"A Friend for Life" is a song by British singer-songwriter Steve Harley, released by Intrinsic Records on 30 April 2001 as a non-album single.

"[3] Later in the year, Harley recorded the song at friend and songwriter Mike Batt's home studio, with Cregan as the producer.

I am determined that 'A Friend for Life' will be available in the shops and on the radio in time for the next Spring band tour, with an album, God willing, in the can.

"[8] By 2001, Harley's company Comeuppance Ltd had made a licensing agreement with Intrinsic Records for the release of "A Friend for Life" as a single, but no new studio album would materialise until 2005's The Quality of Mercy.

[10] The single featured two extra tracks, "Safe" and "Loretta's Tale", both being recorded live at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London in the spring of 2000.

Hopefully it will make the great wide world realise there is more to me than just one song and sell concert tickets, because performing live is my first love.

[16] "A Friend for Life" was later included on the Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel album The Quality of Mercy, which was released in 2005.

(A Live Set), Peter Makowski of Classic Rock commented, "It's the lesser-known material like the emotive 'A Friend For Life' that makes Harley sound fresh and edgy, like a latter day Libertine".

[18] In a review of The Quality of Mercy, Nick Dalton of Record Collector described the song as "reflective" and noted Cregan's "delicate solo".

[19] The Sunday Express commented, "A genuine Seventies pop maverick, Harley has evolved into a highly-literate and intimate balladeer.

[21] Nick Hasted of Uncut was critical of the album, but added that "A Friend for Life" "retains some brutal Cockney bite about married stasis".

[22] "A Friend for Life" was included in the set-list of the band's 2001 tour and has remained a regular inclusion at Harley's live shows to date.

[23][24][25] In 2011, Harley performed the song live with Cockney Rebel members Barry Wickens and James Lascelles alongside the "Herreavdelingen" radio show's orchestra at the NRK Marienlyst in Oslo, Norway.

Harley revealed in a November 2000 diary entry, "Gave 'A Friend for Life' to Rod Stewart at dinner the other night.

"[34] Speaking to The Leader in November 2016, Harley spoke again of Stewart's version, "I offered it to him over 10 years ago and he didn't get it, but now he's had these two lovely boys with Penny Lancaster and he gets it because it's a difficult lyric about children growing up and leaving the nest.