"Sunset Now" is a song by the British new wave and

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

band

Heaven 17 Heaven 17 are an English new wave and synth-pop band that formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of Martyn Ware (keyboards) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards) (both previously of the Human League), ...

, which was released in 1984 as the first single from their third studio album ''

How Men Are ''How Men Are'' is the third studio album by English synth-pop band Heaven 17, released on 24 September 1984 by Virgin Records. The album peaked at No. 12 in the UK and was certified Silver (60,000 copies sold) by the BPI in October 1984. Thre ...

''. It was written by

Glenn Gregory Glenn Peter Gregory (born 16 May 1958) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as co-founder and lead singer of the new wave and synthpop b ...

Ian Craig Marsh Ian Craig Marsh (born 11 November 1956) is an English musician and composer. He was a founding member of the electronic band the Human League, writing and playing on their first two albums and several singles, until leaving in 1980 to form the ...

and

Martyn Ware Martyn Ware (born 19 May 1956) is an English musician, composer, arranger, record producer, and music programmer. As a founding member of both the Human League and Heaven 17, Ware was partly responsible for hit songs such as " Being Boiled" and ...

, and produced by Marsh and Ware (

British Electric Foundation B.E.F. (British Electric Foundation) was a band/production company formed by former Human League members Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh which became largely eclipsed by its best-known project, Heaven 17 (with lead singer Glenn Gregory). Hist ...

) and Greg Walsh. It reached No. 24 in the UK, remaining on the charts for six weeks on. A music video was filmed to promote the single.

Critical reception

Upon release, Adrian Thrills of ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music journalism, music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine tha ...

'' stated: "It is difficult to take an active dislike to Heaven 17, but it is even harder to find anything other than flat, flawless worthinness in their music. I'd love "Sunset Now" if I could, but it tells me nothing about the frenzy of political struggle or even how I feel about my all-time favourite dancer. It is merely another record, another numb artefact. I guess the fairlight is just not the instrument from which dreams are made." Andy Coyne for '' Sounds'' wrote: "Hardly a great achievement from the creators of "Fascist Groove Thang" but as pop fare it's strong enough. I know this is going to really irritate after about two weeks. Oh, what could have been." Paul Simper from ''

Number One Number One most commonly refers to: * 1 (number) Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to: Music Albums * ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song * ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song * ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC * ''n.1' ...

'' commented: "More happy returns. A year on, Heaven 17 seem to have refined the mannered funk of "Crushed By The Wheels". "Sunset Now" sees Glenn Gregory in fine voice, with Afrodiziak helping out on backing vocals, and points to an excellent third album in September."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

retrospectively said: ""Sunset Now", "Flamedown" and the brilliant "This Is Mine" are just a few of the reasons for this album's greatness".

Formats

;7" single #"Sunset Now" - 3:40 #"Counterforce" - 3:02 ;12" single #"Sunset Now (Extended version)" - 5:21 #"Flamedown" - 3:14 #"Counterforce" - 3:02 #"Sunset Now (Album version)" - 3:40 #"Counterforce II" - 3:08 ;12" single (US release) #"Sunset Now (LP version)" - 3:40 #"Counterforce 1" - 3:02 #"Sunset Now (Extended version)" - 5:21 ;Cassette single #"Sunset Now (Album version)" - 3:42 #"Counterforce" - 3:02 #"Sunset Now (Extended version)" - 5:20 #"Flamedown" - 3:14 #"Counterforce" - 3:02 #"Sunset Now (Album version)" - 3:42 #"Counterforce II" - 3:07 First two tracks not credited on cover.

Chart performance

Personnel

;Heaven 17 *

- lead vocals, backing vocals *

- LinnDrum programming, backing vocals, producer *

- Fairlight synthesizer, producer ;Additional personnel * Greg Walsh - Fairlight programming, producer *

Afrodiziak Afrodiziak was a British singing group composed of Caron Wheeler, Claudia Fontaine, and later Naomi Thompson, that was active in the 1980s. As a duo, Wheeler and Fontaine were best known for performing backing vocals on the Jam's final single ...

- backing vocals

References

{{Authority control 1984 singles Heaven 17 songs Songs written by Martyn Ware Songs written by Glenn Gregory Songs written by Ian Craig Marsh 1984 songs Arista Records singles Virgin Records singles