"Crushed by the Wheels of Industry" is a song by the British

synthpop 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 a ...

band Heaven 17, released in 1983 as the fifth and final single from their second studio album '' The Luxury Gap''. It was written by Glenn Gregory, Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware, and produced by Marsh and Ware (as British Electric Foundation) and Greg Walsh. It reached No. 17 in the UK and spent seven weeks on the chart. It would be the band's last Top 20 hit in the UK until 1992's "Temptation (Brothers In Rhythm Remix)".

Critical reception

Upon release, Tom Hilbert of ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' commented: "Highly entertaining pop funk with sardonic 'woo-woos' and a cynical jab at society in general. Witty dance music with gormless backing chants and a piano that is everything that Shakatak isn't." '' Number One'' wrote: "Thankfully Heaven 17 have finally clicked and make dance records that you can actually dance to (unlike "Penthouse and Pavement"). Now their stylish sound is pure nourishment for the feet, as well as for the head and heart." Paul Simper for ''Number One'' said: "The threesome did work pretty hard at getting a hit before with fine dance records like "Penthouse and Pavement" and "Play to Win"; "Crushed By the Wheels" is along similar lines and though still less than great it's easily the best of the three they've made as popstars."

Formats

;7" single #"Crushed by the Wheels of Industry (Part I)" - 3:43 #"Crushed by the Wheels of Industry (Part II)" - 3:15 ;12" single #"Crushed by the Wheels of Industry (Parts I & II - Uninterrupted single version)" - 6:58 #"Crushed by the Wheels of Industry (Album version)" - 5:55 #"Crushed by the Wheels of Industry (Extended dance version)" - 6:21 ;12" single (US release) #"Crushed by the Wheels of Industry (Industrial Mix)" - 6:54 #"Crushed by the Wheels of Industry (Album version)" - 5:51 #"Crushed by the Wheels of Industry (Dub version)" - 6:17 ;12" single (Canada release) #"Crushed by the Wheels of Industry (The Industrial version)" - 6:52 #"Crushed by the Wheels of Industry (The Extended dance version)" - 6:20

Personnel

Heaven 17 * Glenn Gregory - vocals * Martyn Ware - synthesizers, backing vocals, producer * Ian Craig Marsh - synthesizers, producer Additional personnel * Greg Walsh - producer, engineer

Charts

References

{{authority control 1983 singles Heaven 17 songs Songs written by Martyn Ware Songs written by Glenn Gregory Songs written by Ian Craig Marsh 1983 songs Virgin Records singles