“Don’t You Forget About Me”
“Don’t You Forget About Me” is an American 1980’s masterpiece. It resonates with every single one of us who grew up with the song.
The song was written by Keith Forsey, an English songwriter for The Breakfast Club. The song had a bumpy road towards its journey to what turned out to be a huge success.
Keith Forsey originally wrote the song for Simple Minds, but to his surprise, they rejected it. He was determined to change their minds.
Jim Kerr, the lead singer for Simple Minds said that Forsey’s determination was unwavering. They went back and forth numerous times. The band was working on an album at the time and they didn’t want to touch the song.
Forsey did not give up easily and he made another attempt by flying to London in order to present new material to the band. At the very last minute of his proposal, he once again pitched “Don’t You.” Surprisingly, this time Simple Minds agreed to record the song. Jim Kerr and the band were captivated by Keith Forsey’s enthusiasm so they decided to try it.
In the studio that afternoon, “Don’t You” came to life. Simple Minds tweaked it a bit in order to imprint their own vibe and sound on it. A fun fact: Jim Kerr added the “la, la-la-la-la” at the end of the song simply because he didn’t have any lyrics. He planned on writing ending lyrics but Keith Forsey insisted that they keep the la-la’s at the end of the song.
Smple Minds wasn’t known in the United States until 1985 when “Don’t You” debuted as the track for both the opening and closing credits for The Breakfast Club. When the movie track was released, “Don’t You” immediately went to the number one position on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
Prior to releasing “Don’t You,” Simple Minds had a fair amount of critical success. There is no denying that this particular song was what kicked the door wide open for the band.
Keith Forsey also feels that the song was his greatest achievement and that it changed his life. The song continues to be a hit and has had a lasting effect on the music industry.
We perform this song at our gigs. It’s a brilliant song that we love to do and one that the audience loves to hear.
“Don’t You Forget About Me” is a timeless classic and the reality is we will never “forget” about this song.