"Don't You (Forget About Me)" is a song written for the soundtrack to the film The Breakfast Cluband performed by the band Simple Minds in 1985. The songwriters were producer Keith Forsey (who won an Oscar for "Flashdance... What a Feeling") and Steve Schiff (guitarist and songwriter from the Nina Hagen band).

Forsey asked both Bryan Ferry and Billy Idol to record the song, but both declined; Idol would later perform a cover of it on his 2001 greatest hits compilation. Schiff then suggested Forsey ask the Scottish New Wave band Simple Minds, who initially refused as well, but then agreed under the encouragement of their label, A&M. According to one account, the band "rearranged and recorded 'Don’t You (Forget About Me)' in three hours in a north London studio and promptly forgot about it."

The track would become their most famous song and is considered a defining song of the 1980s. Continuing the rock direction recently taken on Sparkle in the Rainbut also glancing back at their melodic synthpop past, it caught the band at their commercial peak and, propelled by the success of The Breakfast Club, became a number-one hit in the U.S. and around the world. It is the band's only number-one hit on the U.S. Top Rock Tracks chart, staying atop for three weeks. While only reaching number seven in the UK, it stayed on the charts from 1985–1987, one of the longest time spans for any single in the history of the chart.

Despite its success, the band continued to dismiss the song, the most obvious slight being its absence from their subsequent album Once Upon a Time. It finally appeared on the 1992 best-of Glittering Prize 81/92.

Two versions were created for release; the edited version of 4:32 appeared on the 45RPM single and the original motion picture soundtrack album of The Breakfast Club. However, the full & uncut version was released on a 12" Single, which topped out at a total time length of 6:32. Most radio formats in the U.S. only programmed the 4:32 version, making it a rarity to hear the full version on radio. The compilation label UTV Records...a Universal Company...included the full version on their 2001 "Pure 80's Hits" Various Artists release. Unlike other "rare" long or 12" versions that just add "loops" & "repeats" to expand it's programming, this version contains extra lyrics, bridges & drum-licks that are clearly not included on the popular edited version.

The music video, directed by Daniel Kleinman, takes place on a dancing floor in a dark room with a chandelier, a rocking horse and Sony televisions, whose screens are displaying scenes from The Breakfast Club. Jim Kerr, the band's lead singer, dances in many scenes.

The song has been covered by numerous artists including:

Aside from its initial appearance in The Breakfast Club, the song has been featured in various media throughout the years.

Jim Kerr · Charlie Burchill · Mel Gaynor · Eddie Duffy

Mick MacNeil · Derek Forbes · John Giblin · Brian McGee

Life in a Day · Real to Real Cacophony · Empires and Dance · Sons and Fascination · Sister Feelings Call · New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84) · Sparkle in the Rain · Once Upon a Time · Street Fighting Years · Real Life · Good News from the Next World · Neapolis · Our Secrets are the Same · Neon Lights · Cry · Black & White 050505 · Graffiti Soul

Live in the City of Light · Real Live 91

Themes For Great Cities 79/81 · Celebration · Glittering Prize 81/92 · The Promised · The Early Years 1977–1978 · The Best of Simple Minds · Early Gold · Silver Box