Synth-Pop Britannia

HEAVEN 17       Named after the fictitious group mentioned in A Clockwork Orange, Heaven 17 are the fourth-most-famous Synth-Pop band from Sheffield, formed by ex-Human League members Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh and led by blonde frontman Glenn Gregory, the same production trio who brought us B.E.F. (British Electric Foundation), featured here earlier. Heaven 17's first single "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" caused a minor controversy by being banned by the BBC, but unlike Frankie Goes to Hollywood, it didn't help their record sales, stalling at #45 after spending five weeks in the charts, so maybe it just wasn't controversial enough. Heaven 17's best-selling single "Temptation" was kept from reaching the #1 spot by David Bowie's best-selling single of all time: "Let's Dance". Well, if you're going to be outsold by anyone, then you may as well be beaten to the #1 spot by the best. 

Heaven 17 - Don't Fear the Reaper (But fear inferior cover versions of a Blue Oyster Cult classic) 

1981           45            5           Heaven 17 - (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWs1-2foKoo

1981           46            7           Heaven 17 - Play to Win - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcUKV7zxZdw

1981           57            3           Heaven 17 - Penthouse and Pavement - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33W3kMS2vp0

1982           41            6           Heaven 17 - Let Me Go - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJrU9RIurFE

1983            2            13          Heaven 17 - Temptation - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWwtMrDX2o8

1983            5            11          Heaven 17 - Come Live with Me - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89efMFClfPQ

1983           17            7           Heaven 17 - Crushed by the Wheels of Industry - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_wq5N6MQ8o

1984           24            6           Heaven 17 - Sunset Now - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4cKLko6KLA

1984           23            7           Heaven 17 - This is Mine - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adynNYx0NbI

1985           52            5           Heaven 17 - (And That's No Lie) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5EB5utHdQY

1987           51            3           Heaven 17 - Trouble - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Asv0QFb1Mps

TONI HALLIDAY     The singer who nobody's heard of, but almost  everybody's heard her performing with other artists. 

MARTIN GORE    The co-founder of Depeche Mode breaks out on his own in a bleak industrialised Gore-fest, who somehow manages to be have a more dystopian view of the world than jolly Roger Waters. 

PETER GODWIN      A former member of Glam Rock band Metro during the 1970's and New Wave musician in the 1980's, Peter Godwin now leads a neo-Balearic dance act named Nuevo, although I'm guessing that's probably best avoided. 

DAVE GAHAN     The Voice of Depeche Mode!

By the way, the flares may be long gone but I still have my gold platform shoes. 

FREUR      A Welsh Synth-Pop band who sound remarkably like Japan, although there's no known connection. Sayonara. 

1983         59           4            Freur - Doot Doot

My sound system's okay. I'm just not a big fan of Frankie Goes to Hollywood that's all. The only Pleasuredome I've ever been in was at Blackpool's Pleasure Beach, but that's another story. 

FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD      A Liverpool band who gained notoriety by having their sexually-suggestive single "Relax" banned by Auntie Beeb, which inevitably, led to it going straight to number one in the charts and staying there for five weeks. Rumours that there's a Scottish version of the band called Frankie Goes to Holyrood are unfounded. 

Relax - it's just another wild night out in the Blue Oyster Club of Police Academy fame. 

1983         1           52           Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yem_iEHiyJ0

1984         1           21           Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Two Tribes - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO1HC8pHZw0

1984         1           12           Frankie Goes to Hollywood - The Power of Love - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtdRv6GT9Zg

1985         2           11           Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Welcome to the Pleasure Dome - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzOGLKTmeuY

1986         4            7            Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Rage Hard - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9AXDPCWics

1986        19           8            Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Warriors (of the Wasteland) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEHFGMwfqNA

1987        28           6            Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Watching the Wildlife - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js_bi9Xz4wY