Heaven 17

Heaven 17 are one of the key bands to emerge from the extraordinary Sheffield electronic scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in 1980, initially consisting of Glenn Gregory (vocals), Martyn Ware (keyboards) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards). But their story actually starts several years earlier.

Ian Craig Marsh and Glenn Gregory met around 1972 through a Sheffield drama group. Martyn Ware joined them in 1973, and the three became involved in experimental theatre and music. Ware and Marsh were fascinated by both funk and emerging electronic music such as Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream. Ware and Marsh subsequently became two of the founding members of The Human League, initially working with Philip Oakey and Adi Newton. They left the Human League in 1980, following disagreements with Oakey over the group's musical and commercial direction.

Rather than simply forming another conventional band, Ware and Marsh established the British Electric Foundation (B.E.F.), essentially a production and experimental project. Heaven 17 emerged from this project, with Glenn Gregory recruited as vocalist. They deliberately presented themselves as more than musicians: design, photography, artwork, fashion and the visual identity of the records were all part of the project. The band's official history stresses that they had unusually strong artistic control over their output.

Their debut album, Penthouse and Pavement, was released in September 1981. The album was unusual because it effectively had two personalities: the “Pavement” side incorporated funk, R&B and disco influences, while the “Penthouse” side was much more electronic and experimental. The opening single, “(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang,” was politically provocative and was effectively prevented from receiving BBC airplay because of its lyrics. Despite that, the album itself reached No. 14 in the UK and eventually spent 77 weeks on the album chart.

Their breakthrough came with The Luxury Gap in 1983. It reached No. 4 in Britain and became their best-selling studio album. It contained:

“Temptation” — UK No. 2
“Come Live with Me” — UK Top 5
“Crushed by the Wheels of Industry”
“Let Me Go”

“Temptation” became their signature song and remains one of the defining British synth-pop records of the period. They followed it with How Men Are in 1984, which reached No. 12 and produced “Sunset Now” and “This Is Mine.” They also appeared on Band Aid's “Do They Know It's Christmas?” in 1984. However, their commercial peak had passed. Pleasure One followed in 1986 and Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho in 1988.

One of the oddest things about Heaven 17 is that they weren't really a conventional touring band during their successful period. They were essentially a studio/production project in the early years. They didn't perform their first proper live concerts until 1997, long after their 1980s chart success. That distinction is important: the records often sound like a large live band, but the core creative unit was actually the three-man electronic group augmented by session musicians and singers.

After the 1980s, Martyn Ware developed an increasingly successful career as a producer and electronic-music specialist, working with artists including Tina Turner and Terence Trent D'Arby and later Erasure. Glenn Gregory continued recording and later worked with Honeyroot and other projects. Ian Craig Marsh eventually left Heaven 17 in 2006, subsequently pursuing psychology studies. Ware and Gregory continued as Heaven 17.