By Mark Nobes, chief editor
The song was written and prouced by Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff, and was originally offered to The Fixx, Bryan Ferry and Billy Idol who all declined the offer. Simple Minds also refused to use the song, initially, as the band only wished to record their own material. However, Jim Kerr's then wife, Chrissie Hynde and a phone call from Forsey managed to persuade him to record the song, although it was rearranged quite substantially from its original version.
Although Simple Minds had achieved success with several hits between 1981 and 1984 in the UK and Australia (gaining a substantial fanbase in the process), the band was still unknown in the U.S., where they hadn't had a single song in the Billboard Hot 100. "Don't You Forget about Me" became their breakthrough song, reaching No.1 in both the U.S. and Canada.
"Don't Your Forget About Me" entered the UK singles chart at No.22 on 14th April 1985, making it the second highest new entry that week - "Look Mama" by Howard Jones claimed the highest entry at No.20. The single broke into the top ten the following week, reaching No.8, and then a peak position of No.7 for one week, before falling back to No.8 and then No.10, spending a very respectable total of four weeks in the top 10. However, I feel that such a fine single deserved a top 5 placing, at least!
The single did reach No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S., and also on the Dutch Top 40 and Canada's Top Singles chart by RPM. The single was also No.1 in Belgium's Ultratop 50 year-end chart for 1985.
Jim Kerr 1984 Panini Smash Hits Sticker No.50
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