SIMPLE MINDS

written by Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff

produced by Keith Forsey

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Two list entries ago, I covered John Parr’s “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man In

Motion),” one of my all-time favorite songs, and the theme song to

one of the mid-’80s Brat Pack films... St. Elmo’s Fire. Fancy that.

This song—another of my all-time favorites—is the theme to the

earlier 1985 quintessential Brat Pack movie (the good one)... John Hughes’ notorious high school detention lesson—and one of the biggest, most powerful and defining films of the 1980s (if not the biggest)—The Breakfast Club.

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When Breakfast Club was coming about as John’s directorial follow-up to Sixteen Candles, he opted for a high school setting because as he put it, teens are naturally more blunt and honest about their feelings than adults are, something John was looking for in the relationships between these characters. He re-cast Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall from 16C, and filled out the student cast with Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Emilio Estevez, all of whom later starred in St. Elmo’s. Each of the five has a different reason for being in detention.

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The movie’s score was composed by Keith Forsey—before John’s later ’80s scores were handled by the equally talented Ira Newborn—who also co-wrote most of the songs on the soundtrack, including this one. Keith and co-writer Steve Schiff enjoyed the work of the Scottish band Simple Minds, writing the song with them in mind. But the band turned the song down at first, feeling it important to only record material they wrote themselves. But after the Simple Minds’ label A&M Records (and the Minds’ lead singer Jim Kerr’s then-wife Chrissie Hynde—yes, from The Pretenders) laid on enough persuasion, they convinced the Minds to make this exception. They recorded the song quickly but thoroughly, and thought nothing more of it at the time.

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The Simple Minds formed in 1977 in Glasgow, gradually building their popularity and hit power with new albums every couple of years. Their most recent record was 2018’s Walk Between Worlds. They continue to perform well commercially. The other Simple Minds song I know best is coincidentally also from the year 1985, from the record Once Upon A Time (soon after Breakfast Club came out): “Alive And Kicking,” which too aptly describes the state of their career to date. John included something of a callback and tribute to the Simple Minds in his 1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, with a decal on the wall of Ferris’ bedroom.

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The Minds recorded the song at around six and a half minutes, cut down to about 4:20 for the standard studio/soundtrack version. The ~6:30 extended version was included on its single.

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Have notes to add? Let me know!

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YT:

full original version

full extended version

music video

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The Minds’ official website

Lyrics

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Hey, hey, hey, hey / Oooh-oooh, whoa / Won’t you come see about me / I’ll be alone, dancing, you know it, baby / Tell me your troubles and doubts / Giving me everything, inside and out, and / Love’s strange, so real in the dark / Think of good tender things that we were working on / Slow change may pull us apart / When the light gets into your heart, baby / Don’t you forget about me, don’t, don’t, don’t,

don’t / Don’t you, forget about me / Will you stand above me / Look my way, never love me / Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling down, down, down / Will you recognize me / Call my name, or walk on by / Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling down, down, down, down / x1 / Don’t you try and pretend / It’s my feeling, we’ll win in the end, I won’t / Harm you, or touch your defenses / Vanity, insecurity, ahhh /

Don’t you, forget about me / I’ll be alone, dancing, you know it, baby / Going to take you apart / I’ll put us back together at heart, baby / x1 / As you walk on by, will you call my name / As you walk on by, will you call my name / When you walk away / Oh, will you walk away / Will you walk on by / Come on, call my name / Will you call my name / I say, la, la la la la, la la la la, la la la la la la la la, la la / La la la la, la la la la, la la la la la la la la, la la / La la la la, la la la la, la la la la la la la la, la la / When you walk on by / And you call my name, when you walk on by / La la la la, la la la la, la la la la la la la la, la la / La la la la, la la la la, la la la la la la la la*/[fade]

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*Official source or lyric wanted!