April 30, 2007 13:27

Green Day to release new single

Punk trio make surprise May Day return with charity single

Photo Gallery: Green Day

Green Day have surprised fans by confirming they will release a new single tomorrow (May 1).

The punk trio will make their John Lennon cover ’Working Class Hero’ available as a download as part of a charity campaign to help people suffering in the Darfur region of Africa.

The track will be available through iTunes.

Green Day’s single, which features some of Lennon’s original vocals, is part of a forthcoming covers album produced by charity Amnesty International, entitled ‘Instant Karma: The Campaign To Save Darfur’.

REM have already covered Lennon’s ‘#9 Dream', which was released in March, while Corinne Bailey Rae’s version of ‘I’m Losing You’ appeared in April.

Other bands set for the full album, which is released on May 25 in the UK, include U2, Black Eyed Peas, Christina Aguilera, Jack Johnson, Snow Patrol and Aerosmith.

The full tracklisting will be confirmed shortly, while all music publishing royalties have been donated to the campaign by Lennon‘s widow Yoko Ono.

“It’s wonderful that, through this campaign, music which is so familiar to many people of my era will now be embraced by a whole new generation,” said Ono of the project. “John’s music set out to inspire change and, in standing up for human rights, we really can make the world a better place.”