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Arcade Fire have just released an emotive take on John Lennon’s 1973 hit ‘Mind Games’ as the B-Side of their contribution to the long-running Spotify Singles series.

It’s the flip side to an exclusive live recording of the title track from their recent fifth album Everything Now.

Similar to BBC Live Lounge, in that artists record a live version of an existing original release plus a cover version, the Spotify Singles series has so far seen Ed Sheeran tackle Britney Spears’ ‘Baby One More Time’, Portugal. The Man's take on Oasis’ ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ and Vance Joy's effervescent tribute to Paul Simon’s evergreen classic ‘You Can Call Me Al.’ 

Arcade Fire have have previously covered ‘Mind Games’ during their live sets, once, most notably back in August when the band mashed the Lennon classic up with with Radiohead‘s ‘Karma Police’ and David Bowie‘s ‘Oh! You Pretty Things’.

The song originally dates back to The Beatles’ fractious sessions for ‘Let It Be’, and indeed a very early version can be heard on the rehearsal tapes, although titled ‘Make Love Not War’. The released title and lyric is a reference to the book Mind Games: The Guide to Inner Space by Robert Masters and Jean Houston Lennon later encountered the author, Masters, in a restaurant and told him, ‘I am one of your fans.’

Next April Arcade Fire are touring the UK and Ireland, kicking off at the recently re-opened Manchester Arena on April 8 and climaxing in Glasgow on April 16.


06 - Dublin, 3Arena
08 - Manchester, Arena
11 - London, Wembley Arena
12 - London, Wembley Arena
13 - London, Wembley Arena
15 - Birmingham, Genting Arena
16 - Glasgow, The SSE Hydro

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