"The Height of the Fighting (He-La-Hu)" is a song by British new wave and synth-pop band Heaven 17, released in 1982 as the fifth and final single from their debut album ''

Penthouse and Pavement ''Penthouse and Pavement'' is the debut studio album by English new wave and synth-pop band Heaven 17, released in September 1981 by Virgin Records. "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" was released as a single, but did not achieve char ...

''. It was written by Martyn Ware, Ian Craig Marsh and Glenn Gregory, and produced by Ware and Marsh. "The Height of the Fighting" was remixed for its release as a single, with more aggressive drums plus brass both missing from the album track. The added horn section was performed by

Beggar and Co Beggar and Co (also written Beggar & Co) are a British jazz-funk group formed by Kenny Wellington, David Baptiste and Neville 'Breeze' McKrieth, originally members of the group Light of the World. Overview Beggar and Co's first single was "(S ...

. The song failed to make a chart appearance in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, but did reach number 41 on the ''Record Business'' Top 100 Singles chart. In New Zealand it reached number 20.

Critical reception

Upon release, Red Starr 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 ...

'' considered the single a "pointless rehash of an album track in a truly dreadful cover". They added: "The sooner BEF give up this dead-end synthetic funk and turn their talents back to writing classic stuff like "Dreams of Leaving" and "Radio WXJL" from '' Travelogue'' the better." Sunie of ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...

'' noted: "It doesn't quite match the magnificent "Penthouse and Pavement" single but it's pretty fab nonetheless." In a retrospective review of the album, Dan LeRoy of

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 databas ...

considered the song one of the "standout combinations of witty lyrics and whiplash electro-grooves". Tim O'Neil of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' commented that the song "acts as both a satire of gung-ho militarism and a rallying cry for anti-capitalist insurgency".

Track listing

;7" single (UK release) #"The Height of the Fighting (He-La-Hu)" - 2:55 #"Honeymoon in New York" - 2:12 ;7" single (European release) #"The Height of the Fighting" - 2:59 #"Penthouse and Pavement" - 6:23 ;7" single (New Zealand release) #"Height of the Fighting (He-La-Hu)" - 2:55 #"He-La-Lu" - 2:58 #"Honeymoon in New York" - 2:12 ;12" single #"Height of the Fighting (He-La-Hu)" - 2:55 #"He-La-Lu" - 2:58 #"Honeymoon in New York" - 2:12

Personnel

Heaven 17 * Glenn Gregory - lead vocals, backing vocals * Martyn Ware -

Linn LM-1 The Linn LM-1 Drum Computer is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics and released in 1980. It was the first drum machine to use samples of acoustic drums, and one of the first programmable drum machines. Its designer, the American en ...

programming, backing vocals, producer * Ian Craig Marsh - synthesizer, producer Additional personnel * Nick Patrick - assistant producer, engineer * BilBo - mastering Other * Jill Mumford - artwork

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Height of the Fighting (He-La-Hu) 1981 songs 1982 singles Virgin Records singles Heaven 17 songs Songs written by Martyn Ware Songs written by Glenn Gregory Songs written by Ian Craig Marsh