Heaven 17
Heaven 17 are an
English synthpop band originating in
Sheffield in the early
1980s.
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.
Like The Human League, Heaven 17 heavily used
synthesisers 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.
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.
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 featured the release of the moderately successful
How Men Are, which reached number 12.
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.
Pleasure One (featuring the single 'Trouble') appeared in
1986 and it was followed up in
1988 with
Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho (featuring the single 'Train of Love In Motion'). The early
90's were a quiet period for the band and they wouldn'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 1982'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; the album having a much more contemporary dance sound compared to previous albums.
Penthouse and Pavement (1981) - Melody Maker's album of the year (1981) [
2]
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'ArbyBigger Than America (1996) - marked a return to their
synthesiser and social commentary roots. Described as a "sequel" to
Penthouse and Pavement.
Before After (2005) - lost the politics in favour of a more dance oriented album.
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 AmericaRetox/ 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)
Virgin Voices Vol. 1: A Tribute To Madonna (1999) - This tribute album contains the band's cover of
Madonna's 'Holiday'.
We Will Follow: A Tribute To U2 (1999) - The band's cover of
U2's 'With Or Without You' opens this tribute album to
U2.
Party O' The Times (1999) - The band's contribution to this Prince tribute album was a cover of 'Sign O' The Times'.
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]
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 band's first television appearance where they actually played live was on
The Tube in
1987, playing 'Contenders' and 'Trouble' from
Pleasure One.
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 where Renton would meet Diane; New Order's 'Temptation' lyrics are sung by Diane while she's taking a bath, and 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.
'Geisha Boys and Temple Girls' (from
Penthouse and Pavement) takes many of its lyrics from the book
Will I Like It? by
Peter Mayle about losing your
virginity.
Honeyroot is an
ambient dance collaboration between
Glenn Gregory and
Keith Lowndes, that is signed to the '
Just Music' recording company. The project has its origins in the 1997
Blatant album release
Skyscraping by
ABC. As
ABC was essentially
Martin Fry, after the departure of co-member
Mark White,
Keith Lowndes and fellow
Sheffield native
Glenn Gregory of the electropop-funk band Heaven 17, were brought in for co-writing duties on the album.
*
Honeyroot*
ABC -
Skyscraping album
*
Official Heaven 17 website*
The 'official' unofficial Heaven 17 fan site*
Heaven 17 fan site*
The chart listing 'The Heaven Seventeen' in A Clockwork Orange*
Glenn Gregory Interview
