Heaven 17 'Penthouse and Pavements' collectors edition to be released

On November 22nd EMI will release a Collectors Edition of Heaven 17's synth-pop masterpiece, Penthouse and Pavements.

Taking their name from a fictional pop group mentioned in Anthony Burgess's novel, A Clockwork Orange, Heaven 17 formed when Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware split from their earlier group, The Human League, and formed the production company British Electric Foundation (BEF). BEF's first recording was a cassette-only album called Music for Stowaways and an LP called Music for Listening To. Shortly after, they completed their line-up when they recruited their friend, photographer Glenn Gregory, as vocalist.

Their debut single (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang attracted some attention and, due to its overtly political lyric, was banned by

BC Radio 1 DJ Mike Read, and neither this nor any other of the four singles taken from the band's debut album Penthouse and Pavement managed

to reach the UK Top 40. The album itself proved to be a minor success and peaked at Number 14 on the UK album chart, and was later certified Gold by the BPI in 1982.

The album has now become an '80s classic and is noted as having picked up the mantle from Kraftwerks' The Man Machine. It is '80s electro-pop with melodies you can hum and tunes you can dance to. This album includes the aforementioned (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang, the funky Penthouse and Pavements and the electro-grooves of The Height of the Fighting.

As well as the original album remastered, the Collectors Edition features a bonus disc of Martyn Ware's newly-found rarities selection, including alternate versions of songs from Penthouse And Pavement ' demos, instrumentals and experimentation - plus some rare BEF experiments. All are organically sourced and lovingly restored using only authentic FX tools from the period:

TRACKLISTING
1. Penthouse And Pavement (Original Demo)
2. (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang (Original Demo)
3. Play To Win (Original Demo Instrumental)
4. Soul Warfare (Original Demo)
5. Are Everything (Original Demo)
6. BEF Ident (Alternate Version)
7. Decline Of The West (Alternate Version)
8. Rise Of The East (Alternate Version)
9. Music To Kill Your Parents By (Alternate Version)
10. Uptown Apocalypse (Alternate Version)
11. A Baby Called Billy (Alternate Version)
12. Rhythmic Experiment 1
13. Rhythmic Experiment 2
14. Boys Of Buddha Experiment
15. At The Height Of The Fighting (Original Rhythm Track)
16. Rhythmic Loop Experiment
17. Funky Experiment
18. Song Experiment
19. Heavy Drum Experiment
20. Play To Win (Original Demo with Vocals)

The band reformed in 1996, and to support the Collectors Edition release, in November they'll be undertaking a tour with the same name in support of the album:

22nd Edinburgh HMV Picture House
23rd Glasgow O2 ABC
25th Manchester Ritz
26th Birmingham HMV Institute
28th London HMV Forum
29th Oxford O2 Academy
30th Brighton Corn Exchange
1st Dec Bristol O2 Academy

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