Forever Now (Cold Chisel song)
"Forever Now" is a 1982 single from Australian rock band Cold Chisel. The second single from the album Circus Animals, it was the first Cold Chisel single to be penned by Steve Prestwich. The song reached number 2 in the New Zealand charts, and number 4 in Australia, the band's highest chart placement. It stayed in the charts for 18 weeks.[1] The single was released in more countries than any other by Cold Chisel. In America it was titled "Forever Now (All My Love)".[2]
| "Forever Now" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Cold Chisel | ||||
| from the album Circus Animals | ||||
| B-side | "Bow River" | |||
| Released | 8 March 1982 | |||
| Recorded | Paradise Studios, Studio 301, Sydney, 1981 | |||
| Genre | Pub rock | |||
| Length | 4:24 | |||
| Label | WEA | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Steve Prestwich | |||
| Producer(s) | Mark Opitz | |||
| Cold Chisel singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Forever Now" on YouTube | ||||
Details
Prestwich, who could only play drums at the time of recording, had to hum the melody to the rest of the band.[3] Producer Opitz said, "The first time Chisel played 'Forever Now' on stage, it was a 7 minute version at Parramatta Leagues Club and I was blown away. I rushed to the dressing room and told the band, 'We've got the single!'"[3] At the time it had the working title "Acapulco Piranha". Walker said, "'Forever Now' was a jammy idea that we were doing at gigs and doing at sound-checks and developing. Mark Opitz recognized very early on that this song has the ideas to be a single and be a very important song for us."[4]
Prestwich later commented, "Mark was very happy and so was I. I'd always felt I had the ability. My biggest hurdle was to be unselfconscious about writing." Prestwich further felt that the "very melodic" song balanced out some of the rock songs on Circus Animals.[5]
Main songwriter Don Walker said at the time, "The songs that the other guys are writing are getting so good these days, you know, like Steve has written a couple of excellent songs for radio, while this time none of mine were suitable for singles or anything like that."[6]
After the release of the single, Walker said, "Steve was drunk in the studio one night and was explaining that "Forever Now" is meant to be read on several different levels. But as far as knowing what those levels are and where they're leading, I haven't sat down with him sober and got right into it."[7]
Artists to record covers of "Forever Now" include Pete Murray, The Delltones, The Reels and Perfect Tripod (a collaboration between Tripod and Eddie Perfect).[8]
The song was later used in the 2000 Australian movie Chopper.[9]
Promo video
A video clip was made to promote the song, directed by Mark Lewis. It featured the band sitting at a table, with Barnes miming & Prestwich pretending to play drums on various objects on the table. It was actually shot in the Four in Hand bar in Paddington with a few modifications to make it appear like an airport departure lounge.[10]
References
- David Kent (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, New South Wales: Australian Chart Book. p. 72. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- Michael Lawrence (1998). Showtime: The Cold Chisel Story. Belmont, Victoria: Michael Lawrence. p. 198. ISBN 1-86503-118-6.
- Anthony O'Grady (2001). Cold Chisel: The Pure Stuff. Crows Nest, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. p. 99. ISBN 1-86508-196-5.
- Mark Opitz; Luke Wallis; Jeff Jensen (2012). Sophisto-Punk. North Sydney: Ebury Press. p. 106. ISBN 9781742757933.
- O'Donnell, John; Creswell, Toby; Mathieson, Craig (October 2010). 100 Best Australian Albums. Prahran, Vic: Hardie Grant Books. ISBN 978-1-74066-955-9.
- Michael Lawrence (1998). Showtime: The Cold Chisel Story. Belmont, Victoria: Michael Lawrence. pp. 139–140. ISBN 1-86503-118-6.
- Jane Matheson. "Cold Chisel: Risk-taking is Part of the Game". Australian Rolling Stone. North Sydney, NSW: Silvertongues Pty Ltd (17 June 1982): 14–18.
- "Perfect Tripod Australian Songs". Toorak Times. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
- Nikki Tranter. "Chopper (2000)". Pop Matters. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
- Jimmy Barnes (2008). Icons of Australian Music: Jimmy Barnes. Springwood, New South Wales: roving eye. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-9804495-0-1.