Don't You (Forget About Me)

"Don't You (Forget About Me)" is a 1985 song performed by the band Simple Minds. The song is best known for being played during the opening and closing credits of the John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. It was written by producer Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff (guitarist and songwriter from the Nina Hagen band).



Contents
[hide]  *1 Recording history  ==Recording history[ edit] == Forsey asked Cy Curnin from The Fixx, Bryan Ferry and Billy Idol to record the song, but all three declined; Idol later performed a cover of it on his 2001 compilation album Greatest Hits. Schiff then suggested Forsey ask Simple Minds who, after refusing as well, agreed under the encouragement of their label, A&M. According to one account, the band "rearranged and recorded 'Don’t You (Forget About Me)' in three hours in a north London studio and promptly forgot about it."[1]
 * 2 Chart performance
 * 3 Music video
 * 4 Covers and Appearances
 * 5 See also
 * 6 References
 * 7 External links

Continuing the rock direction recently taken on Sparkle in the Rain but also glancing back at their melodic synthpop past, it caught the band at their commercial peak and, propelled by the success of The Breakfast Club, became a number-one hit in the U.S.[2]  and around the world. It is the band's only number-one hit on the U.S. Top Rock Tracks chart, staying atop for three weeks. While only reaching number seven in the UK, it stayed on the charts from 1985 to 1987, one of the longest time spans for any single in the history of the chart.

Despite its success, the band continued to dismiss the song, the most obvious slight being its absence from their subsequent album Once Upon a Time and thereafter was only performed rarely live. It appeared on the 1992 best-of Glittering Prize 81/92.

Two versions were created for release. A short version of 4:23 appeared on the single and the original motion picture soundtrack album of The Breakfast Club. A longer version of 6:32 was released on 12" single. This version contains longer breakdowns and drum fills, a second appearance of the bridge and a longer ending.

John Leland from Spin wrote that "'Don't You Forget About Me,' a romantic and melancholy dance track, therefore cuts ice both in the living room and on the dance floor."[3] ==Chart performance[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==Music video<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The music video, directed by Daniel Kleinman, takes place on a dancing floor in a dark room with a chandelier, a rocking horse and television sets, displaying scenes from The Breakfast Club. ==Covers and Appearances<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In its most recognized appearance, "Don't You Forget About Me" is heard in The Breakfast Club in the beginning and ending credits. This has inspired many homages in other films and television shows includingGlee, Pitch Perfect, Easy A and Victorious.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Covered by The Wind and The Wave on Season 01 episode 14 of Grey's anatomy

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">It was covered by the alternative metal band Life of Agony on their 1995 album Ugly.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2001, Billy Idol performed a cover on his compilation album Greatest Hits.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2006, a cover of the song, performed by David Schommer featuring Lucy Woodward, was used in the nightclub scene in the movie Accepted.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">A cover of the song appears on New Found Glory's cover album, From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II (2007).

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2010, rapper Nicki Minaj sampled the intro of this track on her song "Blazin" which appears on her album Pink Friday.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2011, the cast of Psych recreated the video to promote the show's 6th season.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2011, David Cook's version played over the remembrance video for each week's eliminated contestant on American Idol.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2012, Smash Mouth released an alternative rock cover of the song on their album Magic.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2013, Molly Ringwald, one of the stars of The Breakfast Club, released a jazz version dedicated to the memory of the film's director, John Hughes, on her album, Except Sometimes.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-5" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[5]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2014, singer-songwriter Bleu released a cover version of the song on the multi-artist compilation album Here Comes The Reign Again: The Second British Invasion. <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[6]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">At the end of the Regular Show episode "Fuzzy Dice" it can be heard.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In the film American Pie, the band at the prom is playing, "Don't You Forget About Me."

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">It plays on two radio stations in Saints Row 2. On "The Mix 107.77", the full song plays, while on "The Krunch 106.66", a part of it plays during a Station ID that insults fans of pop music.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The song plays at the end of the Futurama episode "The Luck of the Fryrish" and the Family Guy episode "Let's Go to the Hop."