"What Became of the Likely Lads" is a song by The Libertines

The Libertines

The Libertines were an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty . The band, centred on the song-writing partnership of Barat and Doherty, also included John Hassall and Gary Powell for most of its recording career...

, which was released as the final single from their self-titled, second album, The Libertines

The Libertines (album)

The Libertines is the second album by the British indie rock band The Libertines. Released on 30 August 2004, it is particularly biographical of the relationship between frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty. The album instantly reached #1 in the UK and is on its way to achieving platinum...

.

The lyrics in this song ("What became of the dreams we had?", "What became of forever?") refer to the breakdown of the friendship between Pete Doherty

Pete Doherty

Peter Doherty is an English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist. He is best known musically for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he reformed with Carl Barât in 2010. His other musical project is indie band Babyshambles...

 and Carl Barât

Carl Barât

Carl Ashley Raphael Barât is an English musician, actor and author. He was the frontman and lead guitarist of Dirty Pretty Things, and recently debuted a solo album, but is best known for being the co-frontman with Peter Doherty of the garage rock band The Libertines.-Early life:Carl Barât was...

, and the subsequent collapse of the band. The song's title (and the chorus's lyrics) echo the title of a popular British situation comedy

Situation comedy

A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...

 from the 1970s: Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? is a 1970s British sitcom broadcast between 9 January 1973 and 9 April 1974 on BBC1. It is the colour sequel to the mid-1960s hit The Likely Lads. It was created and written, as was its predecessor, by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais...

According to Carl Barât, in the cover photo, Doherty isn't actually wearing a watch.

Pete Doherty claimed in an interview with Newsnight

Newsnight

Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....

 that he had no input for the video of the song, which does not feature the band but two young boys on a council estate, implied to be a young Pete and Carl. This is incorrect to the story of the two, because they didn't meet each other until their late teens.

CD 1

1. "What Became of the Likely Lads"
2. "Skag & Bone Man" (Live, Brixton, 6 March 2004)
3. "Time for Heroes" (Live, Brixton, 6 March 2004)

CD 2

1. "What Became of the Likely Lads" (Re-worked)
2. "The Delaney" (Live, Brixton, 6 March 2004)

Chart performance

Chart (2004)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	9