Penthouse and Pavement

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Professional reviews
Penthouse and Pavement

Studio album by Heaven 17
Released	September 1981
Recorded	Sheffield, Maison Rouge
Genre	Synthpop
Length	50:31 ¹
Label	Virgin Records
Producer(s)	British Electric Foundation
All Music Guide [1]
Heaven 17 chronology
	Penthouse and Pavement (1981)	The Luxury Gap (1983)

Penthouse and Pavement is the acclaimed debut album by the group Heaven 17 and considered one of the first concept albums of the 1980s.

The first single, (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang, best demonstrates the left-wing outlook of the lyrics, criticising Britain at the beginning of the 1980s under Thatcher and the rise of the Yuppie. Other themes explored include nuclear war, religious extremism and American influence in the world.

Unlike the seemingly 'cold' music of other electronic bands, Heaven 17 drew on R&B and funk to create pop-friendly, danceable hooks. Whilst the singles charted poorly, the album charted at No. 14 and remained in the Top 75 for 76 weeks.

1 Track listing
2 Personnel
3 Production
4 Charts
5 Notes

[edit] Track listing

Pavement Side

"(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" – 4:20
"Penthouse and Pavement" – 6:23
"Play to Win" – 3:37
"Soul Warfare" – 5:04

Penthouse Side

"Geisha Boys and Temple Girls" – 4:33
"Let's All Make a Bomb" – 4:03
"The Height of the Fighting" – 3:01
"Song With No Name" – 3:36
"We're Going to Live for a Very Long Time" – 3:15 ¹

Bonus tracks on 1997 re-release

"I'm Your Money" (Extended Mix) – 5:10
"Play to Win" (Extended Mix) – 7:29

Bonus tracks on 2006 remastered re-release

"Groove Thang (B.E.F.)" (Martyn Ware, Ian Craig Marsh, Glenn Gregory) – 4:07
"Are Everything (12" Version)" (Pete Shelley) – 4:28
"I'm Your Money (12" Version)" (Martyn Ware, Ian Craig Marsh, Glenn Gregory) – 5:11
"Decline Of The West (B.E.F.)" (Martyn Ware, Ian Craig Marsh) – 7:17
"Honeymoon In New York (B.E.F.)" (Martyn Ware, Ian Craig Marsh) – 2:52

[edit] Personnel

Heaven 17:

Glenn Gregory - Vocals
Ian Craig Marsh - Synthesisers, Saxophone, Percussion
Martyn Ware - Synthesisers, Piano, Percussion and Backing Vocals

... and:

Josie James - Vocals on Penthouse and Pavement
Steve Travell - Piano on Soul Warfare
The Boys of Buddha - Synthetic Horns
John Wilson - Bass guitar, Guitar and Guitar Synthesisers on Pavement Side
Ray Smith - Cover painting

[edit] Production

Engineer and Assistant to the Producers: Peter Walsh
Engineer: Steve Rance
Executive Manipulator: Bob Last

[edit] Charts

Album

Year	Chart (UK)	Position
September 1981	Pop Albums	14

Singles

Year	Single	Chart (UK)	Position
March 6 1981	(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang	Pop Singles	45
May 1981	I'm Your Money	Pop Singles	Failed to Chart
August 1981	Play to Win	Pop Singles	46
November 14 1981	Penthouse and Pavement	Pop Singles	57
February 1982	The Height of the Fighting (He-La-Hu)	Pop Singles	???

[edit] Notes

¹ - The last track on the original LP release, We're Going to Live for a Very Long Time, was recorded up to and onto the runoff groove. The runtime of this track and the album is therefore infinite since the runoff is a loop.
All tracks mixed at Red Bus Studios except (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang and Let's All Make a Bomb which were mixed at The Townhouse.

Heaven 17

Glenn Gregory | Ian Craig Marsh | Martyn Ware

Discography