Believe it or not, in a little over four decades together, England’s Heaven 17 never stepped foot on American shores until now, which meant the duo comprised of keyboardist Martyn Ware (also a founding member of The Human League) and singer Glenn Gregory (featured on Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”) had a lot of catching up to do.

It turns out the Park West was more than ready to receive the group’s new wave and early electronic experiments when the “We Don’t Need This Fascist Groove Thang” Tour finally arrived, plus the pair had nothing but praise for the Chicago house scene and city in general.

That very track, which was also the inaugural Heaven 17 hit, opened the nearly two-hour night with its abundance of pulsations and a message that unfortunately still needs to be heard, but served as a galvanizing call for change.

The primary players and their backers continued to be just as danceable as they were topical throughout “Crushed By The Wheels Of The Industry,” “Play To Win,” and a while later, “Let’s Make A Bomb,” accompanied by fans constantly raising their arms and moving their feet to the throbbing beats.

Heaven 17 took a break from originals for a loose, Human League-styled take on The Righteous Brothers’ golden oldie “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” and followed up with the special request surprise of “Sunset Now.”

Otherwise, most of the material was pulled from the popular U.K. albums “Penthouse And Pavement” and “The Luxury Gap,” though no matter their origins, MTV imports “Let Me Go,” “Penthouse And Pavement” and “Temptation” found the fellas at the peak of their powers.

In fact, all of the above came across equally relevant right now, which could also be said about a cover of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,” especially considering “The Man Who Fell To Earth” was such a noticeable influence on Heaven 17.

The historic occasion ended with an even more direct instance of creative impact, The Human League’s “Being Boiled,” a post-punk benchmark that’s still ahead of its time and a fitting way to bring this extremely belated but bountiful local debut full circle.

For additional information on Heaven 17, visit Heaven17.com.

For a list of upcoming Jam Productions shows, visit JamUSA.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at the Park West include Pat Tomasulo & Friends (Sept. 24); Mayorkun (Sept. 28); Opiou (Oct. 1); Sigrid (Oct. 5); Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe (Oct. 7); Ghost Light (Oct. 8); Allen Stone (Oct. 12); Manic Focus (Oct. 14); Dope Lemon (Oct. 15); Terrible, Thanks For Asking (Oct. 21); Barnes Courtney (Oct. 24); Warren Miller’s Daymaker (Oct. 27) and Halloweensteen featuring Michael McDermott (Oct. 29). For additional details, visit ParkWestChicago.com.

Related Articles

Marc Almond spreads four decades of Soft Cell’s irresistible “Tainted Love” around House Of Blues Depeche Mode: “Global Spirit” Tour at United Center “Love Is The Drug” at United Center as the artful glam of Roxy Music reaches a half-century Electronic pioneer Howard Jones keeps tone fresh at House Of Blues Germany’s “robot pop” pioneers Kraftwerk take a “3-D” ride on the “Trans-Europe Express” Depeche Mode: “Global Spirit” Tour at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre Ravinia launches with summer soundtrack from Barenaked Ladies, OMD and Howard Jones Australian activists Midnight Oil scream goodbye, but not before a galvanizing call to “Resist”