Album · Heaven 17
Penthouse and Pavement by Heaven 17
Penthouse and Pavement is an album by Heaven 17, released in 1981. 3 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 5 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Geisha Boys and Temple Girls”, on 1 list with a best position of #1161.
Penthouse and Pavement, Heaven 17's debut, came out on Virgin on 18 September 1981, a year after Human League co-founders Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh teamed up with singer Glenn Gregory in Sheffield. It's synth-pop with a sharp suit and a sharper tongue: cold machines pushed into warm, funky grooves, and Gregory crooning over the top like a lounge singer who has read the business pages.
"(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" should have been the hit, but a BBC ban helped keep it off the chart. The album didn't need it, climbing to number 14 in the UK and hanging around for 77 weeks, all without the band playing a single gig, since they stayed a studio-only act for years to come. The title track and "Geisha Boys and Temple Girls" complete a sleek, knowing package.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Penthouse and Pavement on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geisha Boys and Temple Girls | 1 | #1161 | – | 2003 | |
| 2 | Penthouse and Pavement | 3 | #436 | – | 1989–2003 | |
| 3 | (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang | 1 | #1371 | – | 2002 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.