“The Fire” is a song and music video by singer/songwriter Matthew Stephen. The song follows one of the Chernobyl liquidators from Corbu, Moldova. It was inspired by a story told by a taxi driver during Matthew’s trip from Odessa, Ukraine to Bucharest, Romania in 2016. Matthew was so moved by the people and culture of the Ukrainian people back in 2016, it led to his continued interest in that county. When “The Fire” (Ukrainian and Russian term for the Chernobyl accident) happened the Soviet military went across the USSR looking for liquidators. They took 50 men from Corbu, Moldova, a village of 1000 people in 1986, all who had families, to fight “The Fire.”
They brought the men back a week or two later and within three years every single one of them was dead. The liquidators were supposed to make only one trip to the roof of Reactor 4 and receive a high level (but survivable) amount of radiation. Suspicion was that for productivity reasons some of the liquidators made multiple trips, or were otherwise kept on the roof far too long.
When Russia invaded Ukraine, it inspired Matthew to quickly write, record and release the song “Blue & Gold” as a tribute to the country he fell in love with six year ago while visiting. The writing and production of “The Fire” and “Blue & Gold” are outstanding. The songs remind me of a unique, powerful blend of U2, Coldplay and Radiohead. Matthew’s lyrics are so interesting and the video for
“The Fire” brings those words to life. This is a serious talent singing about serious topics while creating fantastic songs that will have an impact on listeners. Check out the songs on Spotify and visit YouTube to watch the video for “The Fire.” Matthew has something important to say and we should all take a listen.
Watch “The Fire” HERE and visit www.matthewstephen.com for the latest news.
