B.E.F.

The production arm of early synth-popsters Heaven 17 and occasionally a recording entity in its own right, B.E.F. (or British Electric Foundation) was formed by Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh just after their exit from the original lineup of the Human League. Ware and Marsh had formed the Human League in 1977 as a completely electronic synthesizer band. After adding vocalist Philip Oakey and Adrian Wright, the group released the seminal 1978 single "Being Boiled" and two LPs, 1979's Reproduction and the following year's Travelogue. Late in 1980 however, both Ware and Marsh left the band over disagreements about its musical direction. Eager to avoid repeating the mistakes they felt the Human League were making (and would continue to make), the pair incorporated British Electric Foundation as a production team instead of a band. During 1980-81, B.E.F. released two instrumental mini-LPs, Music for Stowaways and Music for Listening To (both had several tracks in common). The only track on either release with any type of vocals (and those quite low in the mix) was "Groove Thang," which featured Glenn Gregory, a friend of the duo and a fellow Sheffield resident. By 1981, the three had formed Heaven 17, remade "Groove Thang" into a more vocal-led track named "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" and stormed the British charts -- even though the single was banned by the BBC. Though Heaven 17's success appeared to circumvent the necessity of B.E.F. as actual recording artists, Ware and Marsh returned in 1982 with the first proper B.E.F. full-length, 1982's Music of Quality and Distinction, Vol. 1. The LP featured synth-pop covers of soul standards with vocal contributions from Tina Turner, Gary Glitter, Sandie Shaw, Billy Mackenzie and Gregory himself. One year later,...