Taking their name from a fictional pop group in Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange, Heaven 17 is a British Synth-Pop group formed after the disbanding of the first incarnation of The Human League. While singer Philip Oakley kept the Human League going with a new lineup, departing members Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware formed a trio with singer Glenn Gregory (their original choice for the Human League's vocalist before he proved unavailable at the time), attempting to start anew with their work (while retaining elements of their original work).
Compared to the Yellow Magic Orchestra-influenced style of the Mk. II League, Heaven 17 incorporated more funk and brass rhythms compared to other bands of the era, and used various sampling computers but still maintained a disco-soul feel. Their debut, Penthouse and Pavement, was a mish-mash of older Human League material and newer high-tempo disco songs with a flavor of funk; in stark contrast to the Rushnett/Ure sound many artists copied. Despite their debut album being overshadowed by the commercial success of Dare (and the BBC banning their debut single We Don't need this Facist Groove Thang due to political undertones), the album still sold moderately well and gave them enough funding to make a second (and third) album, with their second being a breakthrough hit in the US and UK.
Despite their popularity in the UK they were never as popular as the Human League in the US, and because of this they were mostly forgotten in the 1980s for being a one hit wonder. They still tour to this day, but only started doing so during the 1990s (With the exception of TOTP performances in the 80s).
Discography
- Penthouse and Pavement (1981)
- The Luxury Gap (1983)
- How Men Are (1984)
- Pleasure One (1986)
- Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho (1988)
- Bigger Than America (1996)
- Before After (2005)
- Naked as Advertised (2008)
Heaven 17 provides examples of:
- Bowdlerise: The single edit of "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" censors the mention of Adolf Hitler by overdubbing his name with a percussive synth hit and a repeat of the word "history" from the earlier line "history will repeat itself."
- Broken Record: Played literally with "We're Going To Live For a Very Long Time" on first pressings of Penthouse and Pavement, where it ends in a locked groove, indefinitely looping the lyric "for a very long time".
- Last Note Nightmare: In the first track of How Men Are, with what appears to be a sampled scream which then cuts to silent, which after a few seconds the next song fades in.
- Protest Song: "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" is a vicious tirade against the growing far-right sentiments in the Eighties, and even name-checks Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan as spearheaders of such movements.
- Shout-Out: Their name is an obvious shout-out to the movie A Clockwork Orange, in where a similar-name band is seen in a record store.
- The Rival: To The Human League, as noted. They eventually managed to patch things up and tour together, but remain separate acts.
- Title Drop: Done in the first track of How Men Are.
- Trope Codifier: While not really becoming a household name in the vein of The Human League, their debut album is well known as an established Synth-Pop album, with their singles well circulated as club hits.
