"The Unknown Soldier" is the tenth studio album by English folk/rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Roy Harper. It was first released in 1980 by Harvest Records and marked his last release on the label. Half of the tracks on the album were co-written with David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, who also plays guitar on the album. Kate Bush provides a duet with Harper on one of these tracks.
The album was originally released on EMI's Harvest Records label (SHVL820) in 1980, and it was also available in Canada (Harvest ST6474) and Germany (Electrola 1C06407259). In 1998, the album was reissued on Harper's own Science Friction label (HUCD031).
While duets are rare in Roy Harper's discography, Kate Bush accompanies him on the track "You." The song "Short and Sweet" features David Gilmour on guitar and is also found on Gilmour's first solo album, David Gilmour (released two years earlier). Harper also performed "Short and Sweet" as a guest during one of Gilmour's 1984 concerts in London. Gilmour plays guitar on most of the album’s ten tracks and co-wrote five of them, with Harper providing the lyrics and Gilmour contributing the music.
Some of the tracks on The Unknown Soldier were originally intended for an earlier Harper album, Commercial Breaks (which was recorded in 1978–79 but delayed due to a dispute with EMI). These songs—"I'm in Love with You," "Ten Years Ago," and "The Flycatcher"—were re-recorded for The Unknown Soldier, with slight variations from their original demo versions.
The album's title and concept were inspired by Harper's visit to the battlefield at Verdun in France, which was a deeply emotional experience. Harper recalled the journey in a personal reflection:
Perhaps the most remarkable moment in the making of this record was the trip to the battlefield at Verdun... We took the pictures, even though it seemed like a sacrilege. And isn't that the nature of our beast...?
Harper’s experience at Verdun deeply affected him, as he witnessed the sea of graves and the imposing Art Deco monument, which commemorated the soldiers who died there. This visit contributed to the somber theme of the album. Harper also reflected on the silence of the journey back, which contrasted sharply with the noise and chaos of the world he had just experienced.
