Raised on Radio #37a- The Breakfast Club
You know, the Breakfast Club.
"Don't you (forget about me)" was a huge song in 1985.
I have a hard time saying too much. It certainly is a majestic arena-filling song, but also has been played a million times.
Of course, the legend is that it wasn't Simple Minds's song until everyone turned it down. It was Billy Idol's.
It's fun to play alt history (even if it is alt- pop history). it surely made Simple Minds career. This is no dig at Jim Kerr and company, who were a top tier alt-rock band of that era. But surely, it's true.
This song propped them to arenas, and made them a household name in the US. The song still is one of the most recognizable songs of the 1980s.
"Alive and Kicking" was a follow up hit, and a great song in its own right. "Sanctify yourself" was a minor hit, but it's pretty much forgotten now. It would likely have been the band's high water mark had it not been for "Don't you". What difference one song makes.
"Don't you" was originally offered to Idol, Cy Curnin of the Fixx and Bryan Ferry.
Would it have been a #1 hit with Idol snarling through it. I tend to think not, but in subsequent years, Idol decided to record it himself, and it actually works fairly well. The inital thought is that Idol would have been over the top in his delivery, while Jim Kerr had the perfect voice for transforming the song in an anthemic way.
Would it have changed Idol's career? Would it have been as big as a hit? It's hard to say. idol was still relevant in 1986 and while he didn't ever move into serious-rock territory a la Jim Kerr. He was still having hit after hit, and transitioned into the 90s with "Cradle of Love" getting him success in the next decade.
The Fixx maybe would have reached the next level with this song. Their hits were starting to chart lower, but they were a well-respected band that could fill arenas. They were always tagged to be the next great band but never took that step that U2 did circa 1988 (Simple Minds as well, never made that last leap) Certainly, the song might have helped (and I don't intend any slight on this great band).
Ferry had some success in the US. I thought "Kiss and Tell" was a pretty great song, but others must not have agreed, as it never made any real dent on the chart; and although "Don't Stop the Dance" and "Slave to Love" do well on nostalgia channels, they were not songs that I ever remember hearing back at that time.
You know it and you probably love it, so here it is with the Idol version added for good measure.
"Don't you (forget about me)" was a huge song in 1985.
I have a hard time saying too much. It certainly is a majestic arena-filling song, but also has been played a million times.
Of course, the legend is that it wasn't Simple Minds's song until everyone turned it down. It was Billy Idol's.
It's fun to play alt history (even if it is alt- pop history). it surely made Simple Minds career. This is no dig at Jim Kerr and company, who were a top tier alt-rock band of that era. But surely, it's true.
This song propped them to arenas, and made them a household name in the US. The song still is one of the most recognizable songs of the 1980s.
"Alive and Kicking" was a follow up hit, and a great song in its own right. "Sanctify yourself" was a minor hit, but it's pretty much forgotten now. It would likely have been the band's high water mark had it not been for "Don't you". What difference one song makes.
"Don't you" was originally offered to Idol, Cy Curnin of the Fixx and Bryan Ferry.
Would it have been a #1 hit with Idol snarling through it. I tend to think not, but in subsequent years, Idol decided to record it himself, and it actually works fairly well. The inital thought is that Idol would have been over the top in his delivery, while Jim Kerr had the perfect voice for transforming the song in an anthemic way.
Would it have changed Idol's career? Would it have been as big as a hit? It's hard to say. idol was still relevant in 1986 and while he didn't ever move into serious-rock territory a la Jim Kerr. He was still having hit after hit, and transitioned into the 90s with "Cradle of Love" getting him success in the next decade.
The Fixx maybe would have reached the next level with this song. Their hits were starting to chart lower, but they were a well-respected band that could fill arenas. They were always tagged to be the next great band but never took that step that U2 did circa 1988 (Simple Minds as well, never made that last leap) Certainly, the song might have helped (and I don't intend any slight on this great band).
Ferry had some success in the US. I thought "Kiss and Tell" was a pretty great song, but others must not have agreed, as it never made any real dent on the chart; and although "Don't Stop the Dance" and "Slave to Love" do well on nostalgia channels, they were not songs that I ever remember hearing back at that time.
You know it and you probably love it, so here it is with the Idol version added for good measure.
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