February 1985, Glasgow → London: Scottish band Simple Minds releases on A&M Records the single “Don't You (Forget About Me)” - the theme of John Hughes's film The Breakfast Club starring Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson and others. By May 1985 - #1 Billboard Hot 100 in the US, 1 week. In the UK - #7, which for a British band is paradoxical: the hit landed better at home with Hollywood than in the band's own national chart. Total global sales by end of 1986 - over 4 million copies.
A band that didn't want to play the song
Simple Minds formed in Glasgow in 1977 as a post-punk outfit. By 1984 they had six albums behind them with growing artistic weight. The album Sparkle in the Rain (1984) - UK #1 - made them one of the era's leading British bands. Guitarist Charlie Burchill and vocalist Jim Kerr considered themselves “art rock”, not pop.
“Don't You (Forget About Me)” was written by Americans - Keith Forsey (the same man who would write “The Never Ending Story” for Limahl five months later) and Steve Schiff. The song was offered to Bryan Ferry - refused. Billy Idol - refused. Corey Hart - refused. Simple Minds were the sixth (or, by some sources, seventh) choice.
“We agreed reluctantly. We really didn't like the idea of recording someone else's song for a film - it contradicted everything we stood for. But A&M insisted. We considered it a hack job, and it turned out to be the biggest hit of our career”, Jim Kerr told Mojo in 2010.
Recording
Recording took place at Townhouse Studios in London in November 1984. Producer - Keith Forsey himself. Simple Minds took the project only on condition that Forsey produced and that they could rewrite significant parts of the arrangement. Budget - around £45,000.
Simple Minds reworked:
- Added the iconic “La-la-la-la” in intro and outro - their idea, not the song's authors'
- Replaced the drum programming with a denser live part by Mel Gaynor
- Rewrote Charlie Burchill's guitar lead using chorus effect (Boss CE-2)
- Kerr added an improvised outro vocal - half a minute of wordless “la-la”
Authors Forsey and Schiff watched the final version and admitted Simple Minds had improved it. After that Forsey stopped pitching the song to other artists - Simple Minds had “taken” it.
Instruments
- Roland Jupiter-8 - pads
- Yamaha DX7 - electric piano
- Fender Jazzmaster - Burchill's guitar (a rare choice - most played Stratocasters)
- Fender Jazz Bass - Derek Forbes's live bass
- Live drums - Mel Gaynor
- Oberheim DMX - clap and extra percussion
The film as co-author
The Breakfast Club directed by John Hughes premiered on 15 February 1985. In the US it grossed $52 million - modest by blockbuster standards but phenomenal for a teen film with a $1 million budget. The film became cult; “Don't You (Forget About Me)” became its musical symbol. The final scene, where Judd Nelson raises his fist in victory to the song, is one of the most-cited 80s scenes.
Numbers
- US: #1 Billboard Hot 100 (May 1985), 1 week; 2× platinum
- Canada: #1 RPM, 3 weeks
- UK: #7
- Netherlands: #2
- Germany: #6
- Norway: #1, 4 weeks
- Australia: #1, 2 weeks
- Japan: #16 Oricon International
Total sales - 4 million copies. The album Once Upon a Time (October 1985) went 2× platinum in the US - without “Don't You (Forget About Me)” on it (the track was only released as a single from the soundtrack). A unique case of a stand-alone track overtaking its parent album in cultural impact.
What remains
Simple Minds still work today. Their most recent album Direction of the Heart (2022) hit UK #4. “Don't You (Forget About Me)” remains the track by which they are remembered in the US - more even than Simple Minds' own material. By 2024 Spotify - over 1.3 billion streams of the original.
In the 2000s the track was regularly used in soundtracks: Pitch Perfect (2012), American Horror Story, Stranger Things season 1. Each such use triggered a 20-30% streaming bump. Related era tracks - “Take On Me” a-ha, “Never Ending Story” Limahl, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”.