The Breakfast Club (which is streaming on your Netflix subscription) is a memorable movie for many reasons. Still known as one of the best high school movies of all time, John Hughes explores teen angst in five people from different social circles who realize they’re not too different from each other. But, one thing we can’t forget about from the ‘80s classic is the Simple Minds tune “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” in which star Molly Ringwald had a very interesting first reaction to the song.
As soon as you hear the Simple Minds’ hit that starts with a couple of chords only to go into “Hey, hey, hey, hey!,” you know it’s “Don’t You (Forget About Me).” It’s an example of a song that still gets listened to today if you’re in the mood to get transported back to the ‘80s. But, take it from a child of the ‘70s like The Breakfast Club’s Molly Ringwald to have a unique description of the song when she first heard it. In the 2025 movie release of the documentary Simple Minds: Everything is Possible (via People), the former Brat Pack member revealed her first reaction to the 1985 single:
It felt gritty… almost like an obscene phone call — like, in a good way.
Well, that’s an interesting perspective! Yeah, when you think about it, the smoothness of lead singer Jim Kerr’s voice would sound like a strange musical phone call. Although if someone called me to say they were “alone, dancing, you know it, baby,” I’d probably be weirded out by that.
A cool fact about the iconic movie song is that Jim Kerr initially turned down the offer to play “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” until the song’s writer, Keith Forsey, hit it off with the band. Another fascinating fact was that Molly Ringwald apparently is the woman to thank for guiding John Hughes to Simple Minds’ direction:
I think I recommended them to [the film’s director] John Hughes. I like to take a little responsibility for that.
I love that! As music has always been a guiding point for John Hughes’ movies, I’m sure it was a great help that the then-16-year-old actress recommended a rock group teens listened to back then.
“Don’t You (Forget About Me)” was the perfect song to end a teen movie that gets audiences all in their feels. The ending scene of The Breakfast Club is so iconic as the kids leave detention and say their goodbyes, with the final shot showing Bender pumping his fist into their air, representing that they all got something out of that unusual day. Hearing the 1980s anthem play is like Bender, Claire, Ally, Brian, and Andy are all hoping the same thing: that their rare experience together in the same space isn’t forgotten.
Molly Ringwald’s first reaction to the popular Simple Minds tune may have sounded like “an obscene phone call.” However, she deserves props for introducing the Scottish band to John Hughes and helping to make the ending of The Breakfast Club a memorable music moment. You can learn all about the song that helped define the ‘80s with the documentary Simple Minds: Everything is Possible playing in theaters on June 13th.
