Muse contributed their new single “Survival” as the official song for the London 2012 Olympics and they can be expected to perform the track as they play the closing ceremony. And as Telegraph.co.uk describes the closing ceremony, “It’s going to be cheeky, cheesy, and thrilling,” and full of British songs.
However, Muse felt the need to defend their participation in the worldwide mainstream sporting event as more than a gimmick or publicity play. Drummer Dom Howard told NME:
“I'm happy with the song. It's a proper Muse song. It's not something we just did for the Olympics. They sowed a seed by asking us to do some music but then five months went by. We showed them a few songs when they asked us about [playing the] closing ceremony and they loved it. It represented the enormous competition of what the Olympics is.”
Interestingly enough, Muse were originally slated to team up with Elton John on the Olympic track. In an interview with radio station KROQ, lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Matt Bellamy spilled the beans:
"Believe it or not, Elton John gave us a call and wanted to write a song for the Olympics. At one time Elton John was actually the director of the music for the Olympics. He contacted us and we thought 'This is far out! We're going to do a song for the Olympics with Elton John?!'”
Unfortunately Elton John didn't pan out for the Olympics. Muse’s new album The Second Law is due for an October 1st release. Check out the song “Survival” below:
