East Hastings (song)

"East Hastings" is a 1997 song by the Canadian rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor from their debut album F♯ A♯ ∞ and is perhaps best known for its use in the film 28 Days Later in an edited version.[1][2]

The song is named after East Hastings Street in Vancouver's blighted Downtown Eastside.[3] While the west of Hastings Street has historic buildings and landmarks, East Hastings is a warehouse area leading to the outskirts of town, considered a run-down skid row, suggesting that the dystopian future described in the opening monologue is actually our present.[4]

During an interview with The Guardian, 28 Days Later director Danny Boyle explained, "I always try to have a soundtrack in my mind [when creating a film]. Like when we did Trainspotting, it was Underworld. For me, the soundtrack to 28 Days Later was Godspeed. The whole film was cut to Godspeed in my head."[1]

The song does not appear on 28 Days Later: The Soundtrack Album because the rights to the song could not be obtained.[1]