Singer-songwriter David Gray stopped by the BBC Radio 2 studio recently to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his White Ladder album.
Gray played a few songs from his milestone album live on the air, and he added a special cover as well: Bruce’s award-winning “Streets of Philadelphia.” It’s a quiet performance that feels unplanned, and it was captured in terrific quality by the studio crew.
Performed solo on the electric piano, Gray’s arrangement sounds like it would have been right at home on Bruce’s 2005 Devils & Dust Tour.
By the way, that guy in the glasses sitting and watching? That’s Abba’s Björn Ulvaeus, also in the studio that day. Too bad he didn’t join in.
That wasn’t the first time Gray has played “Streets of Philadelphia” live though. In fact, he included a terrific cover of it on his 2007 live album, A Thousand Miles Behind.
That album actually featured two covers of Bruce’s songs. We’ll take a listen to the other one sometime soon.
Thanks for the post…because of it, I went “down the rabbit hole” a wee bit and discovered this. You may well know of it, but I can not believe this was recorded live in a radio station. I really like the intonation and accent of her voice. Hope you enjoy it. Amy MacDonald “Born to Run” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz4_UHCMqf0
That’s a great one, Andy, thanks!