Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again
| "Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The Angels | ||||
| from the album The Angels | ||||
| B-side | "Round We Go" | |||
| Released | 1 March 1976[1] | |||
| Format | 7" vinyl | |||
| Length |
3:12 (single version) 4:03 (album version)[1] | |||
| Label | Albert, Mushroom | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
John Brewster Rick Brewster Doc Neeson | |||
| Producer(s) |
Harry Vanda George Young | |||
| The Angels singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| ISWC T-901.067.910-4[2] | ||||
"Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again" is an Australian rock song written by Doc Neeson, John Brewster and Rick Brewster,[3] and performed by their group, the Angels.[4][5] The song was initially recorded as a ballad in March 1976 but subsequently re-released as a rock song. The song is best known for the expletive-laden audience response, "No Way, Get Fucked, Fuck Off", to the live version, which was issued in March 1988.[6] This chant has been described by The Guardian's Darryl Mason as "one of the most famous in Australian rock history".[7] The song reached at number 58 on the ARIA Charts and it stayed in the charts for 19 weeks.[8]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again" | Doc Neeson, John Brewster, Rick Brewster | 3:12 |
| 2. | "Round We Go" | Doc Neeson, John Brewster, Rick Brewster | 5:28 |
Personnel
The Angels members
- Chris Bailey – bass guitar
- Buzz Throckman – drums
- John Brewster – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Rick Brewster – lead guitar
- Doc Neeson – lead vocals
History
Neeson said that the song was originally written as an acoustic ballad about grief and loss. The girlfriend of Neeson's friend was killed in a motorcycle collision, and the two friends were discussing life after death. The conversation inspired Neeson to write the lyrics. References to subjects like Santa Fe and Renoir came from Neeson's own experiences.[9] The Angels voluntarily paid an "out-of-court settlement" to Status Quo of a reported "six figure sum" to avoid any potential problems due to the numerous similarities between "Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again" & the (non LP& virtually unheard of) Status Quo 1974 single B-side "Lonely Night". Status Quo's lyric of "'Cause I never thought I'd see or hear you again" being also similar to the re-written Angels lyric. Therefore, the stories that Status Quo still get a percentage of royalties is false, it was a one-off payment.
Audience response
The Angels tried three times in the late 1970s and early 1980s to make a hit out of the song. In the mid-1980s an unexpected chant response, "No Way, Get Fucked, Fuck Off" by the audience to the question posed in the title was noticed by the group.[10] The song had become an iconic part of Australian culture, such that the song may be played anywhere at any time in Australia with the chant sung by whatever crowds are present.[10][11]
Although it is the most famous audience chant in Australian rock music history, the exact origins of it are lost.[12] In 2008 Neeson and the Brewsters tried to discover who started it. The band first heard it in Mount Isa, Queensland in 1983, and were shocked they were being told to "Fuck off!".[11] Neeson asked one of the crowd who said that it originated at a police sponsored Blue Light disco.[6]
Live performances of the song and even recordings played at discotheques or nightclubs customarily provoke an audience response of "no way, get fucked, fuck off" to the question posed in the song title.[6][13] Neeson recalled that he first heard the response at Mount Isa in 1983.[11] Thinking it was a criticism of the band, he asked audience members about it.[6] They responded that the chant had its origins at a disco in Sydney where the DJ would turn down the volume to encourage the audience response.[7][6]
In May 2014 Rick Brewster opined, "I don't think it will ever be solved because too many people put their hand up and said 'I started it' and we don't believe any of it. We just think it's funny, it's the bush telegraph really. The whole country was doing it and then we found when we went overseas the people in America were doing it too."[11]
Neeson noted that "it's become the audience's song, it doesn't belong to the band anymore".[9]
The audience response made for an "awkward moment" for Peter Cosgrove at an INTERFET concert in the company of Jose Ramos Horta and Bishop Belo.[14]
Charts
| Chart (1974) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Charts[15] | 58 |
References
- 1 2 "THE ANGELS - AM I EVER GONNA SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN?". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- ↑ "AM I EVER GONNA SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN". iswcnet.cisac.org. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- ↑ The Angels - Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again at 45cat
- ↑ McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'The Angels'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 3 August 2004.
- ↑ "'Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 4 January 2017. Note: For additional information user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' or 'Performer:'
- 1 2 3 4 5 Cashmere, Paul (30 October 2008). "The Search Is on to Find Who Came Up with the Angels Famous Chant". News. undercover.fm. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
'I was a bit shocked the first time. I didn't know why we were being told to fuck off,' Doc said. 'After the show I jumped down into the audience and asked a guy why he was telling me to fuck off. He said they were singing along to the song with the chant that started at a Blue Light disco. The DJ would stop the song and the crowd would sing the chant'.
- 1 2 Mason, Darryl (15 April 2014). "Australian anthems: the Angels – Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again". theguardian.com. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- ↑ The Angels - Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again at Australian Music Database
- 1 2 Davies, Nathan (4 June 2014). "Doc Neeson tells sad tale of an Angels classic from his hospital bed". theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- 1 2 Knox, David (23 September 2008). "Airdate: No Way, Get F*#ked, F*#k Off!". TV Tonight. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 Barnes, Candice (13 May 2014). "The Angels: Am I ever gonna see this rock mystery solved?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ↑ "Episode 4: Berserk Warriors 1973-1981". Long Way to the Top. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). 5 September 2001. Archived from the original on 2 April 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ↑ "Am I Ever Going To See Your Face Again - Doc Neeson's Angels". Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- ↑ Cheshire, Ben. "Australian rock legend Doc Neeson's bittersweet personal story". abc.net.au. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- ↑ Kent, David (1977). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives: Australian Chart Book. p. 94. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 19 June 1988.