One of the hallmarks of a John Hughes film, so to speak, was the refined soundtrack. The 1980s wouldn’t be the same without the new wave movement and the teen romantic films he created. Sixteen Candles, from 1983, already had many pop hits of the time, but it was The Breakfast Club, from 1985, that solidified the genre.

With a simple plot, but handled with great sensitivity, five students have to spend an entire Saturday in detention at school. They couldn’t be more different from each other, but they had in common feelings of rejection, doubts, pressure, dreams, and the desire for acceptance. Timeless and accurate, The Breakfast Club was immediately born as a classic. However, the song, (Don’t You) Forget About Me, written especially for the soundtrack and an anthem that reflects all teenage aspirations, was rejected even by the band that finally recorded it, Simple Minds. We’ll get to that.

First, let’s consider the impact of Don’t You (Forget About Me), written by Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff, which is huge in the film. In the 1980s, it was common for the main song to open the credits, but in The Breakfast Club, it only appears at the end, when the lyrics are emotional and echo what has already been seen.

Because of MTV, at its peak, the video was one of the most requested and played and mixed the lead singer, Jim Kerr, dancing alone in a room with chandeliers and televisions, with memorable scenes from the film. In other words, those who went to the movies, couldn’t wait to hear the classic “Hey hey hey hey!”, which opens the song. But it only appears when Judd Nelson makes the classic victory gesture, at the end. It’s even more moving because SPOILER ALERT after spending the day getting to know each other, seeing that the search for belonging united the five, they wonder what they would be like when they returned to everyday situations, where they would be separated again by the social structure. They ask themselves: will we forget each other? When the music starts, we have the answer. It’s spine-chilling.

Hey, hey, hey, hey
Ooh, oh

Won’t you come see about me?
I’ll be alone, dancing, you know it baby
Tell me your troubles and doubts
Giving me everything inside and out

And love’s strange so real in the dark
Think of the tender things that we were working on
Slow change may pull us apart
When the light gets into your heart, baby

Don’t you forget about me
Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t
Don’t you forget about me

This classic movie scene would have had a different impact if it had been sung by Brian Ferry or Billy Idol, both of whom were invited to record the song when Simple Minds were not interested. Both of them refused and, at the insistence of John Hughes, they insisted on Simple Minds again. The Scottish band was pressured by the record company and gave in. Their “goodwill” was so great that they recorded the whole thing in just three hours. The record company was right. (Don’t You) Forget About Me is Simple Minds’ biggest hit. Billy Idol also expressed regret to have turned it down when he covered it in 2001.

A song about rejection, about a group of rejects and despised by everyone, could only be an anthem. It has become a cultural reference and has been cited in several films and series since then.

Watch the original video again. A challenge not to start singing and dancing.