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Heaven 17 - Penthouse And Pavement

Music Video
ArtistHeaven 17
SongPenthouse And Pavement
DirectorSteve Barron
IntroNo
OutroNo
Sound MixStereo
Technical Specificationscolour - format unknown

Wiki

Synopsis

Heaven 17 turn their corporate persona into a compact office thriller. At the headquarters of the British Electric Foundation, Glenn Gregory, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh appear as sharply dressed executives preparing to close an important deal. Their polished world of glass, technology and corporate ritual is disrupted by a secretary, played by Emma Relph, whose actions reveal a conspiracy inside the organization. The video blends musical performance with workplace intrigue, presenting the band as stylish business operators while quietly undermining the values of the world they imitate.

Factoids & Trivia

  • The video brings the businessmen depicted on the cover of the 1981 album Penthouse and Pavement to life, extending the record's deliberately corporate visual identity.
  • The setting is presented as the headquarters of the British Electric Foundation, the production company and creative framework associated with Heaven 17.
  • Emma Relph plays the secretary whose actions drive the clip's corporate-espionage storyline.
  • The polished office environment, period electronics and formal suits reinforce the band's satire of early-1980s corporate culture and emerging yuppie style.
  • Heaven 17 treated presentation as part of the music itself. The group retained unusual control over its artwork, clothing, videos and broader image, taking inspiration from acts such as Kraftwerk.
  • The band originally favored music videos over live touring, partly because they believed concerts were financially risky and could compromise their electronic sound. They later acknowledged that their expensive videography may have cost more than touring would have.

Lyrics

Sweat my youth away
With the rules we have to play
Speeding through your magazine
Pistol, pavement, no T.V.
Talk and talk
No time, night time
Burnt inside
Here comes the daylight, here comes my job
Uptown in the penthouse or downtown with the mob
Here comes the night time, here comes my role
Goodbye to the pavement, hello to my soul

Now here comes my job
...
© Heaven 17 - Penthouse And Pavement. This is an excerpt, provided as citation under fair-use.
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