FOY VANCE RELEASES “GUIDING LIGHT (ANNIVERSARY EDITION)”
FEATURING ED SHEERAN, ELTON JOHN & KEITH URBAN
& UNVEILS THE ACCOMPANYING VIDEO
“It’s the most beautiful song. When Foy asked me to do it, it was a no brainer for me because I’m such a huge fan of his.”
Elton John
“Guiding Light was a song that I was obsessed with. I learned it in my bedroom,
and I used to play it at pub shows, trying to be Foy.”
Ed Sheeran
“It’s one of my all-time favourite songs…it captures all of the beauty and the struggle and everything that it is to be a spiritual being having a human experience.”
Keith Urban
L-R: Ed Sheeran, Foy Vance, Elton John, Keith Urban. Download here
+ ‘REGARDING THE JOY OF NOTHING UK TOUR’ NEXT MONTH
Foy Vance has today released his very special new single “Guiding Light (Anniversary Edition)”, which features vocals from three of the biggest names in music – Ed Sheeran, Elton John and Keith Urban. Comments Elton John: “It’s the most beautiful song. When Foy asked me to do it, it was a no brainer for me because I’m such a huge fan of his.”
Comments Ed Sheeran: “I was a Foy Vance fan from the age of about 15 and went to a load of his gigs back then where he used to end with Guiding Light. It was a song that I was obsessed with. I learned it in my bedroom, and I used to play it at pub shows, trying to be Foy. When we got to know each other, I asked him why he had never recorded it because I’d only ever found videos of it on YouTube and I really encouraged him to record it. When he was recording it he asked ‘well why don’t you sing it with me? If you’ve been singing for all these years you should sing it with me,’ so we sang it on Joy of Nothing in 2013. Then when said he was re-recording it and wants to do it with Keith Urban and Elton John I was like, that sounds great!”
Comments Keith Urban: “I get a call from Foy that they’re going to do a new version of Guiding Light, one of my all-time favourite songs, to celebrate the ten year anniversary of Foy writing the song, and so for me that was a no brainer. To be on the song period is incredible because it’s such a beautiful song. It’s more of a hymn—it captures all of the beauty and the struggle and everything that it is to be a spiritual being having a human experience. I think this song captures it. So it was an immediate yes from me to be a part of it.”
Vance has also unveiled the accompanying video, which was shot in Brooklyn, New York by Gus Black, who directed the video for Vance’s ”She Burns”. Shot on film, the “Guiding Light (Anniversary Edition) video is a modern cinematic take on the classic Hollywood screen test and stars actor/model AnnaSophia Robb (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Carrie Diaries, The Act).
There is also a lyric video for “Guiding Light (Anniversary Edition)” plus a documentary video will premiere on November 21 at 5pm GMT / 12pm ET.
The closing track on Vance’s 2013 breakthrough album Joy Of Nothing, “Guiding Light” was originally co-sung by Ed Sheeran, Vance’s long-time friend, touring and songwriting partner. Over the past decade the song has become a beacon of hope for Vance’s substantial worldwide fanbase, and to celebrate 10 year he has revisited the song with three iconic musicians who have been part of his journey and who continue to inspire him.
Produced by Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid, the new Anniversary Edition of the song features new vocals from Sheeran together with musical icon Elton John, who has long-championed Vance, and Keith Urban, who has written with Vance and covered his 2016 song “Burden”. The backing choir on the new version consists of Anderson East, Patrick Droney, Devin Dawson, Bonnie Bishop, Lisa Gray, Etta Britt, Bob Britt, and NEEDTOBREATHES’s Bear Rinehart, Josh Lovelace, Seth Bolt, Tyler Burkum, and Randall Harris, and was recorded at Anderson East’s studio in Nashville.
“When I wrote Guiding Light I was feeling lost in my life due to a loss of family, friendships and reason,” says Vance of the track. “The music lit up the darkness. Melody reminded me to keep going no matter how long the road or how pointless it seemed.
“Guiding Light is the person or the thing that brings you back to a safe space, somewhere to lick your wounds and convalesce. To see this song resonate with so many people over the years has truly been a beautiful thing.”
Foy Vance and Ed Sheeran go way back to when Ed was an unsigned, prolifically gigging newcomer. Over Sheeran’s subsequent years of global superstardom, their friendship and songwriting partnership has endured. In 2015, Vance became Sheeran’s second signing to his label Gingerbread Man Records and he has subsequently released two acclaimed studio albums, The Wild Swan (2016) and Signs Of Life (2021).
Vance and Sheeran’s collaborations include co-writing four tracks including “Galway Girl” on Ed Sheeran’s 2017 album Divide, and the closing track “The Hills of Aberfeldy” on Ed’s 2023 album Subtract. Foy The pair also co-wrote “Blue” on Sheeran’s new album Autumn Variations and “A Beautiful Game” for Apple TV+’s ‘Ted Lasso’, which has been nominated for a 2023 Primetime Emmy Award. Vance has also worked with Alicia Keys, Rag N Bone Man, Keith Urban, Kacey Musgraves, Miranda Lambert, Plan B and Rudimental among many others, effortlessly switching between genres.
“Guiding Light” (Anniversary Edition) arrives ahead of Vance’s upcoming Regarding The Joy Of Nothing UK Tour. Recorded in Donegal on Ireland’s west coast, the album was a critical and commercial breakthrough for the Bangor-born musician, winning the inaugural Northern Ireland Music Prize.
Vance lives in the Scottish Highlands with his family.
