One of the things I love about UK pop music is the near-instant cover culture that comes with the territory. Covers of current songs are often slated as b-sides to new singles there, and these takes on others’ tunes are regularly pulled from BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge, a long-running show where artists play one of their own songs and also cover another. (That popular series, previously given a shout-out in this very space, has been packaged for sale here, here, and here.)

British singer-songwriter Gary Go hasn’t stopped by the Live Lounge yet, but if he’s ever invited to visit, he’s already armed himself with quite the arsenal of covers. To date, Go has recorded songs from Fall Out Boy, TV On The Radio, Sam Sparro, The Cars, and even Lady Gaga, giving “Poker Face” what Q Magazine has called his “one-man Coldplay” treatment. (Go was the opening act for Gaga on her European tour.)

While one of Gary Go’s own tunes, “Wonderful,” made the cut as an iTunes Single of the Week, I took notice only a few days ago when Amazon MP3 featured another cover as an exclusive download: Empire Of The Sun’s “Walking On A Dream.” If that title/group doesn’t ring a bell, read a little background on the original first. Then when you’re ready to proceed, click play below to hear how Gary Go has taken a tremendous tune and made it even better:

Grab a free download of Gary Go – “Walking On A Dream” via Amazon MP3.