{"id":23966,"date":"2016-11-02T21:33:49","date_gmt":"2016-11-02T20:33:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=23966"},"modified":"2016-11-06T10:45:40","modified_gmt":"2016-11-06T09:45:40","slug":"back-to-the-future-synth-pioneers-heaven-17-perform-1981-classic-penthouse-and-pavement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2016\/11\/back-to-the-future-synth-pioneers-heaven-17-perform-1981-classic-penthouse-and-pavement\/","title":{"rendered":"BACK TO THE FUTURE – Synth pioneers Heaven 17 Perform 1981 Classic Penthouse And Pavement"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"heaven-17-live\"<\/p>\n

For a little over an hour on Sunday a packed O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire was taken back in time to 1981 – when Dallas <\/strong><\/em>was TV gold and leather ties, wedge haircuts and ultra-thin ponytails were all the rage.<\/h4>\n

Margaret Thatcher was in power, there were riots on the streets of Brixton and Toxteth and a Sheffield synth band was releasing its debut album after two members broke ranks and split from the\u00a0Human League.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The band they founded was Heaven 17\u00a0<\/strong>and the album was\u00a0Penthouse and Pavement<\/strong><\/em>, which celebrated its 35th anniversary this year.<\/p>\n

Emerging to a snatch of dialogue from Stanley\u00a0Kubrick<\/strong>‘s\u00a0nightmarish\u00a0sci-fi\u00a0A Clockwork Orange<\/strong><\/em>, <\/em>original members\u00a0Glenn Gregory\u00a0<\/strong>and Martyn Ware –\u00a0<\/strong>augmented by backing singers and a second synth – launched straight into the album’s first track and first single\u00a0Fascist Groove Thang<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

The years then fell away as the band played the whole album in order, with Ware and Gregory clearly revelling in the atmosphere and refusing to take themselves too seriously.<\/p>\n

It was a night for nostalgia, but at the same time it was striking how well the songs had held up over the years – tracks like Play To Win, Let’s All Make A Bomb<\/strong><\/em> and\u00a0The Height of the Fighting\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>retaining the bite and fire that made H17 such an interesting proposition all those years ago.<\/p>\n

There was much between song banter and more than a few\u00a0sly digs at the expense of old sparring partner Phil Oakey<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Gregory revealed that despite the animosity in the wake of Ware and H17 co-founder\u00a0I<\/strong>an Craig Marsh<\/strong>‘s departure from Human League, the two bands continued to share a studio.<\/p>\n

H17 worked on\u00a0Penthouse and Pavement <\/em>on the night shift from 10pm-10am, while HL took over on days completing tracks for the\u00a0Dare\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>album.<\/p>\n

\"penthouse-and-pavement-1981-heaven-17\"<\/p>\n

Despite all this, Gregory wasn’t too grand to tackle Oakey’s oeuvre, as the band followed the climax to their rendition of\u00a0Penthouse and Pavement<\/em> with a towering version of\u00a0Being Boiled<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

He would also return later to perform\u00a0a knockabout cover of\u00a0HL’s massive hit\u00a0Don’t You Want Me Baby\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>on acoustic guitar.<\/p>\n

“You’ll wait a long time to hear Phil Oakey cover a Heaven 17 song,” quipped Ware dryly.<\/p>\n

After a short interval the band transformed into Heaven 17’s production imprint British<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Electric Foundation\u00a0<\/strong>for a series of eclectic guest performances by The Farm<\/strong>‘s Peter Hooten<\/strong>, soul diva\u00a0Mari Wilson <\/strong>and\u00a0Sex Pistols’\u00a0<\/strong>bassist\u00a0Glen Matlock<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Inevitably some of the momentum of the first half was lost and the crowd became a little restless, but it was still great to hear Neasden’s finest Wilson tackle the Fontella Bass\u00a0<\/strong>classic\u00a0Rescue Me\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>along with her own hit\u00a0Just What I’ve Always Wanted<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Matlock lent a\u00a0Joe Brown<\/strong>-ish rockabilly twang to\u00a0the Pistols’\u00a0Pretty Vacant, <\/strong><\/em>before tossing in a surprise cover of\u00a0Pharrell Williams’\u00a0Happy<\/em><\/strong>, while Hooten contributed\u00a0All Together Now<\/strong><\/em> and a passable cover of\u00a0Bankrobber\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>by\u00a0The Clash.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gregory returned for a fantastic fully electronic version of\u00a0Wichita Lineman\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>made famous by\u00a0Glen Campbell <\/strong>and a fun version of M<\/strong>‘s Pop Muzik\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>as a homage to second synth player\u00a0Berenice Scott<\/strong>‘s father\u00a0Robin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The whole company returned for a cover of Wonderful Life <\/strong><\/em>in\u00a0tribute to\u00a0Black<\/strong>‘\u00a0s\u00a0Colin Vearncombe<\/strong>, who died earlier this year.<\/p>\n

A titanic version of\u00a0Temptation\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>then sent the assembled throng home happy in the knowledge that they’d been right to risk cold, traffic and dodgy knees for this charming jaunt\u00a0down memory lane.<\/p>\n