The Beat Goes On (Beady Eye song)
| "The Beat Goes On" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Beady Eye | ||||
| from the album Different Gear, Still Speeding | ||||
| B-side | "In the Bubble with a Bullet" | |||
| Released | 15 July 2011 | |||
| Recorded | 2010 | |||
| Studio | RAK Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Rock[1] | |||
| Length | 4:44 | |||
| Label | Beady Eye | |||
| Songwriters | Liam Gallagher, Gem Archer, Andy Bell | |||
| Producers | Beady Eye, Steve Lillywhite | |||
| Beady Eye singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"The Beat Goes On" is a song by the English rock band Beady Eye. Featured on their debut album Different Gear, Still Speeding, it was the third official single released from the album, released on 15 July 2011.[2][1] They performed the single on Alan Carr: Chatty Man on 1 July 2011.[3]
Background and composition
In a January 2011 interview conducted during the build-up to Different Gear, Still Speeding, the band said that "The Beat Goes On" had been written by Andy Bell, and described it as "redolent of prime Hollies" and "beautiful, melodic, strong".[4] In the same interview, Bell said that the songs were initially written individually before being reshaped by the whole band, adding that "it was Gem who turned this one around".[4]
In a June 2011 interview with Andy Bell, Bell compared the song's sound to the David Bowie of the Ziggy Stardust period, saying that "The Beat Goes On" "nods to the Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie".[5]
Release
Beady Eye announced on 6 June 2011 that "The Beat Goes On" would be released as the third single from Different Gear, Still Speeding.[2] Contemporary press reports said that the single would be backed by the new song "In the Bubble with a Bullet" and made available as both a download and a limited 7-inch release.[6][7]
Track listing
All songs written by Liam Gallagher, Gem Archer, and Andy Bell.
- "The Beat Goes On" – 4:44
- "In the Bubble with a Bullet" – 2:57
Music video
A promotional music video was filmed at the Isle of Wight Festival in 2011 and released shortly after.[8][9] The clip consists of live performance footage of the band at the festival.[10]
Reception
As one of the album's closing songs, "The Beat Goes On" was often treated by reviewers as an attempt at a large, late-album singalong. Reviewing Beady Eye live in Glasgow before the single's release, The Guardian wrote that the song "gets arms swaying in the air".[11] In a second live review from March 2011, the same paper said that the song "actually does sound like the big Zippo lighter moment it so plainly wants to be", while also singling out the lyric "I'm the last of a dying breed" as unexpectedly touching.[12]
Album reviews were more divided. Clash praised the track's "immaculate melody and chorus", though it argued that the song was overlong.[13] Consequence described it as a "hidden gem" on the album and suggested that its lyric "Still life remains/Somewhere in my heart the beat goes on" hinted at Gallagher's former life in Oasis.[14] Drowned in Sound, by contrast, grouped it with "The Morning Sun" as part of a "quite terrifyingly dull" closing couplet.[15]
Chart performance
"The Beat Goes On" peaked at number 64 on the UK Singles Chart and reached number 1 on the Official Physical Singles Chart.[16]
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Japan Hot 100 (Billboard)[17] | 56 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[16] | 64 |
| UK Physical Singles (OCC)[16] | 1 |
Release history
| Country | Release date | Format(s) | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 15 July 2011[18] | Digital download | Beady Eye |
References
- ^ a b "The Beat Goes On - Single by Beady Eye". Apple Music. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- ^ a b "Beady Eye Confirm Third Single". Beady Eye. 6 June 2011. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- ^ "Liam Gallagher: 'The guitar Noel smashed when Oasis split was a fake'". NME. 2 July 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- ^ a b "Beady Eye Interview". Stop Crying Your Heart Out. 24 January 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- ^ "Rolling with it". Khaleej Times. 25 June 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- ^ "Beady Eye set to shoot 'The Beat Goes On' video at this weekend's Isle Of Wight Festival". NME. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- ^ "New Beady Eye track 'In The Bubble With A Bullet' emerges online - audio". NME. 8 July 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- ^ "Beady Eye set to shoot 'The Beat Goes On' video at this weekend's Isle Of Wight Festival". NME. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- ^ "Beady Eye - 'The Beat Goes On'". YouTube. Beady Eye. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- ^ "Beady Eye - 'The Beat Goes On'". YouTube. Beady Eye. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- ^ "Beady Eye – review". The Guardian. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- ^ "Beady Eye – review". The Guardian. 13 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- ^ "Beady Eye - Different Gear, Still Speeding". Clash. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- ^ "Album Review: Beady Eye - Different Gear, Still Speeding". Consequence. 16 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- ^ "Album Review: Beady Eye - Different Gear, Still Speeding". Drowned in Sound. 3 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- ^ a b c "THE BEAT GOES ON – BEADY EYE". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- ^ "Beady Eye Chart History (Japan Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- ^ "iTunes - Music - The Beat Goes On - Single by Beady Eye". iTunes Store (GB). Apple Inc. Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2026.