Heaven 17/Martyn Ware/B.E.F

[Pughie]

Electronically Yours Vol. I: My Autobiography





Publication date: 25th August 2022

The long-awaited memoir of The Human League and Heaven 17 legend, Martyn Ware.

This is a music autobiography to remember. This is the story of Martyn Ware.
The Human League and Heaven 17 were among some of the most pioneering bands of the 1980s, with Ware having played an integral role in each of their numerous successes. A young lad from the heart of post-war Sheffield, Ware formed The Human League a few years out of school in his early twenties. Described by David Bowie as 'the future of music', it wasn't long before the band become known for their innovative and infectiously catchy singles such as 'Being Boiled', touring with the likes of Siouxsie and the Banshees and Iggy Pop before Ware's departure. Heaven 17 followed suit, with their soon-to-be classic albums, Penthouse & Pavement and The Luxury Gap, featuring several colossal hits. Ground-breaking icons in new wave and synth pop, both groups remain some of the biggest-selling bands across the UK and worldwide.

In Electronically Yours, Martyn takes us through his incredible route to stardom; from his austere upbringing in various council houses and close teenage friendship with former band mate Phil Oakey, to the white-hot experimentation in the 'Synth Britannia era and his production career, which allowed him to work with some of the world's greatest singers, including Tina Turner. But it's not just his life inside the industry which is compelling; a proud socialist, Martyn writes poignantly about politics - how it can be a soulful, personal, moral duty - and its role in his music creation and Britain today. With charming meditations on culture, humour, travel and sport, Martyn also shares his love of 60s films, explains why Venice is the most beautiful city in the world, and reveals how Sheffield Wednesday has forever been his first and eternal passion.

A huge page-turner and always warmly told, Electronically Yours sees Martyn talk
candidly for the very first time about his extraordinary journey. Discover amusing anecdotes, raw confessions, and moving reflections of a life well and truly lived at the height of the music industry.

Link-
https://www.thefloodgallery.com/product ... 5065762986

I’ve just finished reading my copy,it’s a very good book I would recommend it.
But Volume 2 will be more interesting to Erasure fans as it covers-

[Pughie]

NEW SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT

The brainchild of Martyn Ware and born from the collapse of the original Human League, 80's synth pioneers Heaven 17 have stood the test of time and been an influence on the future of modern music for over thirty years. Their debut 1981 album, 'Penthouse And Pavement', was, and remains, a modern classic. Glenn Gregory and Martyn continue to perform the hits from their overwhelming back catalogue, including 'Temptation' and '(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang', along with unveiling their newer material.

Heaven 17 performs at hmv Empire Coventry Friday 16th June, doors 7pm. 14+ (U16s must be accompanied with an adult).

TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY 25TH 10AM - EVENTIM TICKET LINK BELOW
https://www.eventim-light.com/uk/a/62aa ... 2ae3fcdd6/

[Pughie]

This event was previously listed as ‘Almost Human – A Triptych in 3D’.

The constantly-evolving relationship between humans and technology is the inspiration for this event’s triptych of works curated and performed by Martyn Ware (Heaven 17) and some special guests. The performances will feature a unique three-dimensional sound array configured especially for this concert – this allows for different elements of the compositions to be distributed around the auditorium in a multitude of three dimensional soundstreams.

Featuring guest stars Steve Davis (The Utopia Strong) and Richard Norris (The Grid) with many surprise guests

Date:
Saturday 06 May 2023

Location:
The Octagon Centre 
Western Bank
 Sheffield S10 2TQ

Price:
Full £24 / Concessions & TUoS Staff £20 / Students & Under 30s £16 All tickets are £3 more on the door.

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/booking/ ... rBIWLyoaGn

[Pughie]

[Pughie]

BEF Issue + Martyn Ware ‘Unknowable’ / ‘I Am An Insect’ blue vinyl seven-inch




We have British Electric Foundation on the front of this month's Electronic Sound and an exclusive blue vinyl seven-inch boasting two previously unreleased Martyn Ware tracks to accompany the issue.

Our cover feature is the story of BEF's debut album, 'Music For Stowaways', and it begins at The Human League's HQ in Sheffield in late 1980, with Martyn Ware being ejected from the band and Ian Craig Marsh deciding to leave with him. What followed was a whirlwind year, with Martyn and Ian releasing 'Stowaways', initially only on cassette, and at the same time hooking up with Glenn Gregory and getting to work on Heaven 17's 'Penthouse And Pavement' album. "We wanted to present this notion that you were entering our universe," says Martyn. "We were creating an alternative fantasy existence, because the real world – I mean, I was living in a two-bedroom council house – had no glamour to it. At all.”

This month's other lead interviews include Sparks, Penelope Trappes, Anne Clark, Nick Rhodes, Nathan Fake, Gilroy Mere, Trees Speak and Richard Anthony Hewson, the man who gave his initials to The RAH Band. We also have a lengthy piece about Ryuichi Sakamoto, whose death was announced a few weeks ago. Given his broad catalogue of groundbreaking and enriching work over a 45-year career – with Yellow Magic Orchestra, as a solo artist, and as a frequent collaborator – Sakamoto's influence can't be overstated. The electronic world already feels like a poorer place without him.



To accompany the issue we have an exclusive blue vinyl seven-inch from Martyn Ware. Neither of the two tracks on the record has ever been made commercially available before now. The A-side is 'Unknowable', a sumptuous soundscape packed with shards of twinkling melodies and propelled by effortlessly chilled beats. Turn the disc over for 'I Am An Insect', another captivating instrumental, this one vibrating with the sound of hundreds of little beasties buzzing around and beetling about. Both pieces were originally created by Illustrious, Martyn's 3D sound company, and together they add up to what we think is one of the best records we've ever released.

As with all of our music releases, this record is strictly limited and only available to readers of Electronic Sound, so be sure you get your copy straight away.



https://electronicsound.squarespace.com ... 3eca76445f

[Cesar]

[electronicsound.co.uk] Podcast: Martyn Ware – Electronically Yours

Electronic Sound co-founder Mark Roland explores the world of BEF with Heaven 17’s Martyn Ware

César

[Pughie]

https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/heaven-1 ... ircid=7559

https://www.gigsandtours.com/tour/heave ... B7DyXG4tjA

[Pughie]

https://www.gigantic.com/heaven-17-tick ... 2025-08-01

[Pughie]

[Pughie]

SDE EXCLUSIVE • DEBUT STUDIO ALBUM FROM 1981 • 2026 DOLBY ATMOS MIX • 2026 5.1 MIX • 2026 STEREO MIX • INSTRUMENTALS • ORIGINAL STEREO MIX • REGION-FREE BLU-RAY • #59 IN THE SDE SURROUND SERIES • APPROVED BY HEAVEN 17



"The best it has ever sounded" - B.E.F & Heaven 17 co-founder Martyn Ware
Heaven 17's debut album Penthouse and Pavement is now available to pre-order on SDE exclusive blu-ray order, newly remixed in Dolby Atmos, 5.1 and stereo by David Kosten.

The album features the singles '(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang', 'Play to Win', 'Penthouse and Pavement' and 'The Height of the Fighting' and as well as being commercially successful (it was a top 20 hit and remained in the top 100 for 77 weeks) the record was almost universally critically acclaimed.

In newly commissioned sleeve notes for this edition, The Guardian's head rock and pop critic, Alexis Petridis, says: "45 years on, Penthouse And Pavement remains a landmark, the kind of album documentaries have been made about, a high watermark from one of pop’s greatest eras, the perfect encapsulation of the surfeit of ideas and innovations that flowed through British pop in the post-punk period"


David Kosten, who in recent times has impressed immersive audio fans with stunning Atmos Mixes of Propaganda's A Secret Wish, Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked and Thompson Twins' Into The Gap, has worked his magic on Penthouse and Pavement, rebuilding the album in stereo from the original analogue multi-track tapes and then creating highly immersive Dolby Atmos and 5.1 Surround Mixes allowing all the cutting-edge technology from 1981 and the dancefloor-focused rhythms room to breath in three dimensions. David's new stereo mix is also fantastically dynamic and unlimited.

Martyn Ware, whose interest in immersive audio goes back 20 years, attended approval sessions in person at Kosten's West London studio was bowled over, saying that in Atmos the album was "the best it has ever sounded".

The SDE exclusive blu-ray includes SEVEN audio streams of the album, including a full set of instrumentals, released for the first time.

Penthouse and Pavement 2026 Dolby Atmos Mix (48/24)
Penthouse and Pavement 2026 5.1 Mix (96/24)
Penthouse and Pavement 2026 Stereo Mix (96/24)
Penthouse and Pavement 2026 Dolby Atmos Instrumental Mix (48/24)
Penthouse and Pavement 2026 5.1 Instrumental Mix (96/24)
Penthouse and Pavement 2026 Instrumental Stereo Mix (96/24)
Penthouse and Pavement 1981 Original Stereo Mix (TBC)

The Penthouse and Pavement blu-ray is #59 in the SDE Surround Series will be packaged similarly to previous editions and ships with a free, collectible SDE Surround Series slipcase. It comes with a 12-page booklet with Alexis Petridis' new sleeve notes.

This is a limited edition and has a 14 day pre-order window, which closes on Tuesday 24 February 2026. Availability cannot be guaranteed after that date.

Penthouse and Pavement will be released on 24 April 2026, by SDE Records.



SDE EXCLUSIVE • 1983 ALBUM • 2026 DOLBY ATMOS MIX • 2026 5.1 MIX • 2026 STEREO MIX • INSTRUMENTALS • ORIGINAL STEREO MIX • REGION-FREE BLU-RAY • #60 IN THE SDE SURROUND SERIES • APPROVED BY HEAVEN 17



"The best it has ever sounded" - B.E.F & Heaven 17 co-founder Martyn Ware
Heaven 17's 1983 album The Luxury Gap is now available to pre-order on SDE exclusive blu-ray order, newly remixed in Dolby Atmos, 5.1 and stereo by David Kosten.

One of the best-selling albums of 1983 The Luxury Gap features the band's defining hit single 'Temptation' along with 'Let Me Go', 'Come Live With Me' and 'Crushed by the Wheels of Industry'.

In newly commissioned sleeve notes for this edition, The Guardian's head rock and pop critic, Alexis Petridis, says: "Everything on The Luxury Gap was irresistible. It was the kind of album where every track sounds like a hit single... An album that skilfully synthesized the two distinct elements of its predecessor – electronics and funk – into a sound that was simultaneously modern but warm, a firm underlining of Heaven 17’s skill as pop craftsmen".


David Kosten, who in recent times has impressed immersive audio fans with stunning Atmos Mixes of Propaganda's A Secret Wish, Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked and Thompson Twins' Into The Gap has worked his magic on The Luxury Gap, rebuilding the album in stereo from the original analogue multi-track tapes and then creating massively immersive Dolby Atmos and 5.1 Surround Mixes.

David's new stereo mix is also fantastically dynamic and unlimited.

Martyn Ware, whose interest in immersive audio goes back 20 years, attended approval sessions in person at Kosten's West London studio was bowled over, saying it was "beautiful work" and as with Penthouse and Pavement he exclaimed that the album, in Atmos, was "the best it has ever sounded".

The SDE exclusive blu-ray includes SEVEN audio streams of the album, including a full set of instrumentals, released for the first time.

The Luxury Gap 2026 Dolby Atmos Mix (48/24)
The Luxury Gap 2026 5.1 Mix (96/24)
The Luxury Gap 2026 Stereo Mix (96/24)
The Luxury Gap 2026 Dolby Atmos Instrumental Mix (48/24)
The Luxury Gap 2026 5.1 Instrumental Mix (96/24)
The Luxury Gap 2026 Instrumental Stereo Mix (96/24)
The Luxury Gap 1981 Original Stereo Mix (TBC)

The Luxury Gap blu-ray is #60 in the SDE Surround Series will be packaged similarly to previous editions and ships with a free, collectible SDE Surround Series slipcase. It comes with a 12-page booklet with Alexis Petridis' new sleeve notes.

A bundle with a blu-ray of 1981's PENTHOUSE AND PAVEMENT is also available.

This is a limited edition and has a 14 day pre-order window, which closes on Tuesday 24 February 2026. Availability cannot be guaranteed after that date.

The Luxury Gap will be released on 24 April 2026, by SDE Records.

https://www.thesdeshop.com/collections/heaven-17