 Heaven 17 from a 1996 press photo for Bigger Than America:(Left to right) Ian Craig Marsh, Martyn Ware and Glenn Gregory Heaven 17 is a British synthpop band originating in Sheffield, England in the early 1980s. Synthpop is a style of popular music in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. ...
This article is about the city in England. ...
The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ...
Biography
Taking their name from a fictional pop group mentioned in Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange (where 'The Heaven Seventeen' are at number 4 in the charts with 'Inside' [1]), Heaven 17 formed when Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware split from their earlier group The Human League and formed production company British Electric Foundation (BEF). Shortly after, they recruited their good friend and photographer Glenn Gregory on vocals to complete their lineup for Heaven 17. Contrary to popular belief, they were not New Romantics and shared few visual characteristics with groups such as Spandau Ballet and Culture Club. Anthony Burgess (February 25, 1917 – November 22, 1993) was an English novelist and critic. ...
A Clockwork Orange book cover A Clockwork Orange is a science fiction and dystopian 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess, and forms the basis for the 1971 film adaptation by Stanley Kubrick. ...
Martyn Ware is one of the leading figures in electronic music; as a founder member of both The Human League and Heaven 17, he was responsible for seminal records such as Being Boiled and Temptation. He has also worked as a producer, notably on Erasures I Say I Say...
Originally a post punk synthesiser based group from Sheffield, the Human League (previously known as the Future) released their first single, Being Boiled c/w Circus Of Death on Bob Lasts Fast Product record label in 1978. ...
New Romantic was a New Wave music subgenre and fashion movement that occurred primarily in the United Kingdom during the early 1980s. ...
Spandau Ballet was a popular British band in the 1980s. ...
Culture Club, circa 1983 Culture Club was a popular 1980s pop group, perhaps most noticeable for their gender-bending frontman Boy George. ...
Like The Human League, Heaven 17 heavily used synthesizers and drum machines. They had a few minor hits including the early 'Play To Win' which featured on the album Penthouse and Pavement. Their debut single '(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang' from the same album attracted some attention, became a left-wing anthem for a while, and was banned by the BBC because of its overtly political lyrics, but it still reached number 45 in the UK singles chart. A classic FM synthesizer, the Yamaha DX7. ...
A Boss DR-202 Drum Machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums and/or other percussion instruments. ...
Penthouse and Pavement is the acclaimed debut album by the group Heaven 17 and considered one of the first concept albums of the 1980s. ...
Corporate logo of the British Broadcasting Corporation. ...
Major chart success eluded them until the single 'Temptation' (in which they were augmented by the vocalist Carol Kenyon) reached number 2 in the UK charts in summer 1983. Other songs from the same album, The Luxury Gap, also charted though not as high - 'Come Live With Me' reached number 5 in the UK, 'Crushed By The Wheels of Industry' reached number 17, and 'Let Me Go', reaching 41 in November 1982. The album itself charted at their best ever position, number four. Carol Kenyon Carol Kenyon Singer, recording artist and performer. ...
1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Since then, the band has continued to work and has had some other moderately successful albums (1984's 'How Men Are' reached number 12), but no more Top 10 hits. Also, at the end of 1983, the band helped launch Tina Turner's solo career, producing and providing backing vocals on her debut hit 'Let's Stay Together'. 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Tina Turner on the cover of her 1991 compilation album Simply the Best Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock, November 26, 1939) is an American R&B, pop, rock and soul singer, Buddhist and occasional actress. ...
Look up debut in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
The band also worked on the Band Aid single at the end of 1984, with Gregory supplying vocals alongside Midge Ure and Sting. However, they did not perform at Live Aid the following year. Cover art for the original Do They Know Its Christmas? release – artist Peter Blake Band Aid is a British and Irish charity supergroup founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in order to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing a record Do They Know...
1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Midge Ure OBE (born James Ure on October 10, 1953 in Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, Scotland) is a rock and roll guitarist, singer and songwriter from Scotland, who had particular success in the 1970s and 1980s. ...
Sting in Budapest, 2000 Gordon Matthew Sumner, CBE (born October 2, 1951), usually known by his stage name Sting, is an English musician from Newcastle upon Tyne. ...
U2 at Live Aid (Wembley Stadium, London). ...
In 1988 after the release of Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho, the band didn't work together as Heaven 17 until 1996's Bigger Than America. In the preceding years, Marsh and Ware produced a second BEF album to 1981's original Music of Quality and Distinction and Gregory formed the band Ugly. Ware became an in-demand producer, working for the likes of Terence Trent D'Arby, Alison Moyet and Erasure. 2005 saw the release of the long-awaited Before After, with a much more contemporary dance sound compared to previous albums. 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...
Ugly is the opposite of Beauty Category: ...
In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the performers, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ...
Sananda Maitreya in concert in Budapest. ...
Alison Moyet (born Genevieve Alison Jane Moyet on 18 June 1961), is an English pop singer noted for her bluesy voice. ...
Erasure is a British synth pop duo band consisting of keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. ...
2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Albums Penthouse and Pavement (1981) - Melody Maker's album of the year (1981) [2] Penthouse and Pavement is the acclaimed debut album by the group Heaven 17 and considered one of the first concept albums of the 1980s. ...
The Luxury Gap (1983) - reached number 4 in the album charts. Contained 'Temptation' and 'Let Me Go', the band's biggest UK and US hits respectively
How Men Are (1984)
Pleasure One (1986) - notable for the introduction of a 'real' band, and the loss of the electronics and social commentary that characterised the band's early career
Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho (1988) - the title comes from the nicknames given to the band by Terence Trent D'Arby Sananda Maitreya in concert in Budapest. ...
Bigger Than America (1996) - marked a return to their synthesiser and social commentary roots. Described as a "sequel" to Penthouse and Pavement. The term synthesiser is also used to mean frequency synthesiser, an electronic system found in communications. ...
Penthouse and Pavement is the acclaimed debut album by the group Heaven 17 and considered one of the first concept albums of the 1980s. ...
Before After (2005) - lost the politics in favour of a more dance oriented album
Compilations and notable albums Endless (1986) - consisted of a 'Heaven 17 Megamix', and both 12-inch and new re-recordings of songs
The Best of Heaven 17 (1992) - originally released on the Virgin VIP label
Higher and Higher - The Best of Heaven 17 (1993) - contained remixes of 'Temptation' and '(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang'
The Remix Collection (1995) - contained 12-inch versions of songs and the 1992/ 3 remixes of 'Temptation', '(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang' and 'Penthouse and Pavement'
Executive Summary (1996) - essentially a 6-track 'Best of' CD introducing the upcoming album Bigger Than America
Retox/ Detox (1998) - this 2 CD set consisted of entriely new remixes of the band's songs by DJs and remixers
How Live Is (1999) - the band's live appearance at the SECC Glasgow supporting Erasure (previously only available from the official website as Live At Last)
Live at Scala, London (2005) - the band's appearance at the Scala, London on 29 November, available 10 minutes after the end of the show and from Live Here Now[3], with artwork by Haiminh Le [4] and Nick Cannock [5]
Interesting facts The band still work together - stating on their recent releases that "Heaven 17 have been - and always will be...".
Heaven 17 is also mentioned in the song 'Cubs in Five' by The Mountain Goats. While listing a group of things that will never happen, the lyrics state that "Bill Gates will single-handedly spearhead the Heaven 17 revival." The Mountain Goats The Mountain Goats is the musical project of singer, songwriter and guitarist John Darnielle. ...
William Henry Bill Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is best known for being the co-founder, chairman, and chief software architect of Microsoft Corporation, the worlds largest computer software company. ...
The band's first television appearance where they actually played live was on The Tube in 1987, playing 'Contenders' and 'Trouble' from Pleasure One. Screenshot of The Tubes neon sign trademark The Tube was an innovative United Kingdom pop/rock music television programme, which ran for 5 series, from 1982 until 1987. ...
1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Their first actual live tour was supporting Erasure in 1997 - with reasons for the gap ranging from "making a conscious decision to wait 17 years" to "we were too lazy" on 1999's How Live Is.
Though 'Temptation' is featured in the film Trainspotting, it is not actually on the 'official' CD soundtrack whereas 'Temptation' by New Order is - though they are not the same song (Heaven 17's 'Temptation' is played at the disco; New Order's 'Temptation' is played faintly in the background during breakfast at Diane's not much later). Heaven 17's 'Temptation' is however featured on the second Trainspotting CD, featuring songs 'inspired by' the film. Trainspotting is a 1996 film directed by Danny Boyle based on the novel Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh about a group of heroin addicts in Edinburgh and their passage through life. ...
New Order are an English rock group formed in 1980 by the surviving members of Joy Division following the suicide of singer Ian Curtis. ...
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