"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 Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester in 1989. They were pioneers (along with the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, the Crystal Method, and other acts) in bringing the big beat genre t ...

, released as the second single from their third studio album, ''

Surrender Surrender may refer to: * Surrender (law), the early relinquishment of a tenancy * Surrender (military), the relinquishment of territory, combatants, facilities, or armaments to another power Film and television * ''Surrender'' (1927 film), an ...

'' (1999), on 2 August 1999. It contains uncredited vocals from

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...

band

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, who also co-wrote the song and previously worked with the Chemical Brothers on " Setting 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 The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. 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 ''

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'' charts: the

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chart and the

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chart.

Music video

The video for the track was directed by

Michel Gondry Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker 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 of the writers ...

, 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

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' 1975

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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 emigrated to the United States from Swi ...

), choreographed by

Busby Berkeley Busby Berkeley (born Berkeley William Enos; November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berke ...

for the

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

musical ''

Dames ''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the British honours system and those of several other Commonwealth realms, such as Australia and New Zeala ...

'' (1934) directed by

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 ...

. ''

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'' named it 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 ''

'' 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 *

– writing, vocals (uncredited) * Steve Dub – engineering * Cheeky Paul – editing * Mike Marsh – mastering

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1999 singles 1999 songs Astralwerks singles The Chemical Brothers songs Music videos directed by Michel Gondry Songs written by Ed Simons Songs written by Noel Gallagher Songs written by Tom Rowlands Virgin Records singles