Heaven 17

For those of you who aren't familiar, Heaven 17 is a British synth-pop group that had success in the early 80's; members included two of the founders of another famous British synth-pop band, The Human League. Those who know me, my love for early 80's new-wave and synth-pop often mistakenly assume that I like any and all bands that fall into this category. Those who know me well know that this is not true! While I've come to appreciate and even like certain parts of their catalogs, bands like Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, Soft Cell and New Order just haven't really appealed to me. My relationship with Heaven 17 has been even more complicated.

As a lifelong Human League devotee, I have always been aware of Heaven 17, although their music was never as prevalent in the US as songs like "Don't You Want Me," "(Keep Feeling) Fascination," and "Human." In fact, for years, I only knew who Heaven 17 was but hadn't really heard any of their songs. 

In my early 20s when I moved to Los Angeles and started seeing 80s bands live, collecting records, and obsessively researching music online, I would pick up Heaven 17 records whenever I found them. They were usually cheap and as a result I never invested too much time trying to listen to them. I had a good friend who was very familiar with 80s music so I asked him for advice on how to get into Heaven 17. Knowingly, he pointed me in the direction of the single "Let Me Go," which I did extremely enjoy and added to my iTunes. At the time, I thought I was being cheeky by assigning it to the album name "The Greatest Hit," poking fun at the fact that I didn't know or care much to know any of their other songs.

At this same time, I was very active in the Human League fandom, both on the band's unofficial message board and eventually in real life, as I began to attend their shows, sometimes in the UK where they remain far more popular than in the US. Many fans of Human League consider the band's first two albums, which included Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh who later formed Heaven 17, to be their best albums. However some of these same fans also relentlessly harangue Martyn for continuing to include Human League songs in Heaven 17's live sets. Perhaps the most common refrain in Human League fan circles is that "Martyn Ware is a twat."

Enjoying a pre-show beer at Bimbo's 365 Club in San Francisco, waiting to see my first Heaven 17 show.

 

It is for all these reason that I never truly appreciated Heaven 17 on their own merits, but rather only viewed them suspiciously as ex-members of my favorite band before its prime. 

So imagine my surprise when, in the year 2022, I finally got to see Heaven 17 play live, and I loved it! They totally blew me away. I didn't even mind their two Human League covers (well, 1 1/2 - one was a cover of Human League's cover of the Righteous Brothers).

Whereas on record I always felt that Glenn Gregory's voice was just a Phil Oakey imitation, live and in person he definitely projects his own unique stage presence and personality, and you can really hear the power in his vocals - a much different delivery and style than Mr. Oakey's, even if they share the same dead pan, northern English baritone. 

It must be said, however, that Heaven 17 benefits tremendously from modernization and reworking some of their older material to sound more powerful and modern, whereas the Human League typically perform their songs almost exactly as they were recorded up to 40 years ago. But who could fault Heaven 17 when their new arrangements and technology truly bring out the best qualities of their rather startlingly good catalogue. Songs like "Crushed by the Wheels of Industry," "Let's All Make A Bomb," "Sunset Now," and "Play To Win" not only sound great, but the lyrics are actually more appropriate and relevant now than they've ever been. The current line-up is fun to watch, displays impressive talent, and brings the songs to life four decades after their were originally set out upon the world.

Martyn Ware, Glenn Gregory, and their female band brought the sparkle to San Francisco on their first-ever US tour, October 2022.

 

And then of course, there's "Temptation," which I did eventually discover and instantly loved, wondering why I hadn't caught on to it long before. The version performed live was a true pièce de résistance, bringing the crowd to a rapturous sing-and-dance-along to close out the set, before a triumphant two-song encore.

In addition to the stellar set, the venue was perfection - I had heard of Bimbo's 365 Club in San Francisco for many years, but this was my first time catching a show there. The fact that I now live less than two hours drive from the City by the Bay, this being my first time driving the relatively short distance into the city, made the evening all the more special.