Fuck Forever Explained

Fuck Forever
Cover:Fuck forever japan ep.jpg
Caption:Japanese artwork
Type:single
Artist:Babyshambles
Album:Down in Albion
B-Side:"East of Eden", "Babyshamble", "Monkey Casino", "Black Boy Lane"
Genre:Indie rock
Length:4:38
Label:Rough Trade
Producer:Mick Jones
Prev Title:Killamangiro
Prev Year:2004
Next Title:Albion
Next Year:2005

"Fuck Forever" is a song by English rock band Babyshambles. It was released as a single on 15 August 2005 and is their highest-charting single, peaking at number four on the UK Singles Chart. The song was negatively targeted due to its controversial title and lyrics, but it was eventually released and has become the closing number in the band's live sets. In May 2007, NME placed "Fuck Forever" at number 24 on its list of the "50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever",[1] while in 2014, the same publication named it the 245th greatest song of all time.[2]

Music video

The video was directed by Jez Murrell. Most of the promotional video for Babyshambles' second single was filmed on location at Spitalfields City Farm in east London, in June 2005.

At the beginning of the video, Kate Moss makes a cameo appearance, which is followed by a segment featuring Patrick Walden talking to a girl in a cinema ticket booth in the style of a foreign film, complete with subtitles and fluttering animated hearts. The farm segment features a sharp suited and booted band milling around miming to the song, miscellaneous farm animals, goats running around, Union Jack–draped and pork pie hat–wearing donkeys and Pete Doherty twirling around wrapped in a Union Jack. The video ends with Walden and the mysterious cinema girl meeting up at the "Victoria Palace Gates," sharing a kiss and romantically wandering off into the distance.

Track listings

UK CD1 [3]

  1. "Fuck Forever" (original)
  2. "East of Eden"
  3. "Babyshamble"
  4. "Fuck Forever" (video)

UK CD2 [4]

  1. "Fuck Forever" (original)
  2. "Monkey Casino"

UK 7-inch single [5]

A. "Fuck Forever" (original)

B. "Black Boy Lane"

Australian CD single [6]

  1. "Fuck Forever" (original)
  2. "Fuck Forever" (original clean)
  3. "Black Boy Lane"
  4. "Monkey Casino"
  5. "East of Eden"
  6. "Babyshambles"

Japanese maxi-CD EP [7]

  1. "Fuck Forever" (original version)
  2. "Black Boy Lane"
  3. "Monkey Casino"
  4. "East of Eden"
  5. "Babyshambles"
  6. "Fuck Forever" (original version clean)
  7. "Fuck Forever" (video)

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)
United Kingdom15 August 2005Rough Trade[9]
Australia29 August 2005CD[10]
Japan22 September 2005EP/mini-album[11]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Greatest Indie Anthems Ever – Number One is getting close . . 2 May 2007 . 2 May 2007.
  2. Web site: Rocklist.net....NME the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.. 2014.
  3. Fuck Forever. Babyshambles. 2005. UK CD1 liner notes. Rough Trade Records. RTRADSCDX210.
  4. Fuck Forever. Babyshambles. 2005. UK CD2 liner notes. Rough Trade Records. RTRADSCD210.
  5. Fuck Forever. Babyshambles. 2005. UK 7-inch single sleeve. Rough Trade Records. RTRADS210.
  6. Fuck Forever. Babyshambles. 2005. Australian CD single liner notes. Rough Trade Records. RTRADSCD210.
  7. F*ck Forever. Babyshambles. 2005. Japanese CD single liner notes. Rough Trade Records. TOCP-61105.
  8. Web site: European Top 20 Charts – Week Commencing 29th August 2005. ARIA. 25. 29 August 2005. dead. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20080222222438/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20050820-0000/issue809.pdf. 22 February 2008. 15 May 2022.
  9. New Releases: Singles. Music Week. 23. 13 August 2005.
  10. Web site: The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 29th August 2005. ARIA. 28. 29 August 2005. dead. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20080222222438/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20050820-0000/issue809.pdf. 22 February 2008. 15 May 2022.
  11. Web site: Forever—Japan-only Mini Album. Toshiba-EMI. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20051124195201/http://www.toshiba-emi.co.jp/international/release/200509/tocp61105.htm. 24 November 2005. 26 August 2023.