Forever Autumn (song)

For other uses, see Forever Autumn.
"Forever Autumn"
Single by Jeff Wayne, Richard Burton and Justin Hayward
from the album Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds
Released 1978
Recorded May 1976 - July 1977
Length 7:43
Writer(s) Jeff Wayne, Gary Osborne and Paul Vigrass

"Forever Autumn" is a song written by Jeff Wayne, Gary Osborne and Paul Vigrass. The original melody was written by Wayne in 1969 as a jingle for a Lego commercial. Vigrass and Osborne, the performers of the original jingle, added lyrics to the song and recorded it for inclusion on their 1972 album Queues. Their interpretation was also released as a single and gained moderate commercial success in Japan, selling more than 100,000 copies and becoming a top-20 hit on the country's record chart.

The best-known version is the recording by Justin Hayward from the album Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds. Wayne wanted to include a love song on the album that sounded like "Forever Autumn", and he decided that the best course of action was to simply use the original song. Hayward, of The Moody Blues, was hand-picked by Wayne to sing it (because, Wayne said, he "wanted that voice from 'Nights in White Satin'"), and it was recorded at London's Advision Studios in 1976. The song reached #5 on the UK Singles Chart in August 1978.

A new version was released in late 2012, sung by Gary Barlow for the new album Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds – The New Generation.[1]

Notable recordings

Chart positions

Vigrass and Osborne
Chart (1972) Peak
position
Japanese Oricon International Singles Chart[3]
2

Justin Hayward
Chart (1978) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[4] 73
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[5] 5
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[6] 20
US Billboard Hot 100[7] 47
U.S. Cashbox Top 100[8]
34

References

Bibliography

  • Downey, Pat; Albert, George; Hoffmann, Frank W (1994). Cash Box pop singles charts, 1950–1993. Libraries Unlimited. ISBN 978-1-56308-316-7. 


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