“Fascist Groove Thing” by Heaven 17

Heaven 17 announced themselves with a sneer and a strut: "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" was their first single, put out by Virgin on 13 March 1981 and the first shot from their debut album, Penthouse and Pavement. It grew out of "Groove Thang", an instrumental Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh had made earlier that year for Music for Stowaways under the British Electric Foundation name, and with Glenn Gregory writing the words, all three share the credit.

It's synth-pop that thinks it's funk: several electronic rhythm tracks clatter on top of one another, so the whole thing feels quicker than its actual tempo, while the lyric takes on fascism and racism with a raised eyebrow, dressed up in the slang of the funk dancefloor. The BBC banned it. It still became a minor UK hit, and a minor dance hit in America too.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.