We Don’t Need This (Fascist Groove Thang) (1981)

Heaven 17

Pastemagazine:

“When Martin Ware and Craig Marsh left The Human League to form Heaven 17 in 1980, they chose a fascinating song as their debut single. “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang” is an erratic electro-funk dance track that directly addresses fascism and racism and calls out Hitler and then newly-elected U.S. president Ronald Reagan (referring to him as a “Fascist god in motion”). Fearing legal action, the BBC actually banned “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang,” causing it to stall on the U.K. singles chart after barely crossing the Top 50. Although the song’s lyrics oscillate wildly between serious themes (“Have you heard it on the news about this fascist groove thang? / Evil men with racist views spreading all across the land.”) and feel-good dance rhetoric (“Don’t just sit there on your ass / unlock that funky chain dance”), it’s overall anti-fascist denunciation helped the song’s legacy land as more commentary than camp.”