"Let Forever Be" is a song by English electronic music duo
the Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands in Manchester in 1992. They were pioneers in bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.
Originally known as The Dust Brothers, th ...
, released as the second single from their third studio album, '' Surrender'' (1999), on 23 July 1999 in Japan and on 2 August in the United Kingdom. It contains uncredited vocals from
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Gallagher is the primary songwriter, lead guitarist and a co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis. After leaving Oasis, he formed Noel ...
of
Britpop
Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...
band
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentSetting Sun".
"Let Forever Be" was the Chemical Brothers' fourth top-10 single in the United Kingdom, peaking at number nine on the UK Singles Chart. It was also successful in Hungary, where it debuted and peaked at number two, and it reached the top 40 in Ireland and New Zealand. In the United States, the single reached the top 30 on two ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...
chart.
Music video
The video for the track was directed by
Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker and producer noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one o ...
, and utilized ground-breaking video and film effects in its depiction of a young woman's nightmares (the girl is played by actress and dancer Stephanie Landwehr). The video, which drew visual inspiration from
Ray Davies
Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter for the Rock music, rock band the Kinks, which he led, with his younger brother Dave Davies, Dave pro ...
' 1975
Granada TV
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend Television was its ...
production '' Starmaker'', received much media attention and became one of the most well-known videos from the band. The video also makes specific visual and thematic references to the dance sequence "I Only Have Eyes For You" (music by
Harry Warren
Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...
; lyrics by
Al Dubin
Alexander Dubin (June 10, 1891 – February 11, 1945) was an American lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with the composer Harry Warren.
Life
Al Dubin came from a Russian Jewish family that immigrated to the United States from Sw ...
), choreographed by
Busby Berkeley
Berkeley William Enos, (November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) known professionally as Busby Berkeley, was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geo ...
for the
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
Ray Enright
Ray Enright (March 25, 1896 – April 3, 1965) was an American film director. He directed 73 films between 1927–53, many of them for Warner Bros. He oversaw comedy films like Joe E. Brown vehicles, five of the six informal pairings of Joa ...
. ''
Pitchfork Media
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...
'' named the video the "quintessential Michel Gondry video" and ranked it at number seven in their list of the "Top 50 Music Videos of the 1990s".
Track listings
Standard CD, 12-inch, and cassette single
# "Let Forever Be"
# "The Diamond Sky"
# "Studio K"
European CD single
# "Let Forever Be" (album version)
# "Studio K"
Credits and personnel
Credits are lifted from the '' Surrender'' album booklet.
Studios
* Recorded at Orinoco Studios (South London, England)
* Edited at Berwick Street Studios (London, England)
* Mastered at The Exchange (London, England)
Personnel
* The Chemical Brothers – production
** Tom Rowlands – writing
** Ed Simons – writing
*
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Gallagher is the primary songwriter, lead guitarist and a co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis. After leaving Oasis, he formed Noel ...
– writing (credited), vocals (uncredited)
* Steve Dub – engineering
* Cheeky Paul – editing
* Mike Marsh – mastering