Written by Mike Hugg and Ian La Frenais. Sung by Tony Rivers. Released in 1973. *ALL copyright(s) reserved by artists/labels/publishers. I own nothing.*
I was just saying this, I was only a kid when occasionally I was allowed to watch the likely lads, not even in double digits. I'm now in my 50's and it resonates so much
This song reminds me of when I was growing up in the seventies, knocking about with my mates, buying fruit salads and blackjacks from the corner shop and my mum washing my hair in Vosene shampoo over the sink whilst this tune played on the telly in the background , lovely memories .
There's a Dr. Who fanzine called Vworp Vworp. Issue 4 had a cover picture of John Pertwee riding a Chopper bicycle being chased by aliens on Space Hoppers. It was the most 70's thing I'd ever seen until I read this comment.
This song always gives me a lump in my throat, I loved Terry and Bob and remember Bob saying " I used to think we had forever, now I'm not so sure"....so true!!
I remember watching this when i was about seven and not realising how perfect my life was then, the line "Its the only thing to look forward to - the past" really does resonate now !!!
Me too, 50+ years later it seems even then it brought tears to my eyes. My late friend and I used to sing this and wonder if we would ever look back when we were older and reflect on our friendship...we did. RIP Nigel my mate
As I've got older, I've become more like Terry. Happy to hang on to the life I've grown up with and not flitting from one thing to another in a vain attempt to impress people who are as shallow as a puddle.
From a time when Britain really was great. When people looked out for each other and no one was ever offended. Our world had now changed for the worse. Oh for the 1970s, if only we knew then how or world would unravel.
yes. hard to forget about the illegality of homosexuality though, or the political and economic unrest evidenced by the fact that there were more emigrants leaving Britain than there were immigrants coming into Britain, or the rising number of domestic violence cases leading to the inception of women's refuge centres, or just the general enmity towards anyone who wasn't white. apart from that though, a great decade for a great nation. oops, my mistake, homosexuality was legal by the time the 70s rolled around. my bad. I take it all back.
@@davidpoetry1491 "The general enmity towards anyone who wasn't white". You obviously didn't live in the 1970s and are just trying to make yourself look superior by your supposedly refined sensitivity. The 1970s were a time when friendships often crossed racial lines and people were coming together across racial divides. You can see this in many bands that grew out of the era, like Culture Club and the Specials.
@@jaredmaloney I 100% agree with you. Anyone who is bold and brave enough that they're willing to look past skin colour in favour of bonhomie should be awarded the Nobel Prize for doing something that 5 year olds do without even having to think about it.
Thanks for posting I’ve never heard the song fully and it’s very interesting. We all look back to happier innocent times as younger people but it’s really our youth that we miss. Seemingly endless horizons with full energy and enthusiasm and zero baggage. As Alan Whicker once said “It’s funny when you get older, even nostalgia isn’t what it used to be”. The past is always bitter sweet but nice to revisit from time to time and this song brings back so many happy memories.
When you are young there is always tomorrow and it might be better than today. Years later you know that isn't true and how many more tomorrows will there be anyway?
This is such a true sad song, love it though. Reminds me of all the changes in the world. " what became of the people we used to be". I wonder what did happen? Some cruel and nasty people in the world.
So incredibly sad 😔 it's about many peoples lives and how it turned out to be so awful. When it was such a joy as a child so many find this out when they grow older.
Good to see I'm not the only one affected by this song. I remember my dad watching it. He would have been the same age as the characters (though not the actors). If only we could go back in time to visit.
Love these comments. This song reminds me of a close friend who has now left us. We were sit in the Grey Horse pub in Darlington supping broon ale and I said to him hey we're just like the likely lads sat here putting the world to rights... He said you're fucking Rodney Bews then I'm the funny one...
The kids of today have got absolutely no chance and no clue as to how we grew up....WE HAD THE GREATEST DAYS,i wouldn't change one hour of it...fxxk the money i blew !! We never got tired yet we never needed sleep...and still !! We worked hard sorry grafted and sweated for our money and we played hard
I have this fab song in my vinyl collection and it always makes smile and shed a tear at the same time whenever I play it. A beautiful song and one that is timeless.🎸👍⭐️💜
The best one liner in history. Terry in the dock in “ Conduct Unbecoming. “ and as me mother said at the time , you can’t by powdered egg with a George Medal!!!” 😂😂😂brilliant!!
I go to an open mic night every Thursday night at my local. There's an old guy there who sings and tells stories about singing on TV theme tunes and writing tunes for cliff Richards biggest tunes etc.... and you think - yeah, of course you did mate.... Tony Rivers!!!! He's my old dude mate at my local and all the stories are true
Great show, still watch it. I grew up in the 70s not far from Newcastle. Loads of memories. But none of the lads were from Newcastle. The song is CLASS.
Neither was you from Newcastle! Actors play roles that’s why it is called acting Me I weren’t either East London but the tune and the changes had the same feel 👍
@@allenomalley4014 I live 14 miles from Newcastle. I have been to Newcastle more times in my 57 years than I care to remember.i was at Malcolm Macdonald's debut when I was 6. James bolam was born in Sunderland. Rodney bewes was born in Yorkshire. However the auf wiedersehen Pet lads from Newcastle have a different accent. Ps Kevin Whately is from hexam in Northumberland. Still love the likely lads though.
Reminds me of a great era with bands like Lindisfarne, Stealers Wheel, McGuiness Flint, Fairweather, and Gallagher and Lyle great days and great music.
One of the great TV show theme tunes. Mike Hugg must have had a thing about nostalgia, his 1972 song 'Blue Suede Shoes Again' was very similar. It's worth a listen and is available on youtube.
Mike Hugg from the Manfred’s still performs this song in the Manfred’s tour, along with all the big hits from Manfred Mann, make it a must if the Manfred’s tour near you, they do all their hits have both singers Paul Jones and his replacement Mike D,Abo, Tom Mcguiness, Mike Hugg and Mike Vickers still in the band performing, vocals on this track was Tony Rivers.
Yeah, I think I know exactly what you mean: "Tomorrow's almost over, the day went by so fast, the only thing to look forward to..... the past!" Very melancholy.
There's a great line in the feature length movie: "...in the chocolate box of life, the top layer's already gone, and someone's pinched the Orange Cream from the bottom"...... exactly how I feel about life.
my god so many memories with this tune at one point when you were a kid in Ireland,,you weren't allowed to watch it at one point when you were a kid ,but when you got a bit older you were,, I still find the program funny, probably a generation thing , The likely lads I'm reminiscing over but this tune needs to be covered
Many thanks for this. I've never heard the complete version before, and good to find out who the actual singer was - Tony Rivers, it all makes sense now.
@@antrivers46 Anthony, thanks for this. I confess I knew of your Dad only by name as lead singer of the Castaways, but the history on craftweb has given me an idea of all the other stuff he's done. BTW 30 years ago I worked for a while with Pete Swettenham, who of course was in the Castaways before the formation of Grapefruit. Another thing I didn't know until looking at craftweb was that Grapefruit's use of C'mon Marianne can be traced back to the Castaways. All goes to show how important people like your Dad were in the evolution of UK 60s rock.
Ian La Frenais always seemed to make sure that the sig tune matched the programme. In this case it was a perfect match. You tube is telling me to listen to Joe Fagan next..
The 70's was certainly a golden age for British comedy just off the top of my head there was this, Dad's Army, Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, Rising Damp, Steptoe and Son and Porridge
I was born in the 70's then in my teens and since, people think I'm strange for not liking the latest fashionable American comedy and preferring comedy from the 70's. When I was a toddler watching TV, those people I saw were going to be the people I was going to be.
Just recently re-watched the show on BBC4. A brilliant exploration of 'lads' getting older together with the clash of Bob being dragged (by Thelma) into the emerging consumer capitalism set against Terry's more traditional ways.
My wife worked in the Theatre Royal in Glasgow in the early / mid 90's, and James Bolam appeared there, she said he was an obnoxious, self centred prick, maybe that explains some of the animosity between himself and Rodney Bewes.
I totally loved this song back in the day. Now I fully understand the lyrics. Great music, good weather, our hair long, motorbikes, lots of fun, the future light years ahead. Now we have the past for comfort but it was a great past with John lennon, Roxy music, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Rory Gallagher and NO Putin!
