Chart entered : 21 March 1981
Chart peak : 45 ( 40 in a re-mix in 1993 )
Number of hits : 11
The original Human League did not last for much longer after their debut hit and second album Travelogue. The disagreements between Martyn Ware and Phil Oakey over the future direction of the group meant they could no longer work together. Ian Craig Marsh took Martyn's side, Adrian Wright took Oakey's. Bob Last tried to reconcile them but eventually brokered a deal which meant Phil and Adrian retained the name and all associated debts and commitments while Martyn and Ian were free to set up a new group and collect 1% of the royalties from the next Human League album ( which turned out to be a tidy sum ).
Martyn and Ian's next move was to form a production company , the British Electronic Foundation. They released an instrumental album Music For Stowaways, on cassette only, at the beginning of 1981. The analogue synth sounds are now dated of course but it's still worth a listen. Heaven 17 , named after a fictitious pop group mentioned in A Clockwork Orange was to be the vehicle for their more commercial releases though after their experiences in The Human League there was no intention of taking the band out on the road. They recruited the now-available Glenn Gregory to be their vocalist.
For this first single they took a track from the cassette called "Groove Thang" and added a lyric. Once again the review is lifted from my Albums blog :
The "Penthouse" side starts with " (We Don't Need No ) Fascist Groove Thang" their debut single from early 1981 which was stymied in its progress up the charts by (in another premonition of ZTT) a radio ban initiated by closet Tory Mike Read on the grounds that it was too overtly political. Few songs date the time of their composition as precisely as this with the line "Reagan is President-elect". The song interweaves political observations with dancefloor slogans possibly as a riposte to the New Romantic movement's escapist themes. Despite the fact that the politics are wrong headed (it's well known that fascist groups disintegrate when the democratic Right are in power as last week's local elections proved yet again) and the music isn't dance-friendly at all with its frantic skittering synths and sledgehammer Linn drum beat, it's still a rousing song and a strong statement of intent. The middle eight with John Wilson's bass solo writhing over the top of the brutalist drum machine is startingly raw.
I think you're right that this is reaching towards funk - the guitar and bass are pure Chic - while somehow being un-danceable too! The lyrics are maybe a bit hectoring, but the chorus is a good hook and Gregory was a good enough singer to pull it off. You can't imagine Phil doing it, can you?
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