The Call and Todd Rundgren Release New Collaboration single “The Walls Came Down”

Critically acclaimed American modern rock band, The Call along with legendary performer Todd Rundgren announce a fiery call to action on a new studio version of The Call’s “The Walls Came Down”, which is out now.

“The Walls Came Down” is a politically charged 1983 song orginally recorded by The Call, known for its Cold War themes and biblical Jericho allegory, featured on their album Modern Romans and popularized by its black-and-white MTV video, with singer Michael Been leading the band. The song reached #17 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock tracks in 1983.

Michael Been died of a heart attack in 2010, and the remaining band members (Tom Ferrier, Scott Musick, Jim Goodwin) reunited occasionally but never officially broke up. Taking over lead vocals, this is Todd Rundgren’s first collaboration with The Call.

Released as the lead track from the The Call’s 1983 album Modern Romans, “The Walls Came Down” landed in a world steeped in political tension. The Cold War was at its height: the Berlin Wall still divided East and West, the nuclear arms race dominated headlines, and Reagan’s “Star Wars” defense initiative was on everyone’s lips. Fear of global conflict wasn’t abstract—it was nightly news. Against that backdrop, The Call delivered a track that felt less like a pop song and more like a warning broadcast.

Four decades later, “The Walls Came Down” remains one of the most enduring political anthems of its time. It captures the uneasy heartbeat of 1983, but its message remains timeless. Every generation has its walls—literal and symbolic—and every wall eventually falls.

Todd Rundgren would sometimes perform a cover version of “The Walls Came Down” in his solo concerts and get an enthusistic reactions. The remaing Call band members (Jim Goodwin, Tom Ferrier, Scott Musick) came across his videos on Youtube and reached out to see if he would like to collaborate on a new version.

The Call’s sound on this new studio version is lean and muscular, driven by electric guitars, a thunderous rhythm section by drummer Scott Musick, and Todd Rundgren’s deeply passionate lead vocals, along with Tom Ferrier (electric guitar) and Jim Goodwin (keyboards).

These musicians have a shared recording history with The Band, for which Todd Rundgren produced their album, Stage Fright. The Band member Garth Hudson played the keyboards on the original 1983 version of “The Walls Came Down” and was an instrumental figure in The Call’s early career.

The single was produced by The Call and Ralph Patlan, with mixes by Ralph Patlan and Todd Rundgren. The Bandcamp bundle offers exclusive access to six live tracks from a vintage concert from The Call, recorded in 1983, in London England. The bundles also include a special limited edition poster and t-shirt design.

“I would on occasion perform a show called An Unpredictable Evening wherein we would strive to challenge the audience to recall songs that had not been played in a while (or maybe never), and “Walls Came Down” was a regular part of the set.

Not only did we enjoy playing it, the audience would get pretty riled up behind it. The song still has legs.”