"What Became of the Likely Lads" is a song by

the Libertines The Libertines are an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, has also included John Hassall ...

, which was released as the final single from their self-titled, second album, ''

The Libertines The Libertines are an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, has also included John Hassall ...

''. The lyrics in this song ("What became of the dreams we had?", "What became of forever?") refer to the breakdown of the friendship between Pete Doherty and

Carl Barât Carl Ashley Raphael Barât (; born 6 June 1978) is a British musician and actor, best known for being the co-frontman with Pete Doherty of the garage rock band The Libertines. He was the frontman and lead guitarist of Dirty Pretty Things, and ...

, and the subsequent collapse of the band. The song's title (and the chorus's lyrics) echo the title of a popular British situation comedy from the 1970s: ''

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? ''Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?'' is a British sitcom which was broadcast on BBC1 between 9 January 1973 and 9 April 1974. It was the colour sequel to the mid-1960s hit '' The Likely Lads''. It was created and written, as was its prede ...

'' The song reached 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 ...

when released. Pete Doherty claimed in an interview with ''

Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...

'' that he had no input for the video of the song, which does not feature the band but two young boys on a council estate (

Thamesmead Thamesmead is an area of south-east London, England, straddling the border between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Charing Cross, north-east of Woolwich and west of Erith. It mainly con ...

), implied to be a young Pete and Carl. This is incorrect to the story of the two, because they did not meet each other until their late teens. According to Carl Barât, in the cover photo, Doherty is not wearing a watch.''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', 2003 Yearbook

Track listings

CD 1 # "What Became of the Likely Lads" # "Skag & Bone Man" (Live, Brixton, 6 March 2004) # "Time for Heroes" (Live, Brixton, 6 March 2004) CD 2 # "What Became of the Likely Lads" (Re-worked) # "The Delaney" (Live, Brixton, 6 March 2004) 7" # "What Became of the Likely Lads" # "Boys In The Band" (Live, Brixton, 6 March 2004) US CD EP # "What Became Of The Likely Lads" (Reworked version) # "Skag And Bone Man" (Live Brixton Sat 6/3/04) # "Time For Heroes" (Live Brixton Sat 6/3/04) # "The Delaney" (Live Brixton Sat 6/3/04) # "Boys In The Band" (Live Brixton Sat 6/3/04) # "Don't Look Back Into The Sun" (Mick Jones Version) # "What Became Of The Likely Lads" (Album Version)

Charts

References

{{The Libertines 2004 songs 2004 singles The Libertines songs Rough Trade Records singles Songs written by Pete Doherty Songs written by Carl Barât Song recordings produced by Mick Jones (The Clash) Music videos directed by Johan Renck UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles