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Temptation (Heaven 17 song)

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"Temptation"
Single by Heaven 17
from the album The Luxury Gap
B-side
  • "We Live So Fast",
  • "Who'll Stop the Rain"
Released8 April 1983[1]
Recorded1983
Genre
Length
  • 3:34 (album version)
  • 3:08 (7-inch version)
  • 4:37 (12-inch version)
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Heaven 17 singles chronology
"Let Me Go"
(1982) 		"Temptation"
(1983) 		"Who'll Stop The Rain"
(1983)
Music video
"Temptation" on YouTube
Alternative cover
1992 re-release: Brothers in Rhythm Remix

"Temptation" is a single by British band Heaven 17 featuring Carol Kenyon, originally released in April 1983 by Virgin Records, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart.[5] This was the second single to be taken from their second album, The Luxury Gap (1983), after "Let Me Go" in November 1982. It was written by Glenn Gregory, Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware, and produced by B.E.F. and Greg Walsh. The music video for the song was directed by Steve Barron. "Temptation" was certified silver by the BPI in May 1983,[1] for sales exceeding 250,000 copies, subsequently listed by the Official Charts Company as the 34th best-selling single of 1983 in the UK.[6]

Composition and recording

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Martyn Ware explained the subject matter of the song as "I woke up one morning and thought I've got to write a song about sex, I've never written a song about sex. So the song is about rising sexual tension; it has chords that keep going up like an [M. C.] Escher staircase and in the end there's this big release."[7] Glenn Gregory later recalled that he laughed "when Martyn walked in and said he had this great idea for a song based on the Lord’s Prayer with a never-ending chord structure" (the line "lead us not into temptation" is taken from the Lord's Prayer).[8]

Carol Kenyon provided guest vocals on the recording and continued to work with the band on the Pleasure One and Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho albums. The song featured a 60-piece orchestra, arranged and conducted by John Wesley Barker, which was also featured on the single "Come Live with Me" and a third track on the parent album The Luxury Gap. In a 2016 interview, Ware said that he told Barker that he wanted the arrangement to be "sweeping and expressionistic", giving the theme from The Big Country as an example of the kind of sound required.[8]

Performance

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Heaven 17 performed this song on Top of the Pops' 1000th edition in 1983.[9]

Critical reception

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Upon its release, the song was poorly received by Smash Hits reviewer Dave Rimmer who wrote: "The boys from the BEF seem hell-bent on making brilliant disco records. Unfortunately this isn't one of them. They've got all the right ideas, but seem to get them in the wrong order. And the smoochy vocal intro is horrid."[10]

Retrospectively, Record Collector reviewer Daryl Easlea stated in 2012 that "'Temptation' remains the best Northern soul single written in another era",[11] and described it in an earlier review for the BBC as typical of the "superiority" of Heaven 17's "hooks and nuances, fluid funk and sultry soul."[12]

Remix and re-recording

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In 1992, the song was remixed by Brothers in Rhythm and released on 9 November 1992.[13] This version charted at No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart,[5] and reached No. 1 in the UK Dance Chart. The 1992 remix of "Temptation" was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in January 1993 for sales exceeding 200,000 copies.[1]

In 2008, the song was re-recorded for Heaven 17's album Naked as Advertised with Billie Godfrey as guest vocalist. On 19 October 2010, Heaven 17 performed the song on Later... with Jools Holland on BBC Two in the United Kingdom.[14]

Music video

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The music video for "Temptation" was directed by Irish-British filmmaker Steve Barron. It shows the band dressed in black in drab surroundings in a style of German Expressionism, and has segments of what looks like an abstract office interview between vocalist Glenn Gregory and actress Gillian de Terville (who lip syncs Carol Kenyon's vocals). Kenyon does not appear in the video because of a disagreement over appearance money.[8]

Personnel

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Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[15]

Heaven 17

Additional personnel

  • Greg Walsh - producer, engineer
  • Carol Kenyon - vocals
  • John Wesley Barker - orchestral arranger and conductor

Charts

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Original version

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Chart (1983) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[16][17] 38
France (SNEP)[18] 20
Ireland (IRMA)[19] 3
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[20] 27
Netherlands (MegaCharts)[21] 25
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[22] 15
UK Singles (OCC)[5] 2
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[23] 34
West Germany (Media Control Charts)[24] 11

Brothers in Rhythm remix

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Chart (1992–1993) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[25] 64
Europe (European Hit Radio)[26] 36
Germany (Media Control Charts)[27] 42
Ireland (IRMA)[19] 9
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[28] 16
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[29] 18
UK Singles (OCC)[5] 4
UK Dance (Music Week)[30] 1

Cover versions

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At the NME Awards 2007, Jarvis Cocker and Beth Ditto performed "Temptation", and released it as a charity single.[31]

Cradle of Filth covered the song in 2006 on their album Thornography.

Heaven 17 collaborated on a new performance of the song with La Roux at Maida Vale Studios on 26 January 2010 for BBC 6 Music.[32] At Glastonbury on 25 June 2010, Glenn Gregory was invited on stage to perform the version again with La Roux during their set.[33]

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"Temptation" was used in the 1996 film Trainspotting and appears on the second volume of the official soundtrack.[34] It was also used in a 2010 Plusnet advert, where the band were featured in a tongue-in-cheek appearance performing the song.[35][36]

In September 2024, Ware said Rockstar Games had asked to license "Temptation" for its upcoming video game Grand Theft Auto VI for US$7,500 per writer; Ware countered with an offer for US$75,000 or "a reasonable royalty" but said Rockstar declined. Ware responded "Go fuck yourself", citing the estimated US$8.6 billion revenue earned by the game's predecessor, Grand Theft Auto V.[37][38][39] Naomi Pohl, the general secretary of the Musicians' Union, felt Ware's reaction was unsurprising and said the game's high profile would not necessarily translate to higher exposure for the song, noting that "streaming doesn't sustain careers".[40]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "BPI > Certified Awards > Search results for Heaven 17". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  2. ^ Sheffield, Rob (24 February 2023). "The 100 Best Songs of 1983, the Year Pop Went Crazy". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 4 September 2023. They went on to form the equally brilliant Heaven 17, who crafted synth-pop classics like "Temptation," "Let Me Go," and "We Live So Fast.
  3. ^ Owen, Tom (30 April 2024). "The top 25 greatest 1980s synthpop songs ever". Smooth Radio. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  4. ^ Evans, Richard (6 August 2024). "1983.4". Listening to the Music the Machines Make: Inventing Electronic Pop 1978-1983. Omnibus Press. p. 450. ISBN 978-1-915841-45-2.
  5. ^ a b c d "Official Charts > Heaven 17". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  6. ^ "Official Top 40 Best Selling Singles of 1983". UK Official Charts.com. The Official UK Charts Company. 19 March 2021.
  7. ^ Martyn Ware interview, BBC Radio 2 Sounds of the 80s, Saturday 2 May 2015
  8. ^ a b c Watkins, Jack (26 July 2016). "Heaven 17: how we made Temptation". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  9. ^ "The Story of 1983". Top of the Pops. 6 January 2017. 31 minutes in. BBC. BBC 4. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  10. ^ Rimmer, Dave (14–27 April 1983). "Singles". Smash Hits. Vol. 5, no. 8. p. 23.
  11. ^ Daryl Easlea The Luxury Gap Collectors Edition, Record Collector, issue 407 7 October 2012
  12. ^ Daryl Easlea Heaven 17 Penthouse And Pavement, The Luxury Gap, How Men Are Review bbc.co.uk 2006
  13. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 7 November 1992. p. 19.
  14. ^ "BBC Two - Later... with Jools Holland, Series 37, Episode 6". BBC.
  15. ^ The Luxury Gap (liner notes). Heaven 17. Virgin Records. 1983. V2253.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ "Countdown ARIA Chart – Week Ending 25th September, 1983". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  17. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 137. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and 19 June 1988.
  18. ^ "InfoDisc : Tout les Titres par Artiste". Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  19. ^ a b "Irish Chart search results for 'Temptation'" (JPG). I.imgur.com. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  20. ^ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 26, 1983". Radio538.nl. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
  21. ^ "Heaven 17 – Temptation". Dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 January 2009.
  22. ^ "Heaven 17 – Temptation (song)". Charts.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  23. ^ "allmusic – Heaven 17 – Billboard singles". Retrieved 18 January 2009.
  24. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Heaven 17 - Temptation (single)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  25. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  26. ^ "EHR Top 40" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 5. 30 January 1993. p. 46. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  27. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Heaven 17 - Temptation [Brothers In Rhythm Remix] (single)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  28. ^ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 5, 1993". Radio538.nl. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
  29. ^ "Heaven 17 – Temptation (Brothers in Rhythm Remix)". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
  30. ^ "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 21 November 1992. p. 18. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  31. ^ "Jarvis Cocker, Gossip's Beth Ditto Cut Charity Single". Pitchforkmedia.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2008. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
  32. ^ "BBC - 6 Music - Heaven 17 and La Roux Live". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  33. ^ "La Roux: 'Despite saying nobody likes him, I want to see Kanye West at Glastonbury'". Nme.com. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  34. ^ Hollywood, Mike (12 September 2015). "Trainspotting To Return?". Everythingsgonegreen.blogspot.com. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  35. ^ "Heaven 17 - History". Heaven17.com. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  36. ^ "Music in Plusnet TV Adverts & Commercials , download mp3s by Heaven 17 from iTunes, Amazon & Play.com". www.songofthesalesman.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  37. ^ Pilley, Max (8 September 2024). "Heaven 17 reject $7500 offer from 'Grand Theft Auto VI' for use of 'Temptation'". NME. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  38. ^ Blake, Vikki (8 September 2024). "Heaven 17 songwriter tells Rockstar to 'go f**k yourself' after 'iniquitous' GTA 6 royalties offer". Eurogamer. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  39. ^ Prada, Luis (9 September 2024). "Actual Former Rock Star Blows Up 'GTA 6' Offer to License a Song for $7,500, After 'GTA 5' Grossed $9 Billion". Vice. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  40. ^ Richardson, Tom (10 September 2024). "Grand Theft Audio? The tricky business of music and gaming". BBC News. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
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