aaamusic | On 12, Aug 2010

To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Echo Beach being an international hit single, Martha and the Muffins have recorded a new version of the iconic song, along with a brand new song entitled ‘Big Day’. Both songs are now available from iTunes and other leading digital download stores.

Although founding Muffins member, Mark Gane was not aware of a real Echo Beach when he originally wrote the song in 1978, fans around the world have written to the band, asking them if it was about a particular beach or place.  For the past 30 years the mystery has been a part of the song’s universal and enduring appeal.

“We recorded the new version of Echo Beach when we rehearsed for the Music Gallery concerts in Toronto last February,” says Gane.  “The reaction from the audience was really strong and people started asking us if we would release the new version commercially. The band did such a great job with the arrangement that we decided to take them into the studio and record the 30th anniversary version.”

“We wanted to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the song, by not trying to replicate the version that we originally recorded, but as musicians who’ve experienced three decades of living. We’d like to refer to the new recording of Echo Beach as our ‘grown-up’ version.”

To celebrate 30 anniversary of Echo Beach and the bonus track ‘Big Day’, the Muffins will write and record a song about a big day in the life of one lucky fan. “Celebrating 30 years of Echo Beach is a big day for us,” says Gane. “We wanted to celebrate this achievement and give one of our fans a big day to look back on 30 years from now.”  To enter the contest, fans are being asked to submit a 200 word story describing a big day in their life by emailing echobeach30@gmail.com.