Song of the Day: Simple Minds, “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”

Song of the Day 1 Minute

"Don’t You (Forget About Me)" was written by Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff, who wrote it as part of the score for the 1985 John Hughes movie The Breakfast Club. Forsey felt this would be a good fit for the Scottish band Simple Minds, but when the band heard the song, they weren’t interested, telling Forsey they preferred to do their own material. Forsey offered it to Brian Ferry and Billy Idol, neither of which was interested. A&M suggested Corey Hart, but Forsey didn’t think it was a good fit. After persuasion from A&M and Chrissie Hynde, wife of Simple Minds frontman Jim Kerr, they finally agreed, rearranging and recording the song in about three hours and forgetting about it, thinking it was a forgettable song in a forgettable movie.

As it turned out, The Breakfast Club earned $51.5 million (on a budget of $1 million) and critical acclaim, and the song reached #1 in the US and Canada and was a Top 10 hit in much of Europe.

Published by John Holton

Internet disc jockey, lover of old TV (especially the commercials), inveterate wise guy.

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10 thoughts on “Song of the Day: Simple Minds, “Don’t You (Forget About Me)””

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  4. I don’t think I’ve ever seen The Breakfast Club (or if I did, it was only once when I was younger), but I’ve always liked this song. I’m glad you included the video because I’d have had an earworm other just from reading the title.

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    1. I’ve never seen the movie, either, but it was filmed not far from where I lived, at Glenbrook South High School in Northbrook, Illinois. (I think one of my cousins teaches there…) My high school, New Trier West in Northfield, showed up in another Hughes movie, “Uncle Buck.” He liked to film in the northern suburbs of Chicago, maybe because he spent his teens there…

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    1. Musicwise, the ’80’s weren’t that bad, and there were quite a few songs that I liked. The ones I’ve been playing for the last two weeks are some of my favorites, and I could probably go another month with some of the others.

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      1. The eighties I connected to the most was the music by Springsteen, Petty, REM, and some one hit wonders like…Salt In My Tears by Martin Briley and Come on Elieen I still like. So there was a lot of stuff I liked thinking about it.

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