"Don't Look Back into the Sun" is a song released 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 (m ...
as their fourth single. ''
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 ...
'' magazine awarded it single of the week upon its release. "Don't Look Back into the Sun" was released as a single only, therefore not appearing on any albums.
Release
The single was released in three versions in the United Kingdom featuring a re-recording of "Death on the Stairs" produced by
Bernard Butler
Bernard Joseph Butler (born 1 May 1970) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the first guitarist with Suede, until his departure in 1994. He has been hailed by some critics as the greatest guitarist of hi ...
. With "Death on the Stairs" present the single was sometimes labeled as "Don't Look Back into the Sun"/"Death on the Stairs".
In various territories "Don't Look Back into the Sun" was released as an
EP combining various UK B-sides on a single CD. It was also released as a seven track EP in
Japan, featuring the
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...
for the song "I Get Along" as the eighth track.
"Don't Look Back into the Sun" was featured in the 2005 film ''
The Long Weekend
''The Long Weekend'' is a 2005 Canadian film starring Chris Klein and Brendan Fehr as two brothers, Cooper (Klein) and Ed Waxman (Fehr). It also stars Chelan Simmons, Paul Campbell, Chandra West, and Cobie Smulders.
Plot
Cooper is an actor ...
''. and on the intro for episodes of the BBC sitcom ''
Gavin & Stacey
''Gavin & Stacey'' is a British sitcom written by James Corden and Ruth Jones about two families: one in Billericay, Essex; one in Barry, South Wales. Mathew Horne and Joanna Page play the titular characters Gavin and Stacey and the writers ...
''. The song was also used at the end of the first episode of ''
The Inbetweeners
''The Inbetweeners'' is a British coming-of-age television teen sitcom, which originally aired on E4 from 2008 until 2010 and was created and written by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris. The series follows the misadventures of suburban teenager ...
'', as well as being used for
''Kill Your Darlings'' ending credits, and the 2015 film
''Steve Jobs'', during a sequence of news montages detailing the history of
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; ...
and
Apple Inc
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...
in the decade between Jobs’ launch of the
NeXTcube
The NeXTcube is a high-end workstation computer developed, manufactured, and sold by NeXT from 1990 until 1993. It superseded the original NeXT Computer workstation and is housed in a similar cube-shaped magnesium enclosure, designed by frog desi ...
and his eventual return to Apple in 1998.
In 2007 it was covered by
The View on the BBC ''
Radio 1 Established 1967'' album, with the song representing the year 2003.
Reception
In May 2007, ''NME'' magazine placed "Don't Look Back into the Sun" at number five in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever, one place ahead of the Libertines' "
Time for Heroes
"Time for Heroes" is a song by English rock band the Libertines, featured on their debut album '' Up the Bracket''. It was released on 13 January 2003 as the second single from that album, and reached No. 20 in the UK Singles Chart. The song is ...
". In October 2011, ''NME'' placed it at number 71 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
Track listings
7-inch
# "Don't Look Back into the Sun" – 2:59
# "Death on the Stairs" – 3:43
#* Re-recorded version
CD 1
# "Don't Look Back into the Sun" – 2:59
# "Death on the Stairs" – 3:43
#* Re-recorded version
# "Tell the King" (Original Demo Version) – 3:44
CD 2
# "Don't Look Back into the Sun" – 2:59
# "Skint and Minted" (Demo) – 3:35
# "Mockingbird" – 3:14
Spanish EP
# "Don't Look Back into the Sun" – 2:59
# "Death on the Stairs" – 3:43
#* Re-recorded version
# "Tell the King" (Original Demo Version) – 3:44
# "Skint and Minted" (Demo) – 3:35
Australian EP
# "Don't Look Back into the Sun" – 2:59
# "Death on the Stairs" – 3:43
#* Re-recorded version
# "Tell the King" (Original Demo Version) – 3:44
# "Skint and Minted" (Demo) – 3:35
# "Mockingbird" – 3:14
Japanese EP
# "Don't Look Back into the Sun" – 2:59
# "Death on the Stairs" – 3:43
#* Re-recorded version
# "Skint and Minted" (Demo) – 3:35
# "General Smuts" (Demo) – 3:31
# "Mr. Finnegan" (Demo) – 1:51
# "7 Deadly Sins" (Demo) – 2:50
# "Plan A" – 3:22
# I Get Along (Music Video)
Personnel
The Libertines
*Carl Barât – guitar, vocals
*Pete Doherty – vocals
*John Hassall – bass
*Gary Powell – drums
Additional personnel
*Bernard Butler - guitar, production
Charts
Certifications
References
{{Authority control
2003 singles
2003 songs
The Libertines songs
UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles