Robbed hit of the week 11/10/14 - Psychedelic Furs' "Pretty In Pink"...

The Psychedelic Furs - "Pretty In Pink" (1986 Version)
from the album Pretty In Pink (Original Soundtrack) (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #41

This week's "robbed hit" comes from the British new wave band Psychedelic Furs, who also just missed the top-40 in America in 1983 with "Love My Way".  However their clout as a musical force was cemented when their 1981 single "Pretty In Pink" was the inspiration for the John Hughes "Brat Pack" movie of the same name in 1986. The Furs went and re-recorded the song, which originally went to #23 in the UK, for the soundtrack, updating the sound and making it more poppy and radio-friendly, and was released after the top-10 success of "If You Leave" by compatriots Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark from the movie...

Although the song was gussied up for pop consumption, "Pretty In Pink" stalled right under the top-40 in America at #41 in May of 1986. In their native England the song had an even better go than in 1981, landing at #18 on the UK pop chart. However the exposure did set them up for their first top-40 American hit the following year with "Heartbreak Beat".

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To compare, here's the original version from 1981, which I prefer for its raw earnestness...

Finally, here's the band live in concert...