Spin has an oral history of the creation of Don’t You (Forget About Me) that you will likely find very interesting, as it also has the full demo that Keith Forsey, one of the writers, sang.
What is interesting about the piece, if you don’t know the history of the song, is that Simple Minds didn’t want to record this composition because they didn’t write it, but made a couple of key contributions to its signature sound, that being the breakdown and the use of la la las.
(It was Kerr’s then significant other Chrissie Hynde who prevailed upon him to do it; she would have recorded it but she was pregnant and didn’t want to make a video during her pregnancy.)
It reminded me of an article I read once with Jim Kerr where Lou Reed approached him and asked about why the first movement of his Street Hassle composition went over so well in concerts when Simple Minds played it.
And Kerr said something to the effect of it being that he added more la la la las.
Never underestimate the power of wordless vocalization.
This bit about Chrissie Hynde convincing Jim into doing the song is going to become some urban legend. It isn’t true. The man himself told me so. I’m fighting a losing battle trying to get this rectified. This Spin article has been shared EVERYWHERE. The inaccuracy in facts will persist…sadly.
