refer to the breakdown of the friendship between Pete Doherty and Carl Barât, 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 from the 1970s: Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?

The song reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart when released.

Pete Doherty claimed in an interview with Newsnight 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 (Thamesmead), implied to be a young Pete and Carl.

This is incorrect to the story of the two, because they did not meet each other until their late teens.