PJ Harvey shares ‘Eugene Alone’ demo from new play ‘London Tide’

PJ Harvey has unveiled a demo of ‘Eugene Alone’, a track she co-wrote for a new play, London Tide.

• READ MORE: PJ Harvey – ‘I Inside The Old Year Dying’ review: a modern master returns

To celebrate the play’s opening last night (April 10), Harvey shared a demo of ‘Eugene Alone’, which she co-wrote with Ben Power. PJ – real name Polly Jean Harvey – shared the song via her official website, along with comments about the track.

While the song is performed by Jamael Westman during the play, the demo – which you can listen to below – is performed and recorded by PJ Harvey. Harvey sings on the acoustic track: “The night plays tricks on me / the streets become unknown / I see her in the lamplight / her dark eyes on the stone“.

Harvey wrote of the track on her website: “Whenever I approached writing a song for a character I would discuss with Ben [Power] and [director] Ian [Rickson] what the character is going through at that time, and what emotion needed to be expressed through the music. We would talk about what had happened immediately before, what was going to happen next, time of day or night…”

London Tide opened last night (April 10) at the National Theatre in London and will run through June 22. Tickets for its run are still on sale – you can get your tickets here.

London Tide, directed by Ian Rickson (Hamlet, Translations), is based on Our Mutual Friend, the final completed novel by Charles Dickens. Its story centers on the effects of greed and the corruption that money bring.

In February, PJ Harvey announced a string of North American tour dates in support of her latest album, ‘I Inside The Old Year Dying’. The 16-date North American tour commences on September 11 at The Anthem in Washington DC and will make stops throughout the US and Canada before wrapping up at The Greek Theatre in LA on October 14. Tickets can be bought here.

Harvey will also be headlining both Roskilde and Øya festivals, with appearances at Primavera Sound and Flow Festival also confirmed for this summer. She’ll also be playing a huge show at Gunnersbury Park in London in August 2024 with a line-up she herself has curated.