Twenty years after Youth Group took ‘Forever Young’ to No. 1 in Australia, the Sydney indie favourites are giving the song another spin. The band have announced the ‘Forever Young – Remixed and Reimagined’ EP, alongside an east coast anniversary tour kicking off at the end of October.

Due October 16 via Cassell Records, the EP hands the band’s 2006 hit over to some of their favourite musicians for a series of remixes that take it everywhere from the dancefloor to considerably stranger territory. Youth Group are getting involved too, recording two new versions of the song: ‘Forever Young (Acoustic)’, featuring strings, and ‘Forever Young (2026 redux)’.

It’s a song Youth Group never expected to become quite so big. Their version of Alphaville’s 1984 track came about after ‘The O.C.’ commissioned them to record a cover. The band were initially reluctant, but decided to make it their own. What followed was something nobody saw coming: the track became a No. 1 Australian single and gradually took on a life beyond the band, turning up everywhere from graduations to funerals.

The anniversary also lands alongside another important marker for Youth Group. It has been 21 years since the international release of ‘Skeleton Jar’ through Anti-/Epitaph, the album that suddenly had the band touring the US and UK, sharing stages with Death Cab for Cutie and appearing at Reading and Leeds and Coachella. It was a rapid leap from Sydney indie band to an international touring act.

The ‘Forever Young 20th Anniversary Tour’ starts at Melbourne’s Evelyn Hotel on October 30 before heading to Dissent in Canberra on October 31 and Sydney’s The Vanguard on November 6. Youth Group then finish the run at Tidal Sounds Music Festival at the Hoey Moey in Coffs Harbour on November 7. Sally Seltmann joins the Melbourne and Sydney dates, with The Remotes, Assassins 88 and Doldrums appearing at selected shows.

Go HERE for tickets.

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