Continuing his involvement in issues of the day, in 1985 he created the music-industry activist group Artists United Against Apartheid as an action against the Sun City resort in South Africa. Forty-nine recording artists, including Springsteen, U2, Bob Dylan, Pete Townshend, Joey Ramone, Tom Petty, Afrika Bambaataa and Run DMC, collaborated on a song called "Sun City" in which they pledged to never perform at the resort. The song was modestly successful, and played a part in the broad international effort to overthrow apartheid. Van Zandt also produced the award-winning documentary "The Making of Sun City" and oversaw the production of the book, "Sun City by Artists United Against Apartheid, the Struggle for Freedom in South Africa: The Making of the Record", as well as the teaching guide.