‘Don't You (Forget About Me)’ is a song by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released as a single in 1985. The song was played during the opening and closing credits of The Breakfast Club (1985). It was included on the film's soundtrack. it was released as a single on February 23, 1985 in the United States and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1985. The song reached No. 1 in Canada in June 1985. It is the band's only number-one hit on the US Top Rock Tracks chart, staying atop that chart for three weeks. The song became Simple Minds' biggest American hit.
The song was written by Steve Schiff, a guitarist and composer with the Nina Hagen band, and producer and drummer Keith Forsey while they were scoring the 1985 film The Breakfast Club. Forsey and Schiff were inspired by a scene in which an introvert and a school bully bond while no one else is watching. Forsey said, "It was: don't forget, when we're back in the classroom, you're not just a bad guy and we've got other things in common"
Simple Minds were reluctant to record the song, as they felt they should only record their own material. The band's manager, Bruce Findlay, believed that the song would be successful in the United States. Findlay arranged a private screening of The Breakfast Club for the band, in an effort to change their minds, but they still declined.
Forsey then offered ‘Don't You (Forget About Me)’ to Bryan Ferry, who declined as he was working on his album Boys and Girls. Ferry said later: "It was just bad timing ... Keith Forsey sent me a demo of the song and it sounded like a hit to me. Simple Minds did a great version of it". According to some sources, Billy Idol – whom Forsey was producing at the time – also declined. A&M suggested Corey Hart, who had a hit at the time with "Sunglasses at Night", but Forsey did not think Hart was the right singer. Cy Curnin, the lead singer of the Fixx, also declined to record the song.
The band agreed to record the song after persuasion from A&M and from Chrissie Hynde (Kerr's wife at the time), and after receiving a phone call from Forsey in which he reiterated his admiration for the band. According to one account, the band "rearranged and recorded 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' in three hours in the north London studio and promptly forgot about it". Kerr added the "hey hey hey" at the beginning of the song, and guitarist Charlie Burchill "ramped up the power chords in the intro, helping to turn Forsey's sweet paean to teenage longing into a rousing, stadium-sized anthem". Kerr has stated that the band did not anticipate the success the song would bring them.
Songwriters – Keith Forsey, Steve Schiff
Producer – Keith Forsey
SONG LYRICS
[Refrain]Hey, hey, hey, hey
Ooh, woah
[Verse 1]
Won't you come see about me?
I'll be alone, dancing, you know it, baby
Tell me your troubles and doubts
Giving me everything inside and out and
Love's strange, so real in the dark
Think of the tender things that we were working on
Slow change may pull us apart
When the light gets into your heart, baby
[Chorus]
Don't you forget about me
Don't, don't, don't, don't
Don't you forget about me
[Post-Chorus]
Will you stand above me?
Look my way, never love me
Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling
Down, down, down
Will you recognize me?
Call my name or walk on by
Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling
Down, down, down, down
[Refrain]
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Ooh, whoa
[Verse 2]
Don't you try and pretend
It's my feeling we'll win in the end
I won't harm you or touch your defenses
Vanity and security, ah
Don't you forget about me
I'll be alone, dancing, you know it, baby
Goin' to take you apart
I'll put us back together at heart, baby
[Chorus]
Don't you forget about me
Don't, don't, don't, don't
Don't you forget about me
[Bridge]
As you walk on by
Will you call my name?
As you walk on by
Will you call my name?
When you walk away
Or will you walk away?
Will you walk on by?
Come on, call my name
Will you call my name?
[Outro]
I say, la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
When you walk on by
And you call my name
When you walk on by