A project from the UK production company B.E.F., this featured the synthesizer duo Ian Craig Marsh (born 11 November 1956, Sheffield, UK) and Martyn Ware (born 19 May 1956, Sheffield, UK) and vocalist Glenn Gregory (born 16 May 1958, Sheffield, UK). Heaven 17’s first UK hit was the dance-orientated ‘(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang’, which reached number 45 in the UK singles chart.
In late 1981, they released their debut album ‘Penthouse and Pavement’, which sold well. Alternating with BEF projects and various guest appearances, Heaven 17 recorded intermittently. In May 1983, they achieved their moment of glory when the single ‘Temptation’ shot to the highest regions of European charts. The track featured guest vocalist Carol Kenyon.
A series of albums followed, but Heaven 17 always appeared a predominantly studio group, whose group name was used irregularly as a brand name to experiment with various new ideas. As producers, they helped Tina Turner and Terence Trent d’Arby scoring hits like ‘Let’s Stay Together’ and ‘Dance Little Sister’.
In the 1990’s Heaven 17 were less productive but did achieve some success with remixes of their old hits.
In November 2001 they joined Kim Wilde and others in the Here & Now Tour 2001. This was reprised two years later in the Here & Now Greatest Hits Tour.