What song did you dance to at Prom? #RiverProm

So a lot goes into the preparations of Prom.  These days the poor kids have to come up with extravagant prom proposals which make some marriage proposals seem low key.   There is the coordination of tuxes and dresses, there is flowers to be bought, transportation to be arranged and most importantly decisions as to which other couples you want to hang with.

Pre-prom gatherings are full of tons of photo opportunities with pics on your own, pics with your date and then the all important group pic.   By the time you get to actual prom it can be a bit anti-climactic!  Now I know proms have upped their game in recent year but back in 1985 Prom was often just like an average wedding reception but without the open bar.  Kids sat around tables awkwardly eating mass produced meals until someone was brave enough to be the first on the dance floor.  Now usually this would be a group of girls … all in a circle starting the dancing off but by the end of the night you could tell the fellas wanted to bust a move too.

So tonight’s question is about the music that was played.   What song was played at your high school prom? For me it was an easy answer because the song below was mega.  It was our class song and everyone loved it.  So enjoy the lovely lads from Simple Minds singing a Breakfast Club favorite…. Don’t You (Forget About Me)  – Swing over to Facebook and tell your Prom tune and read a little history of the Simple Minds classic below.

There were rumors about “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” being written for Billy Idol, but Keith Forsey (the songs writer) denies them, saying that it was indeed written for Simple Minds. He says that he and his fellow writer were big Simple Minds fans, but the group turned the song down. The record company then wanted Corey Hart, who had a huge hit at the time with “Sunglasses at Night,” but Keith thought he wasn’t the guy, so they offered the song to Cy Curnin from The Fixx, Bryan Ferry, and Billy Idol, but all three declined; (Idol did later perform a cover of it on his 2001 compilation album Greatest Hits.)  The story continues with Jim Kerr’s wife at the time, Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders encouraging the band to reconsider the song (she’s a smart lady).  They ended up recording in three hours in a north London studio and never gave it much thought.  That is usually how mega hits come about!!