have also announced an extensive UK 2015 where they will screen their documentary film, A Curious Life (directed by Chumbawumba's Dunstan Bruce), followed by a full band acoustic performance.