A real ‘Stand Up’ sort of guy

When Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame was called on to create a song for an anti-cancer campaign, he was surprised at how easily it came to him and with just the right tone.

“It’s very uplifting,” he says of “Stand Up to Cancer,” which he started writing and recording on his laptop in bed right after awakening one morning.

“You don’t really hear the word sung out or spoken out loud a lot. Cancer, putting the word in a song, is a very powerful thing for people recovering from cancer or in treatment.”

Stewart did the song for the latest campaign by Stand Up to Cancer, which raises awareness and also money to help speed research into new treatments.

The disease has hit friends and his mother, Stewart says, adding, “I think everyone is kind of surrounded by it.”

Stand Up 2 Cancer on Demand, which debuted last week for Comcast cable households, features music videos from more than 60 artists including Alicia Keys, Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga.

Viewers, who are encouraged to donate to the cause, can also see highlights of a spot directed by Jesse Dylan, who created will.i.am’s “Yes We Can” video.

The full video, with stars including Renee Zellweger, Josh Groban and Mandy Moore, debuts next month.

Stewart’s tune, which he also recorded with Joss Stone, is used elsewhere in the TV campaign and online.

Stand Up to Cancer, a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, says it has raised more than $100 million from corporate and other donors.

The birthday bunch

Actress Barbara Billingsley (“Leave it to Beaver”) is 94. Actor Hector Elizondo is 73. TV anchor Diane Sawyer is 64. Guitarist Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick is 63. Singer Robin Gibb (The Bee Gees) is 60. Rapper Luther Campbell is 49. Actor Ralph Fiennes is 47. Actress Heather Donahue (“The Blair Witch Project”) is 35. Singer Jordin Sparks (“American Idol”) is 20.