Forever Now (Cold Chisel song)

"Forever Now"
Single by Cold Chisel
from the album Circus Animals
B-side"Bow River"
Released8 March 1982
StudioParadise (Sydney), Studios 301 (Sydney)
Length4:24
LabelWEA
Songwriter(s)Steve Prestwich
Producer(s)Mark Opitz
Cold Chisel singles chronology
"You Got Nothing I Want"
(1981) 		"Forever Now"
(1982) 		"When the War Is Over"
(1982)
Music video
"Forever Now" on YouTube

"Forever Now" is a song by Australian rock band Cold Chisel. The second single from the album Circus Animals, it was the first Cold Chisel single to be written by Steve Prestwich. The song reached number two in New Zealand and number four in Australia, becoming the band's highest chart placement. In the United States, the song was titled "Forever Now (All My Love)".[1]

Details

Prestwich, who could only play drums at the time of recording, had to hum the melody to the rest of the band.[2] 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!'"[2] 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."[3]

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.[4]

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."[5]

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."[6]

Prestwich "drums" on the table

Artists to record covers of "Forever Now" include Pete Murray, The Delltones and Perfect Tripod (a collaboration between Tripod and Eddie Perfect).[7] A version by the Reels reached 135 in the Australian charts.[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]

Charts

References

  1. ^ Michael Lawrence (1998). Showtime: The Cold Chisel Story. Belmont, Victoria: Michael Lawrence. p. 198. ISBN 1-86503-118-6.
  2. ^ a b Anthony O'Grady (2001). Cold Chisel: The Pure Stuff. Crows Nest, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. p. 99. ISBN 1-86508-196-5.
  3. ^ Mark Opitz; Luke Wallis; Jeff Jensen (2012). Sophisto-Punk. North Sydney: Ebury Press. p. 106. ISBN 9781742757933.
  4. ^ O'Donnell, John; Creswell, Toby; Mathieson, Craig (October 2010). 100 Best Australian Albums. Prahran, Vic: Hardie Grant Books. ISBN 978-1-74066-955-9.
  5. ^ Michael Lawrence (1998). Showtime: The Cold Chisel Story. Belmont, Victoria: Michael Lawrence. pp. 139–140. ISBN 1-86503-118-6.
  6. ^ Jane Matheson. "Cold Chisel: Risk-taking is Part of the Game". Australian Rolling Stone (17 June 1982). North Sydney, NSW: Silvertongues Pty Ltd: 14–18.
  7. ^ "Perfect Tripod Australian Songs". Toorak Times. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  8. ^ "Week commencing 30 January 1989 - part 2". Bubbling Down Under.
  9. ^ Nikki Tranter. "Chopper (2000)". Pop Matters. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  10. ^ Jimmy Barnes (2008). Icons of Australian Music: Jimmy Barnes. Springwood, New South Wales: roving eye. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-9804495-0-1.
  11. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 68. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. ^ "Cold Chisel – Forever Now". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  13. ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1982". Kent Music Report. 3 January 1983. Retrieved 22 January 2023 – via Imgur.
  14. ^ "End of Year Charts 1982". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 14 October 2022.