Simple Minds - Don't You (Forget About Me) (Virgin)

In which Jim Kerr goes all Billy Idol (brooding, dreamy, erotic) and the song goes all American. Taken from the film The Breakfast Club, it highlights the `filmic' qualities of their music. I don't know what the film's about but it sounds like it should be set in sunny LA. - you know, all blazing blue skies, long open roads eaten up by gleaming, flash, speeding cars full of people with healthy tans and meaningful glances. Then again, it just might be a cartoon. (Peter Martin, Smash Hits, April 11, 1985)

Ironic (innit)? For years Simple (Minds) have been delighting us with their beautiful (filmic) music that could have provided some wonderful soundtracks for, ooh, at least a dozen movies. The New Gold Dream (LP) and Bladerunner (film) would have been good together for instance. But now, with a genuine movie at their fingertips - the forthcoming (The) Breakfast Club - they pull out all the stops only to come up with something that sounds like Billy Idol ! It's a (nice) song - very gentle and melodic - but (the) Minds are capable of much more (than) this. What are all these brackets doing here? (Debbi Voller, No 1, April 13, 1985)

Streamlined Simple Minds sound, produced by Keith Forsey  - as featured in the new movie The Breakfast Club. Though hardly shattering, their earnest and hard-earned 'Community AOR' image - this is one of their most pleasant songs to date. Jim Kerr and his merry men were constantly accused of being a bunch of tortured artists making trite and unsophisticated pseudo-philosophical rubbish that was bludgeoned into the public with massively lengthy tours... but they have seen the light at the end of the tunnel. The feeling is UP! (Dylan Jones, Record Mirror, April 13, 1985)

Oh, The Irony: I'm not sure if Peter and Debbi were at all aware that Simple Minds recorded the song only after Billy Idol turned it down, Keith Forsey being his long time producer. By far and away Simple Minds' biggest chart hit, Billy attempted somewhat belatedly to reclaim the song - adding his own recording to a Greatest Hits compilation many years later.