Roaring Forties is the 21st studio album by Peter Hammill, released on his own Fie!
It, and the following album, X My Heart, are Hammill's most recent albums that primarily contain an organic, full-band rock style.
While there are occasional tracks on later albums in this style, Hammill's principal mode has moved since this album towards a more intimate, chamber-music style.
The Roaring Forties is a name given, especially by sailors, to the latitudes between 40°S and 50°S, so called because of the boisterous and prevailing westerly winds.
The album also contains "A Headlong Stretch", one of Hammill's occasional long, episodic song suites (see also "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" from Pawn Hearts and "Flight" from A Black Box).