15. Simple Minds - Don't You (Forget About Me)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqoNKCCt7A Dont You (Forget about me), was the perfect marriage of stadium rock and art pop that turned Simple Minds from edgy New Romantics into a major league stadium band almost overnight. Whilst The 80s did many very bad things to many very cool bands, for Simple Minds this song of the 80s was perfect and it gave them a platform to make it into the big time. Ironically this song nearly didnt end up in their hands at all, but having been turned down by a range of artists from Bryan Ferry to Billy Idol, destiny landed in their hands. The song was the title track of The Breakfast Club, the go-to film of alienation and the story of the search for identity for many teens of the time. The film certainly wasnt Rebel without a cause, but the hopefulness of the song and the film was a marriage made in heaven; both were all about aspiration, acceptance and communion. And whereas theme tunes for films from famous artists were previously the domain of the Bond movies, in the 80s anything that could add to revenue was in and bands were more than happy to follow the trend. This is the sound of a band changing tack to make the jump into the next league á la Gordon Gecko from Wall Street, chasing the mainstream and the sound of polished production and Linn drums rather than obscure synthesiser sounds. Was that a bad thing for music? Well, no. Bands are like any other type of species in that evolution is necessary, but it doesnt always guarantee their survival, its all about making the right choices, and here Simple Minds got that choice spot on. And who could feel any form of scorn for a song that opens with a line as heartfelt as "Wont you come see about me, Ill be alone, dancing you know it / Tell me your troubles and doubts, thinking of everything that we were working on. This was the sound of naïve romance told by someone wearing a posh suit, and its still as wonderful a story of love as ever.
Ed Nash
Contributor
What makes music fantastic? Star quality, amazing music, breathtaking lyrics and the ability to bring something new to the table, even if that means a new take on the classics. That's what I love to listen to and write about.
As well as writing for What Culture, I occasionally write a blog http://tedney.blogspot.co.uk and sometimes use Twitter, but sparingly @TedneyNash
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