HEAVEN 17: Before/ After

Heaven 17

Before/ After

© 2005 Heaven 17 (643157370833)

CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.

New Wave Disco, from the originators.

notes

If you were a man (or a woman) with a briefcase and a bowler hat in the UK in the early 1980's dancing was a problem. The sensibilities of punk remained but there was a growing recognition that there should be more to dancing than jumping up and down. Then along came Fascist Groove Thang, it pressed all the right buttons. Politically 'the democrats are out of power' was causing people to worry about the US in the same way as they do today, not least the great BBC radio 1 who banned it from play. It was funky but not tainted by disco and it was most definitely cool without really trying.

(We don't need this) Fascist Groove Thang was the first single released by Heaven 17, perhaps the huge impact the song made on those who danced to it is not so surprising when one considers that two of the three band members, Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware, were founder members of the Human League. Together with Glenn Gregory they drew on their love of US funk such as Funcadelic and Parliament and more common student fodder such as Bowie and Roxy Music, and combined this with that mascot of early eighties pop the synthesiser.

Heaven 17 went on to fuse funk and pop through a series of vital 80's albums and singles gaining several chart successes and cult status along the way. For the pre MTV generation who religiously watched Top of the Pops every week, just the titles of some of their biggest hits, Come Live With Me, At The Height Of The Fighting and of course, Temptation are enough to start their toes tapping.

Heaven 17 continued making albums throughout the eighties and into the 90s. Their influence has been felt not just in the beat of their records but also the beat of collaboration with key soul artists such as Tina Turner, Chaka Kahn and Mavis Staples. And this could have been the final paragraph but in 1997 Heaven 17 did their groove thing live for the first time and they loved it, so.....

reviews

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  • Great to be dancin' to Heaven 17 again!
    author: Nancy

    So disco. So fun. Love it.

  • Heaven 17 :Paradise Of Great Hot Music
    author: Michael D. Dowdy

    Great danceable, new wave disco music collection that will leave you wanting more. Heaven 17 is the Paradise of Great Hot music with Before / After! Heaven 17 is a Cross between U2 & Culture Club.

  • Why Haven't I heard of these guys before?
    author: Xochiquetzal Barros aka RUPTURE

    CD Baby has recommended me to listen to what this group has to offer because I was interested in a particular type of music, why should I lie? But I am glad that I took the time to listen to a few of their songs and I caught myself rocking in my seat after a few playthroughs, so instantly, I decided to buy their album along with the maxi single for "Hands Up 2 Heaven" [which is currently in heavy RO]. Before/After is a very good album nonetheless. After some research, I found out that Heaven 17 has been in the game for quite some time now. A VERY DANCEABLE CD for collecters of dance music. Very original pieces. Keep it up Heaven 17!!!

  • Grade A Electro-dance-soul from the founding fathers
    author: Michael Grady/Strange Angels

    Great, great new CD from one of the originators of synthpop. Ready for the sophisticated club goer, ready for you to enjoy your life, Don't Fear The Reaper (and you won't-it's a funky cover version). Amazed they recorded a new CD. They were and are a huge influence for me as a song writer and producer. Excellent!

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