British electropop pioneers Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware formed synthpop/new wave group Heaven 17 in 1980 after the dissolution of their former group, The Human League. The two musicians simultaneously created the production company British Electric Foundation, or the BEF, and completed Heaven 17's lineup with vocalist Glenn Gregory. The band quickly made use of drum machines and synthesizers to create its new wave sound. After failing to gain commercial success after the release of its debut album Penthouse and Pavement, in 1981, the group reached the number two spot on the UK Singles Chart with "Temptation," the second single featured on its 1983 follow-up record The Luxury Gap. Under the moniker BEF, the band was earning respect as producers and working with acts such as Band Aid, Sting and Tina Turner, whose career was restarted with her hit version of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," a track with back up vocals by Heaven 17. The band continued to produce and release its own material into the 1990s, including its 1996 album Bigger Than America, as well as into the 2000s, which saw two more studio albums as well as a collaboration with modern synthpop artist La Roux that merged together the past and present of British electropop.
