"Trouble" is a song by the British new wave and synth-pop band

Heaven 17 Heaven 17 are an English new wave and synth-pop band that formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of Martyn Ware (keyboards) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards) (both previously of the Human League), and ...

, which was released in 1987 as the second and final single from their fourth studio album ''

Pleasure One ''Pleasure One'' is the fourth studio album by the English new wave music, new wave and synth-pop band Heaven 17, released on 17 November 1986 by Virgin Records. It was the band's last studio album chart entry within the UK Top 100. Background ...

''. It was written and produced by

Glenn Gregory Glenn Peter Gregory (born 16 May 1958) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as co-founder and lead singer of the new wave and synthpop b ...

Ian Craig Marsh Ian Craig Marsh (born 11 November 1956) is an English musician and composer. He was a founding member of the electronic band the Human League, writing and playing on their first two albums and several singles, until leaving in 1980 to form the ...

and

Martyn Ware Martyn Ware (born 19 May 1956) is an English musician, composer, arranger, record producer, and music programmer. As a founding member of both the Human League and Heaven 17, Ware was partly responsible for hit songs such as "Being Boiled" and " ...

. The song peaked at No. 51 in the UK and spent four weeks on the chart. It was a bigger success in Germany where it reached No. 17. A music video was filmed to promote the single. The 12" single re-titled as "(Big) Trouble".

Critical reception

On its release, Lesley O'Toole 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 '' ...

'' wrote, "Once upon a time, if you didn't own a copy of ' Fascist Groove Thang', you were much too untrendy to be seen associating with. Since then, Heaven 17 have cobbled together the odd pearl of synthesised wisdom, but with decreasing regularity. 'Trouble' does little to alleviate fears that the rot is setting in, being just another mish-mash of unexciting keyboard riffs and irritatingly distinctive Glenn Gregory mouthings." John Lee of the '' Huddersfield Daily Examiner'' gave the song a six out of 10 rating and commented, "Certainly not the greatest Heaven 17 song of all time, 'Trouble' nevertheless chugs along very nicely." Paul Benbow of the ''

Reading Evening Post The ''Reading Post'' (until 2009, the ''Reading Evening Post'') was an English local newspaper covering Reading, Berkshire and surrounding areas. The title page of the paper featured the Maiwand Lion, a famous local landmark at Forbury Gardens. T ...

'' stated, "The jaunty tune and lyrics spat out like machine gun fire don't really go together. Not their best effort." Steve Mitchell of the ''

Nottingham Evening Post The ''Nottingham Post'' (formerly the ''Nottingham Evening Post'') is an English tabloid newspaper which serves Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and parts of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire. The ''Post'' is published Monday to Saturday ...

'' awarded three out of five stars and wrote, "Modern computer-bop that Janice will plug, Peely will scorn and Smitty will spin twice." Andy Rutherford of the ''Gateshead Post'' commented, "A sadly redundant and seemingly endless keyboard dominated funk track from a band who used to write great songs." In a retrospective review of ''Pleasure One'', Aaron Badgley 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 databa ...

praised the "wonderful" "Trouble" as one of the band's best tracks, adding that the "guitar work makes the song itself".

Formats

;7" single #"Trouble" - 4:00 #"Move Out" - 3:19 ;12" single #"(Big) Trouble" - 5:49 #"Trouble (LP version)" - 4:17 #"Move Out" - 3:19 ;12" single (promo) #"Trouble (At Mill Mix)" - 6:42 #"(Big) Trouble (Vocal)" - 5:49 ;12" single (limited edition gatefold) #"(Big) Trouble (Extended Mix)" - 5:51 #"Move Out (Album Mix)" - 3:20 #"Trouble (U.S. Club Mix)" - 6:45 #"Contenders (U.S. Club Mix)" - 7:47

Chart performance

Personnel

;Heaven 17 *

- lead vocals, backing vocals, producer, arranger, mixing, engineer *

- sampler (Emulator II), Mellotron, SP 12 Programming, producer, arranger, mixing, engineer *

- Fairlight programming, producer, arranger, mixing, engineer ;Additional personnel * Tim Cansfield - guitar * Phil Spalding - bass * Brian Tench - mixing * Tim Hunt - engineer *

Bruce Forest The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...

- remixes of "Trouble (At Mill Mix)", "Contenders (U.S. Club Mix)" and "Trouble (U.S. Club Mix)" * Heaven 17, Assorted Images - sleeve design * Peter Anderson - photography

References

{{Heaven 17 1987 singles 1987 songs Heaven 17 songs Songs written by Martyn Ware Songs written by Glenn Gregory Songs written by Ian Craig Marsh