This brat pack movie turns 40 in Feb. 2025 and its soundtrack is worth another listen

"Saturday, March 24, 1984. Shermer High School, Shermer, Illinois, 60062. Dear Mr. Vernon. We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. What we did was wrong, but we think you’re crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us: in the simplest terms, the most convenient definitions. You see us as a Brain, an Athlete, a Basket Case, a Princess, and a Criminal. Correct? That’s the way we saw each other at 7 o’clock this morning. We were brainwashed."

And so begins the best "Brat Pack" movie of the 80s, The Breakfast Club. Directed by John Hughes, who also created a massive number of other incredible movies, the story follows a group of teens from different cliques who are forced to spend a Saturday in detention, which is overseen by an overbearing vice principal.

The Breakfast Club was a success, grossing $45 million against its $1 million budget. The film is considered one of Hughes' most memorable works and, in 2016, was added to the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

The film, which launched the careers of several actors, including Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy, was released by Universal Pictures on Feb. 15, 1985, and the soundtrack would follow two days later. The album is led by the opening and closing anthem of the film "Don't You (Forget About Me," performed by Simple Minds. The single topped the Billboard Hot 100 and was the only single to hit No. 1 on the US Top Rock Tracks chart.

The Breakfast Club soundtrack

The soundtrack is comprised of rock and new wave songs and was produced by British pop musician Keith Forsey for A&M Records. The album reached No. 17 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Wang Chung is known for their hits "Dance Hall Days," "Everybody Have Fun Tonight," and "Let's Go," wrote "Fire In The Twilight" for the movie. This song is played while the teens run through the halls of school trying to escape being caught by Mr. Vernon.

Another popular track is Karla DeVito's "We Are Not Alone," which plays during the movie's quite memorable dance sequence. This scene features the teens, who had been against each other throughout the movie, in a moment where they come together.

One memorable song from the movie isn't included on the soundtrack. This is British "Colonel Bogey March" that the students are heard whistling when Vernon enters the library.