Scars to Your Beautiful
"Scars to Your Beautiful" is a song recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Alessia Cara. Def Jam Recordings and Universal Music Group serviced it to contemporary hit radio on July 26, 2016, as the third single from her debut studio album "Know-It-All" (2015). A pop ballad, the song was written by Cara along with its producers Pop & Oak, Sebastian Kole, and DJ Frank E.
In the United States, "Scars to Your Beautiful" peaked at number eight. It marked Cara's second top-ten single on US "Billboard" Hot 100. It also reached the top ten in Australia, Iceland, Slovenia, and Sweden.
Background.
Cara felt motivated to make the song after viewing an episode of "Botched". In an interview with Idolator's Mike Wass, Cara stated about the process behind the song:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />"Basically, that song is about body image. It's directed at women, but I think men can relate to it as well. It's just a song about these things that certain women go through on a daily basis in order to feel loved or in order to love themselves. I think that's such a thing that goes on in today's world. These weird things are instilled in us. You know? They tell us that we’re not good enough or that there's only one kind of beauty. This song basically is contradicting that idea. It's saying, 'Well, if the world doesn't like how you look then they should change. They should change their perspective. You don’t have to change yourself.' I mean, I thought that that was important, you know, just to put out next. Especially because I think that's kind of the direction we're going in, you know, with 'Here'. 'Here' was about not belonging anywhere and 'Wild Things' was about finding a space you belong. Now 'Scars To Your Beautiful' is basically about embracing yourself and finally coming to that conclusion where you feel love and you can love yourself. I think it's cool to put out third because I feel like I have a bigger platform now. The point of the song is to reach as many women, or people, as possible."
Cara also noted that the song was inspired by Christina Aguilera's 2002 ballad "Beautiful".
Critical reception.
"The Guardian"'s Kitty Empire said that "There's substance on Scars to Your Beautiful, where Cara tackles the beauty myth à la Beyoncé. The verses pack some good stuff – 'What's a little bit of hunger? I can go a little bit longer.'" and later went on to say "the thumping motivational chorus merely suggests we are all stars." Katy Iandoli of Idolator stated "Scars to Your Beautiful is a modern-day version of TLC's 'Unpretty', in its acknowledgment of the beauty in both visible and invisible imperfections."
"Billboard" ranked "Scars to Your Beautiful" at number 77 on their "Billboard"'s 100 Best Pop Songs of 2016: Critics' Picks" list, commenting “Body-positivity anthems typically don't get this dark, but on "Scars To Your Beautiful," Alessia Cara isn't afraid to talk cutting, tears and eating disorders, before getting to the uplifting chorus, where she delivers some of the most empowering, horizon-expanding lyrics of this year: ‘You don't have to change a thing / The world could change its heart.’”
Music video.
The music video was published on July 11, 2016, with a cameo appearance by singer JoJo.
Background.
On the concept of the music video, LALALALALALCara said in an interview with "Cosmopolitan": "I wanted to do this kind of video for a very long time. Since we had this song — and since we knew it was going to be a single — I had this vision of many different cinematic shots of different kinds of people. I wanted all kinds of people — young, old, whatever their situation, whether it's visible scars, non-visible scars — just a bunch of different women, and there are some men in there as well because it can reach out to guys too. But I wanted real shots of real people telling their stories, and showing the story through little vignettes."
Impact and usage in media.
The song is featured in episodes of the television shows "The Bold Type", "", and "Family Law".
The song was used in the international trailer of "A Wrinkle in Time", as well as the background music for the introduction video of "Dirt Rally 2.0".
In 2018, the song was featured in television commercials for ULTA Beauty.
Charts.
<templatestyles src="Col-begin/styles.css"/>
References.
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Scars on 45
Scars on 45 are an English indie rock band from Bradford.
Recent success.
After years struggling to become known in England, the band rose from obscurity when their song "Beauty's Running Wild" was featured in an episode of "".
The band were soon signed to Atlantic Records' Chop Shop Records label, which has been successful in getting previously-unsigned bands heard through song placements in popular TV programmes. The band's single, "Heart on Fire" was selected as the lead song for the eighth series's soundtrack on ABC's top-rated hospital drama, "Grey's Anatomy".
Scars on 45’s first EP, "Give Me Something", was released in January 2011 and yielded a hit single of the same name that rose to the top 5 of the Adult Alternative Charts and was recognised as one of the "Top 3 Singles of the Year" by Amazon.com. The quintette was also named to "Entertainment Weekly's" "Must List".
Their second EP, which also features "Heart on Fire", was released on 24 October 2011.
The band released "Scars on 45", their first full-length studio album, on 10 April 2012. The album was selected by the editors at Amazon.com as number 7 out of 50 "Best Albums of 2012".
History.
Early years (2007 - present).
When a broken foot ended lead singer Danny Bemrose's professional football career as a striker for Huddersfield Town A.F.C., he earnestly decided to learn how to play his father's guitar. After his injury, Bemrose struck up a close friendship with another former footballer, Stuart Nichols, who had played for rival Bradford City A.F.C. Bemrose taught Nichols to play bass as they spent the next few years improving their skills and making computer recordings to develop their music. After adding pianist/keyboard player David "Nova" Nowakowski, the band began playing the local music scene, rounding out their performances with a variety of other guitarists and drummers that came and went over time.
When Bemrose wrote "Insecurity", which is featured on the "Heart on Fire" EP, the band began looking for a female singer that could complement his vocals. Soon thereafter, Nova was at home playing The Cure's "Friday I'm in Love" while his visiting schoolmate, Aimee Driver, was making a cup of tea and chimed in with the lyrics. "I just started singing along when Nova rushed in seeming really shocked," Driver recalls. "I thought his dad had a heart attack or something! He made me stand there in his living room and sing to him - which was the scariest thing ever at the time. At first I wouldn't do it, but he wouldn't shut up so I just put my tea down, shut my eyes and sang...just to stop him pestering me. Danny recorded me on 'Insecurity'. The next thing I knew I was in the band. When I told my family and friends they were saying, 'but you can't sing, can you?'" Before joining the band, Driver had never performed in public.
Stuart Nichols recruited drummer Chris Durling after meeting him in a pub and giving him a CD of the band's music. After a late night out, Durling returned to his house and gave it a listen. He enjoyed the results and agreed to work with them on recordings. He ended up becoming the final member of the band a short time later.
The band had difficulties deciding on a name. They realised that a name was critical after a chance meeting with one of their musical influences, Noel Gallagher of Oasis. A friend introduced Nichols and Bemrose to Gallagher who asked the band's name, but they did not have one. "A band with no name?" Gallagher reportedly asked, "What kind of fucking band is that?" and walked off on them.
The name Scars on 45 comes from an Emmylou Harris interview Bemrose heard in which she talks about scratching up her dad's records and being scolded by him for getting "Scars on his 45’s", and is also a play on a Dutch medley act from the 1980s whose group name and records alternately used versions of the phrase "Stars on 45". 'Scars on 45' was one of the few names considered that band members did not dismiss out of hand.
2010 – present.
On several occasions, the band was poised on the brink of success only to have their hopes for a record deal dashed at the last moment. When their song "Beauty's Running Wild" was selected for an extended closing scene of an episode of "CSI: New York", they finally had a select amount of money in hand to purchase equipment for recording. They also caught the ear of TV music supervisor Alex Patsavas. At the time, Patsavas had just entered an agreement with Atlantic Records to acquire her Chop Shop label under which the band is now signed.
Their EP "Give Me Something" was released digitally by Chop Shop Records in January 2011, and the physical EP came out in June. A video for the single "Give Me Something", produced by DJ Brauner, turned out a bit darker and sadder than originally scripted. "The video was weird," explained Bemrose. "It tells the tale of young kids that fall in love, going through the years, and at the very end, the old fella walks back to the tree where they'd carved their names, and she's passed away. That's not how it was supposed to be. There was an old woman cast to play the part, so at the end, both were going to be there and fall in love again, but [the actor] couldn't be bothered to turn up, so we just killed her off."
On 13 September 2011, the "Grey's Anatomy Vol. 4" soundtrack was released featuring "Heart on Fire" as the lead track. The song was also used heavily in ABC's TV promotion of the new season, and a music video directed by Jordan Bahat was produced with the band for the ABC Music Lounge. In addition to "CSI: New York" and "Grey's Anatomy", they have also had their music featured on TV's "One Tree Hill", "The Cleaner", "Pretty Little Liars", "Warehouse 13", "Lost Girl", and "Supernatural". Their second EP with Chop Shop Records, "Heart on Fire", debuted on 24 October 2011, as well as the band's cut of the music video, also directed by Bahat.
In the winter of 2012, the band conducted their first headlining tour of North America, featuring support from solo artist Anya Marina who is also signed to Atlantic's Chop Shop record label. Scars on 45 also participated in a west coast tour with The Fray in February 2012. After supporting The Fray, Scars on 45 resumed the final dates of their headline tour. The band made their American network television debut as musical guests on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on Friday, 2 March 2012. The band's self-titled debut album, "Scars on 45", was released on 10 April 2012. In support of the album, Apple's iTunes featured the album's 6th track, "Burn the House Down", as the free "single of the week". The album also entered Billboard's "Heatseekers" album chart in the number 4 position. Scars on 45 played some solo dates in April, and toured with singer Ingrid Michaelson for dates in May 2012. After that they headlined throughout the summer and played additional dates in support of "The Voice" finalist Dia Frampton. On 10 August 2012, Scars on 45 played a show back home in Bradford, Yorkshire, England, at The Live Lounge (also known as Utopia) which was a venue dedicated to supporting local musicians. In September 2012 Scars on 45 embarked on their first European tour, supporting American recording artist/songwriter Joshua Radin, including dates in Sweden, The Netherlands, Germany, England, Scotland and Ireland. The band toured US with dates beginning in October 2012.
In early 2014 the band were touring the US and the UK to promote their album "Safety In Numbers", which was released on 7 October 2014 in the US and 23 February in the UK.
In April 2015, the band released its "Tasted Every Tear" EP, with four tracks: the title track, "Runaway", "Show Me What I Want", and "Love Plays Blind". In late 2015, Scars on 45 was back in the US performing select private shows before heading back to the UK to work on their third record.
In November 2016, the hit CW television show "Reign" featured the band's song "Golden" in the 5th episode of season 3, titled "In a Clearing".
In October 2017, the band announced that Aimee made the decision to stop touring with the band for the foreseeable future (however she came back and had recently toured in America) . It was announced that Katie Dean would fill in for the remainder of shows in 2017 including their slot supporting Tori Amos.
On 3 August 2018 the band released their third studio album, "Satellite Town".
The band had scheduled a limited dates American tour in June 2020 that would feature co-vocalist Aimee Driver, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all scheduled performances were cancelled. The band pivoted to perform virtually, including a performance for Downtown Boise's "Alive After Five" music series, and for ticketed performances streaming via Zoom. The band has used the time on lockdown to actively write and record new music for their 4th studio album.
In February 2021 Scars on 45 had four music credits in the movie short "Patrick", three self penned songs "Love Can Tear Down Walls", "Soul Saver" and "Tomorrow Never Knows" and Lisa Swain Bennet's "Til Then".
The band's original lineup reunited for a show at the Leeds Beckett Students' Union on 25 January 2025.
References.
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Scars & Stories
Scars & Stories is the third studio album by American alternative rock band the Fray. It was released on February 7, 2012.
Background.
"Scars & Stories" was recorded beginning in March 2011, and concluded in July 2011. Unlike their debut album "How to Save a Life" and their self-titled second album, which were both produced by Aaron Johnson and Mike Flynn, their third album was produced by Brendan O'Brien. During a performance at the Hard Rock cafe in Boston, Massachusetts, Isaac Slade stated that the album "Scars & Stories" was named after a B-side that did not make it onto the third record. He went on to explain that each of the band members have been through a lot of hardships, but collectively they were able to pull through.
"We've been through a lot of stuff personally, and as band we're still together, and I think we like the idea of scars you know, because they're healed you know. They are not like wounds necessarily, but they're still kind of a road map of where you been, and sometimes kinda point to where you want to go."
The album artwork was revealed on November 16, 2011; following the video premiere of the first single, Heartbeat.
The album was made available to pre-order on October 18, 2011 on the band's website. On December 20, 2011 the deluxe edition of the album became available for pre-order on iTunes, featuring 5 bonus tracks; all covers. In addition, the band made the single "The Fighter" available for download.
Writing and recording.
During an interview with Vevo the band revealed that they used part of the album's budget to travel and see the world before writing and recording songs for Scars and Stories. The band wrote over 70 songs, and narrowed it down to what they hoped were the [best 12 songs], most of which were heavily influenced by their travels abroad. For instance, the first single "Heartbeat" was inspired by a trip to Rwanda. Slade talked about his encounter with an expatriate woman who was talking about the genocides in Rwanda. In the midst of their conversation she held his hand, and he could feel a pulse, but was unable to tell if it was his pulse or hers.
Also the song the sixth track titled "1961", personifies the Berlin Wall, as two brothers that are at odds with each other:
"We wrote that song about The Berlin Wall and the division it represented in regards to one unified city becoming two cities still under the covering of a country. They're both German, but in a sense, they were as far from each other as they could possibly be. I think that's how our relationships can be sometimes. Not to sound cliché, but we all as people build these walls that don't really come down until someone comes into our lives, tears them down, and says, 'Enough!'"
In addition the eight track on the album titled "Munich" follows the same mode of inspiration, as it is inspired by a particle collider in Switzerland. During an interview Slade mentions that "...they're looking for the God Particle, basically, the particle that holds it all together. That song is really just about the mystery of why we're all here and what's holding it all together, you know?"
<templatestyles src="Template:Quote_box/styles.css" />
"Scars & Stories may be nothing more than a pleasant retread of The Fray’s established style, but it does a commendable job of delivering quality in lieu of novelty. Every element of the band’s back catalogue can be found here, polished and presented just differently enough to give long time fans a reason to get excited. The record starts strong and gets stronger, with some of its best offerings coming at the back end of the album’s run time. The result is a record that, while admittedly comfortable in its lateral movement, continually improves until you feel like you have grown with it. There is just this overwhelming presence of worthwhile material – and a sheer surplus of catchiness – that enables Scars & Stories to unravel gradually and gracefully. So if a change in approach means looking towards greener pastures, then The Fray stand stubbornly within their established empire – and they deliver one hell of a defense."
—Sputnikmusic's review of the album.
Joe King explained "You pull from different locations and places. There’s the cultures and the different people you meet living life...You have to live life, you have to have experiences in order to be able to write stories.”
Such stories served as the inspiration for the tenth track entitled "48 To Go". During an interview with Jim Shearer on VH1's Big Morning Buzz Live Slade revealed that inspiration for this song came from a road trip he and his wife, Anna took (while they were just dating) from Denver, Colorado to Los Angeles. During the road trip they stopped multiple times to "make-out"; as a result they became lost and ended up 600 miles off course; as Isaac Slade put it "...[we were] two states in and forty-eight states to go".
During a performance at the University at Buffalo, Isaac Slade mentions that he wrote the song "The Fighter" while on a "getaway" in a cottage, located in the mountains of Colorado. The song was inspired by a picture called "Strictly a Sharpshooter" by Norman Rockwell that he saw in a book he purchased. The painting depicts a boxer who has succumbed to his opponent, and a female companion by his side.
Reception.
Commercial performance.
"Scars & Stories" debuted at number 4 on the "Billboard" 200 charts, with first-week sales of 87,000 copies.
Critical reception.
Upon its release, the album received generally mixed reviews from music critics, and holds a Metacritic score of 55/100, indicating "generally mixed reviews". Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic gave to the album three stars out of five and opined that "O'Brien helps them articulate their ideas, giving them definition and muscle, attributes that are appealing when the songs lack distinct hooks. A positive review came from Ryan Gardner writer of Absolute Punk, he stated that they "definitely take a different approach this time around, welcoming producer Brendan O’Brien to the boards, which brings a more rock and roll sound to this record." He concluded the review, examining that "As Scars & Stories comes to a close, it sums up everything The Fray have been about the past seven years. While they don’t throw any curveballs or stir the pot too much, the band definitely stays true to their core, crafting yet another memorable piano pop-rock record with these stories." Rusty Redden wrote a positive review for American Songwriter, praising the album for being their "most-produced and boldest album yet." He also mentioned that the band "achieves a bigger sounding record as Coldplay or Switchfoot, but does so in a way that is unmistakably their own." Sputnikmusic's review was also positive, saying that the album "chooses to defend the band’s empire instead of pushing towards newer and greener pastures." "Billboard"'s Gary Greff wrote that the album "pushes things perceptibly forward." The A.V. Club gave a negative review, saying "Ultimately, these mid-tempo, mid-volume tunes flounder in mediocrity." Jon Dolan, reviewing for "Rolling Stone" magazine, gave a similar review, stating "They're still pumping American-Coldplay ballads full of sky-groping choruses and symphonic rushes." He went on to pan the lyrics, saying "If it were a Lonely Island parody of an earnest rock band it'd be kind of funny. Unfortunately, the Fray are terrifyingly serious." and gave the album 2 stars out of 5.
Melissa Maerz wrote a mixed review for "Entertainment Weekly" that the band is "too serious" and that "even producer Brendan O'Brien can't save Scars & Stories from generic TV-soundtrack mediocrity."
Singles.
The lead single from the album is titled "Heartbeat". It was released to radio October 8, 2011, and surfaced online via radio music ripping. Shortly after it was officially released for download on October 11, 2011.
The music video for the second single, "Run for Your Life" was released on March 11, 2012.
Personnel.
The Fray
Additional Musicians
Production.
Studios
Charts.
<templatestyles src="Col-begin/styles.css"/>
References.
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Scarling
American band
Scarling. was an American noise pop band formed in Los Angeles in 2001. The band consisted of lead vocalist Jessicka Addams and guitarist Christian Hejnal.
Name.
The band's name comes from a fictional word created by singer/fine artist Jessicka in 1999. In 2001 the definition appeared on Scarling's website: "Middle English, from Old English scaerlinc, from scar+ -ling, -linc -ling; akin to Old High German von scar, Latin scarnos 1. the smallest mark on your heart left by the healing of a severe injury. 2. he or she who is scarred densely almost emotionless. 3. a mentally challenged/physically handicapped sibling of a normal star. 4. a band from Los Angeles. The "S" in Scarling. is sometimes lower case and the word itself ends in a full stop or period."
History.
Formation & "Sweet Heart Dealer" (2002-2004).
Scarling. was formed by singer Jessicka Fodera (known simply as Jessicka) after the dissolution of her band, Jack Off Jill, and guitarist Christian Hejnal. They were introduced by guitarist Lisa Leveridge, and they began rehearsing and recording in a San Fernando Valley performance space; after the pair had written a number of songs together, they began a search for additional band members and eventually cemented the first and very short-lived lineup of Scarling.
In early 2002, Jessicka was introduced to Long Gone John, owner of Sympathy for the Record Industry, by mutual friend Mark Ryden. On March 19, 2003, Scarling's debut single, "Band Aid Covers the Bullet Hole" (produced by Chris Vrenna), was released on the Sympathy for the Record Industry label. Its cover featured an illustration called "Wound 39" by Mark Ryden.
In April 2004, Scarling. released their debut album, "Sweet Heart Dealer", a seven-song release again produced by Vrenna and packaged by Ryden. Later that year, Jessicka was featured on the cover of "ROCKRGRL" magazine's vocalist issue. Scarling was then invited to join the lineup of the Robert Smith-organized Festival, performing on select West Coast dates alongside Interpol, The Rapture, Mogwai, Cursive, The Cooper Temple Clause, and longtime inspirations The Cure. Smith described the band's music as "dark, desperate, chaotic, gorgeous pop music, the sound of the end of the world" and nominated "Sweet Heart Dealer" for the 2004 Shortlist Music Prize. While "Alternative Press Magazine" said Scarling. sounded like, "being French kissed by the most beautiful beings in the world, really alluring yet massive stuff." Three weeks before joining the Curiosa tour, drummer Garey Snider left and was briefly replaced by Samantha Maloney in order to perform live at a group art showing at the Copro/Nason Gallery (Santa Monica, California). Weeks later they found drummer Beth Gordon, who served as Scarling's permanent replacement. Scarling, with the help of friend and fill-in bassist Radio Sloan, continued to play around Los Angeles and San Francisco at clubs such as The Bottom Of The Hill, Spaceland and The Troubadour.
On October 21, 2004, John Peel, English disc jockey and radio presenter, invited Robert Smith to stand in for him while he was in Peru as a guest DJ on what turned out to be the last Peel Session show. Smith played Scarling's Crispin Glover as one of the tracks in his eclectic set. Scarling. were also chosen by Smith to be part of his Celebrity Playlist on iTunes along with Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Supergrass, Nirvana, Placebo, The Psychedelic Furs, and several bands that played on the Curiosa tour earlier that year. Smith wrote a quote about each song and wrote "Beautiful shadows" next to the Scarling. track.
"So Long, Scarecrow" & touring (2005-2007).
After a series of 7-inch singles on Sympathy, Scarling announced in early 2005 that their second album, "So Long, Scarecrow", would appear later that year; it was preceded by the single "We Are the Music Makers", and was released on August 23, 2005. "So Long, Scarecrow" was co-produced by Rob Campanella, formerly of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, at his studio, The Committee to Keep Music Evil headquarters. The critical reception for "Scarecrow" was generally strong: "Alternative Press" gave the album a 5 out of 5 rating. Simon Price from The Independent said, "In contrast to the abrasive JOJ sound, Scarling. work up a wonderfully hazy guitar swirl, reminiscent of post-My Bloody Valentine noise-pop from the Britain of the early Nineties." Chris Beyond from "No-Fi Magazine" described "Scarecrow" as "somewhere between Blonde Redhead and Sonic Youth and said "there are 13 tracks on this album, but they leave you wanting more." Scarling's was touted as resurrecting goth' by "Venus" magazine: "Goth isn’t dead. It’s just evolved into a sweeter version with Scarling’s variety of distorted but, dare I say, gorgeous version of the once-dreary genre. On the band’s full-length debut, So Long, Scarecrow, frontwoman Jessicka’s syrupy yet cautious vocals are quite different than her former angry, self-mutilating persona in the late ’90s Marilyn Manson-esque group Jack off Jill."
In December 2005, Scarling. embarked on its first UK tour, creating a buzz for themselves and selling out most venues. SLS's first single "City Noise" is featured on the compilation "Alright, This Time Just the Girls Vol. 2" and 2006's "Staring To The Sun". The song "Bummer" from "SLS" was featured on Showtime's "The L Word" season 3 episode "Latecomer", as well as an Urban Outfitters/Filter magazine compilation. An episode of the medical drama "Grey's Anatomy" (season 2) is titled "Band Aid Covers the Bullet Hole".
In 2006, Scarling continued to tour in the United States and Europe, embarking on their first co-heading with UK shoegaze outfit Amusement Parks on Fire and opening for The Wedding Present and Depeche Mode later in the year.
Hiatus (2007-2013).
Scarling. currently resides in the neighborhood of Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California. On February 14, 2006 (Valentine's Day), while on a break from touring, Jessicka and guitarist Christian Hejnal were engaged. Their wedding took place on October 13, 2007, at the Oviatt Penthouse in Los Angeles. The band was largely on hiatus for six years following their marriage, with Jessicka returning to focus on her art career.
Scarling. performed at the wedding of Bravo's Shear Genius finalist Janine Jarman and Matthew Wolcott at the Houdini Mansion in Hollywood on June 26, 2010.
Return to activity (2013-2014).
Jessicka has stated that, after her art show "Little Grey Secrets", Scarling. would resume.
Scarling. released their single "Who Wants To Die For Art?" digitally in the US on iTunes October 29, 2013. Jessicka Addams suffered health problems shortly after the release of the songs.
On May 13, 2014, Mark Ryden released an album entitled "The Gay Nineties Old Tyme Music: Daisy Bell", that features Scarling along with other artists all giving a different rendition of the same song, "Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)". The album, printed on 180 g red vinyl, was limited to 999 copies, all hand-numbered and signed by Ryden. Half of the records were sold at the Michael Kohn gallery. The proceeds from the record will benefit Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit that supports musical education in disadvantaged elementary schools.
Discography.
Studio albums
References.
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Battle Scars
"Battle Scars" is a song performed by Australian recording artist Guy Sebastian featuring American rapper Lupe Fiasco. It was released digitally in Australia and New Zealand on 10 August 2012 by Sony Music Entertainment. The song lyrics and music were written by Sebastian and David Ryan Harris, with the rap written by Fiasco. It was the third single lifted from Sebastian's seventh album "Armageddon". Fiasco added "Battle Scars" to his fourth album, "" in countries other than Australia. It was released as the fourth single on 28 August 2012, credited as a duet.
"Battle Scars" debuted at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart in its first week of release and has been certified 14× platinum. It was Sebastian's tenth of 12 top ten singles in Australia and sixth to reach number one, and Fiasco's third top ten and first number one single. "Battle Scars" was the third highest selling single in Australia in 2012, the highest selling single by an Australian act. Sebastian received ARIA Award nominations for Best Pop Release and Best Male Artist for the song. "Battle Scars" also reached number two and triple platinum certification in New Zealand and gold certification in Sweden.
In the United States "Battle Scars" peaked on the "Billboard" charts at number 71 on the Hot 100, number 23 on the Digital Song Chart and number one on the R&B/Hip-hop Digital Song Chart.<ref name="R&B R&B/Hip-hop Digital Song Chart">. Billboard.biz. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012.</ref> The song spent 20 nonconsecutive weeks in the Hot 100 and has been certified platinum. "Battle Scars" also reached number two in Norway. It was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration, and won the R&B/Hip category in the 2013 International Songwriting Competition.
Background.
"Battle Scars" is a song about the scars left from hurtful and broken relationships. In a radio interview Sebastian said, "It's about your own personal battle scars and for every individual those are different; some might be words or labels... it might be relationship scars. When I wrote this song, and when Lupe wrote his bits, we just really wanted it to be something that just inspired people to, sort of, confront those things, and also maybe try and work to think about burying and ripping up those labels; throwing them away."
Sebastian said Fiasco was always his first preference to contribute the rap, as he wanted to stay true to the theme of the song and found Fiasco's work very deep. Sebastian said, "He doesn't rap about booty shaking or cash, he's much more political and insightful and exactly what I wanted." He looked at other options as well, as he didn't know if Fiasco would be interested, and said he was overwhelmed when he heard Fiasco wanted to come on board.
Explaining why he agreed to participate in the song Fiasco said, "Guy's vocal performance first got me about the song because it's great and then the story of the song was attractive; I just tried to enhance it." Speaking of what it meant to have Fiasco collaborate on "Battle Scars" Sebastian said, "Just to get someone like Lupe on the track I knew it was going to have heart and have depth." He said of Fiasco, "He is a lyrical genius and he has really portrayed the emotion of the track". Sebastian says "Battle Scars" is his "proudest release", adding, "Every now and then in your career you release something that you feel has a deeper meaning and purpose. I don't know how it will chart, but I am really proud of it regardless of what it does."
Composition and recording.
"Battle Scars" is an R&B ballad with a hip hop rap, and is written in the key of F minor. Sebastian and Fiasco contribute equally in the song, with the sung and rap vocals interspersed throughout. Sebastian performs the pre-chorus and chorus, with Fiasco performing the intro and two rap verses. Both artists contribute to the bridge. Music writer and radio announcer David Lim said, "unlike the majority of these rent-a-rapper verses, Lupe Fiasco's contribution here actually feels valid and in equal weighting to Guy's sung vocals. I don't know, y'guys – it just felt like they spent a minute on this and it's not just another vanity project."
In interviews during the release week Sebastian explained that usually when he writes a song he comes up with the melody first with no words. However this time some of the lyrics came at the same time. While driving to a friend's house he started singing "These battle scars", and then other phrases such as "Don't look like they're fading, don


Don't Look Back in Anger
1996 single by Oasis
"Don't Look Back in Anger" is a song by English rock band Oasis. It was written by the band's lead guitarist and chief songwriter Noel Gallagher, and produced by Gallagher and Owen Morris. Released on 19 February 1996 by Creation Records as the fifth single from their second studio album, "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" (1995), it became Oasis's second single to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart, earning a quintuple-platinum sales certification in the UK. It was the first Oasis single with lead vocals by Noel, who had previously only sung lead on B-sides, instead of his brother Liam. Noel would later sing lead vocals on six other singles. The music video was directed by Nigel Dick, featuring the band performing at a mansion where a large group of women appears.
It is one of the band's signature songs, and was played at almost every live show from its release to the dissolution of the band in 2009. In 2012, it was ranked number one on a list of the "50 Most Explosive Choruses" by "NME", and the same year it was voted the fourth-most-popular No. 1 single of the last 60 years in the UK by the public in conjunction with the Official Charts Company's 60th anniversary. In 2015, "Rolling Stone" readers voted it the second-greatest Britpop song after "Common People" by Pulp. On 29 May 2017, Absolute Radio 90s broadcast a programme counting down the top 50 songs written by Noel Gallagher to mark his 50th birthday, with the song being voted No. 1. In August 2020, the song was voted as the greatest song of the 1990s by listeners of Absolute Radio 90s as part of celebrations for the station's tenth anniversary. In 2025, "Don't Look Back in Anger" became Oasis's second song to hit a billion streams in Spotify, after "Wonderwall".
Background and writing.
Noel Gallagher was so excited about the potential of the song when he first wrote it that he used an acoustic set to perform a work-in-progress version, without the second verse and with a few other slight lyrical differences, at an Oasis concert at the Sheffield Arena on 22 April 1995. He said before playing that he had only written it the previous Tuesday (18 April 1995) and that he didn't even have a title for it yet.
Noel Gallagher said of the song, "It reminds me of a cross between "All the Young Dudes" and something the Beatles might have done." Of the character "Sally" referred to in the song, he commented, "I don't actually know anybody called Sally. It's just a word that fit, y'know, might as well throw a girl's name in there." He explained the song by saying, "It's about not being upset about the things you might have said or done yesterday, which is quite appropriate at the moment. It's about looking forward rather than looking back. I hate people who look back on the past or talk about what might have been." Oasis later said they named the song after David Bowie's 1979 song "Look Back in Anger" (from "Lodger" (1979)).
In August 2007, Gallagher told "Uncut" magazine, "We were in Paris playing with the Verve, and I had the chords for that song and started writing it. We were due to play two days later. Our first-ever big arena gig, it's called Sheffield Arena now. At the sound check, I was strumming away on the acoustic guitar, and our kid (Liam) said, 'What's that you're singin'?' I wasn't singing anyway, I was just making it up. And our kid said, 'Are you singing, 'So Sally can wait'?' And I was like—that's genius! So I started singing, 'So Sally can wait.' I remember going back to the dressing room and writing it out. It all came really quickly after that." Gallagher claims that the character "Lyla", from Oasis's 2005 single, is Sally's sister. In the interview on the DVD released with the special edition of "Stop the Clocks", he also revealed that a girl approached him and asked him if Sally was the same girl mentioned in the Stone Roses track "Sally Cinnamon". He replied that he had never thought of that, but thought it was a good reference anyway.
In a 2019 "Esquire" magazine interview, Gallagher stated, "I remember writing it in Paris on a rainy night. We had just played a strip club: our set finished, the strippers came on. We were nothing, an insignificant little band. And I remember going back to my hotel room and writing it, and thinking, 'That'll be pretty good when we record it.' If I'd have known that night what I know now about people playing it at fucking funerals and weddings, I'd never have finished the song. Too much pressure."
Gallagher admits that certain lines from the song are lifted from John Lennon: "I got this tape in the United States that had apparently been burgled from the Dakota Hotel and someone had found these cassettes. Lennon was starting to record his memoirs on tape. He's going on about 'trying to start a revolution from me [sic] bed, because they said the brains I had went to my head.' I thought, 'Thank you, I'll take that!'" The line "revolution from me bed" refers to Lennon's notorious bed-ins in 1969 as Gallagher was reading "" published in 1994. The piano in the introduction of the song strongly resembles Lennon's "Imagine", as well as "Watching the Wheels".
As Oasis are often criticised for borrowing parts of other artists' songs, Gallagher commented on the intro's similarity to "Imagine":
Release.
The single's picture sleeve contains a photo by Brian Cannon. He intended the cover as a homage to an incident where Ringo Starr, having briefly left the Beatles in 1968 during the recording of the "White Album", was persuaded to return and George Harrison decorated Starr's drum kit in red, white and blue flowers to show their appreciation.<ref name="NME/Oasis"></ref>
The B-side "Step Out" was originally intended for the "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" album but was taken off after Stevie Wonder requested 10 per cent of the royalties as the chorus bore a similarity to his song "Uptight (Everything's Alright)". Because of this, Wonder, Henry Cosby and Sylvia Moy received credit for writing the song, along with Noel.
The song's chart success coincided with its usage at the end of the final episode of the BBC television drama "Our Friends in the North". The show's producers had included the track without knowing it was going to be released as a single.
Critical reception.
"Don't Look Back in Anger" was met with high critical praise and it became a commercial hit. Larry Flick from "Billboard" said, "Noel Gallagher reveals a deft sense of timing and craft that turn his improprieties into masterful pop gems." David Stubbs from "Melody Maker" commented, "It's Oasis at their least incandescent, another outing for the chamber orchestra, supposedly elegiac but actually coming across as jaded and shagged. The chorus sounds like a Mott the Hoople reunion gig." The Stud Brothers of "Melody Maker" stated, "From its 'Imagine' intro to its storming conclusion this is, as we all already know, a very good song indeed." "Music Week" rated it five out of five and named it Single of the Week, writing, "Cheekily opening with John Lennon's "Imagine" riff, another Beatles-inspired single which will turn on the fans on Brits day. The inclusion of the ill-advised Slade cover of "Cum On Feel the Noize" is a low point, however." John Robinson from "NME" remarked, "When That Noel Moment arrives with 'Don't Look Back in Anger', he instructs us not to "put your life in the hands of a rock and roll band"." Andrew Harrison from "Select" praised it as "superior" and "sung beautiful by Noel." He felt the song "captures a wistful mood of confusion and loss, but you're never sure what it's all about." Also editors Helen Lamont and Leesa Daniels from "Smash Hits" gave the single five out of five in two separate reviews. Lamont named it "a new rock 'n' roll classic, imagine that." Daniels wrote, "Noel's turn to have a go at the singing lark, and by God it's fantastic! A rip-roaring, fist-punching-the-air type of anthem."
In December 1996, "Melody Maker" ranked "Don't Look Back in Anger" number 31 in their list of "Singles of the Year". In a 2006 readers' poll conducted by "Q" magazine, it was voted the 20th-best song of all time. In May 2007, "NME" magazine placed "Don't Look Back in Anger" at No. 14 in its list of the "50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever".
Chart performance.
The song reached No. 1 in the singles charts of Ireland and the United Kingdom, and it was a moderate success by reaching the top 60 in various countries. The song was the 10th-biggest-selling single of 1996 in the UK. It is Oasis's second-biggest-selling single in the UK (after "Wonderwall"), going quintuple platinum in the process. The song returned to the UK charts in 2017 following Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland's cover version at the One Love Manchester concert, reaching No. 25. "Don't Look Back in Anger" is Oasis's sixth-biggest "Billboard" hit in the US, reaching the No. 10 spot on the Modern Rock Tracks for the week of 22 June 1996.
Music video.
The accompanying music video for "Don't Look Back in Anger" was directed by British music video and film director Nigel Dick and features Patrick Macnee, the actor who played John Steed in the 1960s television series "The Avengers", apparently a favourite of Oasis. It was filmed at 1145 Arden Road in Pasadena, California on 4 December 1995. It features the band being driven by Macnee in a black cab to a mansion similar to the Playboy Mansion and performing the song there; a group of women dressed in white also occasionally lip sync to the lyrics. While filming the video, drummer Alan White met future wife Liz Carey, who also became as one of the models for the video. They married on 13 August 1997 at Studley Priory in Oxfordshire, but later divorced in 2004.
There are two uploads of the music video made available on YouTube. One being posted by the band themselves in 2008 with over 229 million views, and another posted in collaboration with Vevo in 2014 with over 120 million views.
Live performances.
The song became a favourite at Oasis's live performances.
Noel Gallagher encouraged the crowd to sing along and often kept quiet during the first chorus, allowing the fans instead to sing along while he played the song's guitar part. During the Dig Out Your Soul Tour, Noel abandoned the song's previous, full-band live arrangement in favour of a much slower, primarily acoustic arrangement. From 2008 through to Oasis's break-up, the song was performed by Gallagher on his Gibson J-200 acoustic guitar backed up by Gem Archer on electric guitar, Jay Darlington playing keyboards and Chris Sharrock playing tambourine. On 11 and 12 July 2009, during performances of the song at London's Wembley Stadium, Gallagher did not sing a word; instead, he stood back, played guitar, and allowed the crowd to sing the entire song. Since 2011, he has alternated between the acoustic version and the original arrangement when playing the song with his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.
Oasis became the first act since the Jam to perform two songs on the same showing of "Top of the Pops", performing "Don't Look Back in Anger", followed by their cover of Slade's "Cum on Feel the Noize", also on the single.
In June 2017, Liam Gallagher performed an a cappella version of the song at Glastonbury, making it the first time he had performed the song rather than Noel.
Manchester Arena bombing.
Following the Manchester Arena bombing on 22 May 2017 in the band's hometown of Manchester, the song was used by the people of Manchester in remembrance of the bombing's 22 victims and to show the city's spirit. The song was sung by students of Manchester's Chetham's music school on 23 May, and on 25 May it was spontaneously sung by the crowd gathered for a minute of silence in the city centre. The woman who started the singing told "The Guardian", "I love Manchester, and Oasis is part of my childhood. "Don't Look Back in Anger"—that's what this is about: we can't be looking backwards to what happened, we have to look forwards to the future." The song re-entered the charts, along with Ariana Grande's "One Last Time," which was No. 1 on the iTunes single charts as of 26 May. On 27 May, the song was performed as a tribute by 50,000 audience members of a performance by the Courteeners in Manchester.
It was performed by Coldplay's Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland on either side of Ariana Grande at the One Love Manchester concert on 4 June 2017. Martin introduced the song by saying "Ariana, you've been singing a lot for us, so I think we in Britain want to sing for you. This is called "Don't Look Back in Anger", and this is from us to you".
It was also performed by the military band of the French Republican Guard on 13 June 2017, at the France versus England football match at the Stade de France, as a tribute to the victims of the attacks in Manchester and, more recently, London.
Track listing.
All songs were written by Noel Gallagher except where noted.
<templatestyles src="Col-begin/styles.css"/>
Personnel.
Oasis
Additional personnel
Charts.
<templatestyles src="Col-begin/styles.css"/>
References.
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Dont Look Back
1967 documentary film directed by D. A. Pennebaker
Dont Look Back is a 1967 American documentary film directed by D. A. Pennebaker that covers Bob Dylan's 1965 concert tour in England.
In 1998, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In a 2014 "Sight & Sound" poll, film critics voted "Dont Look Back" the joint ninth best documentary film of all time.
Synopsis.
The opening scene of the film has Bob Dylan displaying and discarding a series of cue cards bearing selected words and phrases from the lyrics to his 1965 song "Subterranean Homesick Blues" (including intentional misspellings and puns). This was the first single from his most recent album, "Bringing It All Back Home", and a top ten hit in the UK when he filmed it there (a fact discussed in the film). Allen Ginsberg appears in the background having a discussion with Bob Neuwirth.
The film features Joan Baez, Donovan and Alan Price (who had just left the Animals), Dylan's manager Albert Grossman and his road manager Neuwirth. Marianne Faithfull, John Mayall, Ginger Baker and Allen Ginsberg may also be glimpsed in the background. Notable scenes include:
Title.
The original title of this film is "Dont Look Back", without an apostrophe in the first word. D. A. Pennebaker, the film's writer director, decided to punctuate the title this way because "It was my attempt to simplify the language". Many sources, however, have assumed this to be a typographical error and have "corrected" the title to "Don't Look Back". In the commentary track to the DVD release, Pennebaker said that the title came from the Satchel Paige quote, "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you," and that Dylan shared this view.
Production.
"Dont Look Back" was shot in black-and-white with a handheld 16mm-film camera and utilized direct sound, thus creating the template for the "rockumentary" film genre. Production began when Dylan arrived in England on April 26, 1965, and ended shortly after his final UK concert at the Royal Albert Hall on May 10. Pennebaker has stated that the famous "Subterranean Homesick Blues" music video that is shown at the beginning of the film was actually shot at the very end of filming. Pennebaker decided during editing to place it at the beginning of the film as a "stage" for Dylan to begin the film.
Release.
The film was first shown publicly May 17, 1967, at the Presidio Theater in San Francisco, and opened that September at the 34th Street East Theater in New York.
A transcript of the film, with photographs, was published in 1968 by Ballantine Books.
Reception and legacy.
"Dont Look Back" has been very well received by critics. It has a rating of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 55 reviews. The websites critics consensus reads, ""Dont [sic] Look Back" leaves the mysteries of Dylan largely intact while offering a gripping verite-style account of a pivotal moment in his incredible career." The film received a 5-star review from AllMovie and has a Metacritic score of 84, indicating "universal acclaim". In August 1967, a "Newsweek" reviewer wrote, ""Dont Look Back" is really about fame and how it menaces art, about the press and how it categorizes, bowdlerizes, sterilizes, universalizes or conventionalizes an original like Dylan into something it can dimly understand".
Kurt Cobain identified it as the only "good documentary about rock and roll" in a 1991 interview with his Nirvana bandmates, a sentiment with which Dave Grohl concurred.
The film has been parodied and paid homage to by many other films and television shows including "This Is Spinal Tap", "Bob Roberts", and "Documentary Now!". The opening sequence featuring "Subterranean Homesick Blues" has likewise inspired many music videos, including INXS' "Mediate", MC Evidence's "The Far Left," "Weird Al" Yankovic's "Bob" and Hozier's "Almost (Sweet Music)," and was cited by journalist Roger Friedman as "the most copied, most revered, music video of all time".
Home media.
"Dont Look Back" has been released and re-released on home video in many formats, from VHS to Blu-ray, over the decades. A digitally remastered deluxe DVD edition was released on February 27, 2007. The two-disc edition contained the remastered film, five additional audio tracks, commentary by filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker and Tour Road Manager Bob Neuwirth, an alternative version of the video for "Subterranean Homesick Blues", the original companion book edited by D. A. Pennebaker to coincide with the film's release in 1968, a flip-book for a section of the "Subterranean Homesick Blues" video, and a brand new documentary by D. A. Pennebaker and edited by Walker Lamond called "65 Revisited". The DVD packaging was also given new artwork.
On November 24, 2015, The Criterion Collection released a newly restored 4K transfer of the film on Blu-ray and DVD. The Criterion version contained new special features.
References.
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Look Back in Anger
1956 play by John Osborne
Look Back in Anger (1956) is a realist play written by John Osborne. It focuses on the life and marital struggles of an intelligent and educated but disaffected young man of working-class origin, Jimmy Porter, and his equally competent yet impassive upper-middle-class wife Alison. The supporting characters include Cliff Lewis, an amiable Welsh lodger who attempts to keep the peace; and Helena Charles, Alison's snobbish friend.
Osborne drew inspiration from his personal life and failing marriage with Pamela Lane while writing "Look Back in Anger", which was his first successful outing as a playwright. The play spawned the term "angry young men" to describe Osborne and those of his generation who employed the harshness of realism in the theatre in contrast to the more escapist theatre that characterised the previous generation. This harsh realism has led to "Look Back in Anger" being considered one of the first examples of kitchen sink drama in theatre.
The play was received favourably in the theatre community, becoming an enormous commercial success, transferring to the West End and Broadway, and even touring to Moscow. It is credited with turning Osborne from a struggling playwright into a wealthy and famous personality, and also won him the Evening Standard Drama Award as the most promising playwright of 1956. The play was adapted into a motion picture of the same name by Tony Richardson, starring Richard Burton and Mary Ure, which was released in 1959. Film production credited circa 1958.
Synopsis.
Act 1.
Act 1 opens on a dismal April Sunday afternoon in Jimmy and Alison's cramped attic in the Midlands. Jimmy and Cliff are reading the Sunday papers, plus the radical weekly, "price ninepence, obtainable at any bookstall" as Jimmy snaps, claiming it from Cliff. This is a reference to the "New Statesman", and in the context of the period would have instantly signalled the pair's political preference to the audience. Alison is attempting to do the week's ironing and is only half listening as Jimmy and Cliff engage in the expository dialogue.
It becomes apparent that there is a huge social gulf between Jimmy and Alison. Her family is upper-middle-class military, while Jimmy belongs to the working class. He had to fight hard against her family's disapproval to win her. "Alison's mummy and I took one look at each other, and from then on the age of chivalry was dead," he explains. We also learn that the sole family income is derived from a sweets confectionery stall in the local market—an enterprise that is surely well beneath Jimmy's education, let alone Alison's "station in life".
As Act 1 progresses, Jimmy becomes more and more vituperative, transferring his contempt for Alison's family onto her personally, calling her "pusillanimous" and generally belittling her to Cliff. (Some actors play this scene as though Jimmy thinks everything is just a joke, while others play it as though he really is excoriating her.) The tirade ends with physical horseplay, resulting in the ironing board overturning and Alison's arm getting burned. Jimmy exits to play his trumpet off stage.
Alison, alone with Cliff, confides that she's accidentally pregnant and can't quite bring herself to tell Jimmy. Cliff urges her to tell him. When Jimmy returns, Alison announces that her actress friend Helena Charles is coming to stay; Jimmy despises Helena even more than Alison, he flies into a rage.
Act 2.
Act 2 opens on another Sunday afternoon, with Helena and Alison making lunch. In a two-handed scene, Alison says that she decided to marry Jimmy because of
her own minor rebellion against her upbringing and her admiration for Jimmy's campaigns against the dereliction of life in postwar England. She describes Jimmy to Helena as a "knight in shining armour". Helena says, firmly, "You've got to fight him".
Jimmy enters, and the tirade continues. If his Act 1 material could be played as a joke, there's no doubt about the intentional viciousness of his attacks on Helena. When the women put on hats and declare that they are going to church, Jimmy's sense of betrayal peaks. When he leaves to take an urgent phone call, Helena announces that she has forced the issue. She has sent a telegram to Alison's parents asking them to come and "rescue" her. Alison is stunned but agrees that she will go.
The next evening, Alison's father, Colonel Redfern, comes to collect her to take her back to her family home. The playwright allows the Colonel to come across as quite a sympathetic character, albeit totally out of touch with the modern world, as he himself admits. "You're hurt because everything's changed", Alison tells him, "and Jimmy's hurt because everything's stayed the same". Helena arrives to say goodbye, intending to leave very soon herself. Alison is surprised that Helena is staying on for another day, but she leaves, giving Cliff a note for Jimmy. Cliff in turn hands it to Helena and leaves, saying "I hope he rams it up your nostrils".
Almost immediately, Jimmy bursts in. His contempt at finding a "goodbye" note makes him turn on Helena again, warning her to keep out of his way until she leaves. Helena tells him that Alison is expecting a baby, and Jimmy admits grudgingly that he's taken aback. However, his tirade continues. They first come to physical blows, and then as the Act 2 curtain falls, Jimmy and Helena are kissing passionately and falling on the bed.
Act 3.
Act 3 opens as a deliberate replay of Act 1, but this time with Helena at the ironing-board wearing Jimmy's Act 1 red shirt. Months have passed. Jimmy is notably more pleasant to Helena than he was to Alison in Act 1. She actually laughs at his jokes, and the three of them (Jimmy, Cliff, and Helena) get into a music hall comedy routine that obviously is not improvised. Cliff announces that he's decided to strike out on his own. As Jimmy leaves the room to get ready for a final night out for the three of them, he opens the door to find Alison, looking like death. He snaps over his shoulder "Friend of yours to see you" and abruptly leaves.
Alison explains to Helena that she lost the baby (one of Jimmy's cruellest speeches in Act 1 expressed the wish that Alison would conceive a child and lose it). The two women are reconciled, but Helena realises that what she's done is immoral and she in turn decides to leave. She summons Jimmy to hear her decision and he lets her go with a sarcastic farewell.
The play ends with a sentimental reconciliation between Jimmy and Alison. They revive an old game they used to play, pretending to be bears and squirrels, and seem to be in a state of truce.
Background of the play.
Written in 17 days in a deck chair on Morecambe Pier, "Look Back in Anger" was a strongly autobiographical piece based on Osborne's unhappy marriage to actress Pamela Lane and their life in cramped accommodation in Derby. While Osborne aspired towards a career in theatre, Lane was more practical and materialistic. It also draws from Osborne's earlier life; for example, the wrenching speech of witnessing a loved one's death was a replay of the death of his father, Thomas.
What it is best remembered for, though, are Jimmy's tirades. Some of these are directed against generalised British middle-class smugness in the post-atomic world. Many are directed against the female characters, a very distinct echo of Osborne's uneasiness with women, including his mother, Nellie Beatrice, whom he describes in his autobiography "A Better Class of Person" as "hypocritical, self-absorbed, calculating and indifferent". Madeline, the lost love Jimmy pines for, is based on Stella Linden, the older rep-company actress who first encouraged Osborne to write. After the first production in London, Osborne began a relationship with Mary Ure, who played Alison; he divorced his first wife (of five years) Pamela Lane to marry Ure in 1957.
Cast and characters.
Characters:
Production.
The play was premiered at London's Royal Court Theatre, on 8 May 1956 by the English Stage Company under the direction of Tony Richardson, setting by Alan Tagg, and music for songs by Tom Eastwood. The press release called the author an "angry young man", a phrase that came to represent a new movement in 1950s British theatre. Audiences supposedly gasped at the sight of an ironing board on a London stage.
The cast was as follows: Kenneth Haigh (Jimmy), Alan Bates (Cliff), Mary Ure (Alison), Helena Hughes (Helena Charles) and John Welsh (Colonel Redfern). The following year, the production moved to Broadway under producer David Merrick and director Tony Richardson. Retaining the original cast but starring Vivienne Drummond as Helena, it received three Tony Award nominations, including for Best Play and Best Dramatic Actress for Ure.
Critical reception.
At the time of production reviews of "Look Back in Anger" were deeply negative. Kenneth Tynan and Harold Hobson were among the few critics to praise it, and they now are regarded among the more influential critics of the time.
For example, on BBC Radio's "The Critics", Ivor Brown began his review by describing the play's setting—a one-room flat in the Midlands—as "unspeakably dirty and squalid" such that it was difficult for him to "believe that a colonel's daughter, brought up with some standards", would have lived in it. He expressed anger at having watched something that "wasted [his] time". The "Daily Mail"'s Cecil Wilson wrote that the beauty of Mary Ure was "frittered away" on a pathetic wife, who, "judging by the time she spends ironing, seems to have taken on the nation's laundry". Indeed, Alison, Ure's character, irons during Act One, makes lunch in Act Two, and leaves the ironing to her rival in Act Three.
On the other hand, Kenneth Tynan wrote that he "could not love anyone who did not wish to see "Look Back in Anger"", describing the play as a "minor miracle" containing "all the qualities...one had despaired of ever seeing on the stage—the drift towards anarchy, the instinctive leftishness, the automatic rejection of "official" attitudes, the surrealist sense of humour (e.g., Jimmy describes an effeminate male friend as a 'female Emily Brontë'), the casual promiscuity, the sense of lacking a crusade worth fighting for and, underlying all these, the determination that no one who dies shall go unmourned." Harold Hobson was also quick to recognise the importance of the play "as a landmark of British theatre". He praised Osborne for the play, despite the fact that "blinkers still obscure his vision".
Alan Sillitoe, author of "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning" and "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" (both of which are also part of the "angry young men" movement), wrote that Osborne "didn't contribute to British theatre, he set off a landmine and blew most of it up".
Other notable productions.
Bates reprised his role as Cliff Lewis, alongside Drummond as Helena Charles, on ITV's "Play of the Week" in 1956, shortly after the theatrical production premiered. Richard Pasco and Doreen Aris assumed the roles of Jimmy and Alison Porter, respectively. It was co-directed by Richardson and Silvio Narizzano.
The Renaissance Theatre Company's August 1989 production at the Lyric Theatre, London was directed by Judi Dench, with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson. A television version of the production was broadcast in Britain in December of that year. In 1995, Greg Hersov directed a production at the Royal Exchange, Manchester with Michael Sheen as Jimmy, Claire Skinner as Alison, Dominic Rowan as Cliff, and Hermione Norris as Helena. Hersov directed a second production in 1999, again starring Sheen, at the Royal National Theatre in London.
In 2012, it was adapted by Sam Gold off-Broadway starring Matthew Rhys, Adam Driver, and Sarah Goldberg at the Roundabout Theatre Company. A 2024 adaptation started by Billy Howle as Jimmy, Ellora Torchia as Alison, Morfydd Clark as Helena, and Iwan Davies as Cliff at the Almeida Theatre.
Sequel.
In 1989 Osborne wrote a sequel to the play titled "Déjàvu", which was first produced in 1992. "Déjàvu" depicted Jimmy Porter, now known as J.P., in middle age, living with his daughter Alison. He rants about the state of the country to his old friend Cliff, while his Alison irons, just as her mother had done in "Look Back". The play was not a commercial success, closing after seven weeks. It was Osborne's last play.
In popular culture.
"Look Back in Anger"'s turtleneck sweater, and wife ironing while wearing a slip, became symbols that both represented the Angry Young Men movement and which others satirised.
References.
Notes.
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Don't Look Back (Fine Young Cannibals song)
"Don't Look Back" is a song by British pop-rock band Fine Young Cannibals. It was released as the third single from the band's 1988 album "The Raw & the Cooked". The song reached the top 40 charts in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Music and lyrics.
Written by lead vocalist Roland Gift and bassist David Steele, the lyrics of "Don't Look Back" are mostly pessimistic, and depict someone who tries desperately to leave their difficult past behind them without looking back.
While the band's previous two hits, the US number ones "She Drives Me Crazy" and "Good Thing", were influenced by American rhythm and blues, "Don't Look Back" features guitar riffs that are more reminiscent of The Byrds and The Beatles.
Release and reception.
Released in August 1989, "Don't Look Back" hit number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart, number 8 on the Singles Sales chart, number 18 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart, number 9 on the Modern Rock chart and number 10 on the Cash Box Top 100 chart.
The song peaked at number 10 on the Canadian Singles Chart in October.
It also reached number 34 in the UK,
number 23 in New Zealand, and number 38 in Australia.
Chart performance.
<templatestyles src="Col-begin/styles.css"/>
References.
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
"It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and first released on his 1965 album "Bringing It All Back Home". It was written in the summer of 1964, first performed live on October 10, 1964, and recorded on January 15, 1965. It is described by Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as a "grim masterpiece".
Among the well-known lines sung in the song are "He not busy being born is busy dying," "Money doesn't talk, it swears," "Although the masters make the rules, for the wisemen and the fools" and "But even the president of the United States sometimes must have to stand naked." The lyrics express Dylan's anger at the perceived hypocrisy, commercialism, consumerism, and war mentality in contemporary American culture. Dylan's preoccupations in the lyrics, nevertheless, extend beyond the socio-political, expressing existential concerns, touching on urgent matters of personal experience.
Dylan said that "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" is one of his songs that means the most to him, and he has played the song often in live concerts. Since its original release on "Bringing It All Back Home", live versions of the song have been issued on ', "Before the Flood", ', and "Bob Dylan at Budokan". Dylan can also be seen performing the song in the film "Dont Look Back" and the video of the HBO special "Hard to Handle". The song has been covered by a number of other artists, including Roger McGuinn, the Byrds, Billy Preston, Hugo Race, Terence Trent D'Arby, Mick Farren, Caetano Veloso, Marilyn Scott, and The Duh