41 years ago today, on May 18, 1985, Simple Minds topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart with their pop-rock hit, “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” but if it weren’t for the cult classic The Breakfast Club, the band never would have been able to celebrate the milestone achievement.
In fact, “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” was written for the movie, and later presented to the band as a request for them to learn for the film. Upon hearing the Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff-penned tune, Simple Minds was reluctant to record it and declined the offer at first.
“It was a record that we didn’t want to do initially,” Simple Minds’ lead singer Jim Kerr confirmed during a 2023 interview with AXS TV, explaining that he and his bandmates had already been preparing songs for their next album, so they had initially hoped to use one of their originals for the film.
“....We went ‘Hang on a minute. We do our own songs,” Kerr recalled. “And, we had just had this thing up our sleeve called ‘Alive and Kicking’ that we thought was pretty good. I remember saying, ‘Hang on a minute. You want us in there because you love the band, and you love the band because of the songs? But you don’t want us to do our songs? I didn’t get it.”
“But, of course, we were young…and we weren’t really listening,” he continued. “He did want the sound of Simple Minds, but they had a song specifically written for the script. What made us get on board was when we met Keith Forsey and John Hughes (Director, Co-producer, and Writer of The Breakfast Club). We just loved them as people.”
Luckily, Simple Minds agreed to cut the song in the end, and reaped the benefits as it went on to become their biggest North American hit, topping the charts in both the U.S. and Canada. The song, which plays in the opening and closing credits of The Breakfast Club, also reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart, where it stayed for three weeks.
Aside from chart success, “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” which became a cultural touchstone of the ‘80s, still resonates with listeners today.
“That’s just one of those songs that, you know, has taken on its own life,” Kerr acknowledged. “We just feel proud to be connected with the record.”
Related: 1992 No. 1 Cover Initially Deemed Unimpressive by Its Songwriter Became a Massive Arena Rock Ballad
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