How Courteeners made 'Not Nineteen Forever' — SkimNews
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- Liam Fray wrote the lyrics to 'Not Nineteen Forever' in a red notebook of poems that secured his place on the University of Salford creative writing course, years before he convinced three mates to form the Courteeners.
- Fray stumbled on the song's chords while trying to work out the Strokes' 'Someday' at his parents' house, but muddled the finger positions — his dad poked his head in and said 'It sounds all right, that.'
- Stephen Street — who produced the Smiths — produced the Courteeners' debut St Jude at Olympic Studios in London after a major label signing, comparing the band's devoted following to Smiths audiences.
- The song initially charted at No. 19, later went double platinum, and was presented with the award by Mayor Andy Burnham at Manchester's Britons Protection pub.
- The St Jude reissue hit No. 1, 15 years after its original release — something Street said had never happened in his career before, calling it 'quite emotional.'
- At gigs, original fans now bring their 17-, 18-, and 19-year-old children to sing the chorus, giving a 20-year-old song a new generational dimension.
Why it matters: A song Fray scribbled while working bar shifts at Manchester's Night & Day has outlasted the mid-2000s indie boom Street identified — going from a No. 19 chart debut to double platinum with an award handed over by Burnham in a Manchester pub, and now sung by fans' teenage children.
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