Don't you (forget about me) - Simple Minds

'Don't you (forget about me)' was released in April 1985 and made a big impression on me right away. I loved the song, and the fact that my record shop was selling it cheaply for one week only meant that I had it even before it charted. It's a purchase I regretted for a long time, because the song was played so often and became such a big hit that I didn't play the single for years on end.

The song was written by Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff for the soundtrack of the movie 'The breakfast club'. Forsey asked both Bryan Ferry and Billy Idol to record the song, but both declined, although Idol would later perform a cover of it on his 2001 greatest hits compilation. Schiff then suggested the Simple Minds, who initially refused as well, but then were persuaded by their record company to do it. The band reportedly rearranged and recorded 'Don’t you (forget about me)' in three hours in a north London studio and promptly forgot about it'.

The single reached number 1 in the USA, Canada and the Netherlands, while in the UK it reached number 7. 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'. It finally appeared on their 1992 compilation album 'Glittering prize 81/92'.

My collection: 7" single no. 282
Found: LP Top 100, Den Haag, April 1985
Cost: 4,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Don't you (forget about me)' / 'A brass band in Africa'