"What Took You So Long?" is the third single released by indie rock band The Courteeners, available on their debut studio album St. Jude. It was released on 14 January 2008 on a CD single and 7-inch vinyl, reaching #20 in the UK Singles Chart. This song is often cited[by whom?] as the Courteeners best single to date, and broke them into the top 40 and to nationwide success. The song is a lyrical attack on bedroom exiles of the modern day with no experience of the real world and living their lives through internet forums and social networking sites, boasting their music taste being superior to that of people with real lives and real social tendencies due to liking a more obscure band. The song also features the lyric "Do you know who I am? I'm like a Morrissey with some strings", which did little to disassociate the band with their Manchester roots, but shifted the focus from traditional Manchester "lad-rock" contingents such as Oasis and the Happy Mondays, to the more intellectual and acclaimed Smiths.[citation needed]
[edit] Chart performance
The single was released on 18 January 2008 as a CD single and was also made available as a 7 inch vinyl. The single entered the UK Singles Chart at a peak of #20, beating the bands prior singles.
[edit] Uses of the Song
The song was used for a series of television advertisements circa-Winter 2008 for the UK DCSF (Department for Children, Schools and Families) 'Science and Maths' campaign aimed at high school students aged between 11-16 year olds to showcase the interesting and exciting jobs taking Science and Maths in school, can lead young people to.
[edit] Track listing
- "What Took You So Long?"
- "Slowdown"
- "What Took You So Long?"
- "Not One Could I Give"
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- Liam Fray
- Michael Campbell
- Daniel Conan Moores
- Mark Cupello
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| Studio albums |
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| EPs |
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| Singles |
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