Don't You (Forget About Me)



"Don't You (Forget About Me)" is a 1985 pop song performed by Scottish rock band Simple Minds. The song is best known for being played during the opening and closing credits of the John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. It was written by producer Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff (guitarist and songwriter from the Nina Hagen band).

Recording history
Forsey asked Cy Curnin from The Fixx, Bryan Ferry and Billy Idol to record the song, but all three declined; Idol later performed a cover of it on his 2001 compilation album Greatest Hits. Schiff then suggested Forsey ask Simple Minds who, after refusing as well, agreed under the encouragement of their label, A&M. According to frontman Jim Kerr, the band were reluctant to record the song as they felt they should only record their own material, relenting after persuasion from Kerr's wife at the time, Chrissie Hynde, and a phone call from Forsey in which he expressed his admiration for the band. According to one account, the band "rearranged and recorded 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' in three hours in a north London studio and promptly forgot about it."

Continuing the rock direction recently taken on Sparkle in the Rain but also glancing back at their melodic synthpop past, it caught the band at their commercial peak and, propelled by the success of The Breakfast Club, became a #1 hit in the U.S. and around the world. It is the band's only #1 hit on the U.S. Top Rock Tracks chart, staying atop for three weeks. While only reaching #7 in the UK, it stayed on the charts from 1985 to 1987, one of the longest time spans for any single in the history of the chart.

The song did not appear on the band's subsequent album Once Upon a Time but appeared on the 1992 best-of Glittering Prize 81/92. It has since been a fixture of the band's live sets - with an extended audience participation section during its inclusion on the 2015 tour to promote the band's Big Music album.

Two versions were created for release. A short version of 4:23 appeared on the single and the original motion picture soundtrack album of The Breakfast Club. A longer version of 6:32 was released on 12" single. This version contains longer breakdowns and drum fills, a second appearance of the bridge and a longer ending.

John Leland from Spin wrote that "'Don't You Forget About Me,' a romantic and melancholy dance track, therefore cuts ice both in the living room and on the dance floor."

Music video
The music video, directed by Daniel Kleinman, takes place on a dancing floor in a dark room with a chandelier, a rocking horse, and television sets displaying scenes from The Breakfast Club. The video in YouTube has 62 million views as of March 8, 2017.

In popular culture
"Don't You (Forget About Me)" is heard in film The Breakfast Club, during both the opening and end credits. It also appears in the teen films American Pie, Easy A and Pitch Perfect, the last featuring the song as part of an a cappella medley.

The song was also frequently used in One Tree Hill and became known as the Brulian "Brooke Davis" and "Julian Baker" song.

The song was used in advertisements for the CNN documentary miniseries The Eighties.