The British outfit Fiction Factory lingers in memory chiefly as overlooked one-hit wonders. Their signature track, the Depeche Mode-inflected “(Feels Like) Heaven,” showcased the group’s knack for crafting soulful yet wistful pop that paired dance-oriented electronic pulses with prominent, groove-driven bass. While Heaven 17’s sound clearly left its mark, Kevin Patterson’s rich, impassioned singing deflected accusations of mere imitation. The lineup—Patterson alongside Chic Medley on guitars, Graham McGregor on bass, Eddie Jordan on keyboards, and Mike Ogletree handling drums and percussion—issued its first album, Throw the Warped Wheel Out, in 1984 and shared stages with Paul Young and O.M.D. Although “The Ghost of Love” opened the LP’s singles campaign, it was eclipsed by the impact of its successor, “(Feels Like) Heaven.” That song gained traction on new-wave playlists across America and in the Philippines, yet listeners frequently mistook its theme for romance when it actually chronicled a painful split; the band lamented how the hit typecast them as suppliers of saccharine synth-pop ballads. The track resurfaced in 1995 on Rhino’s Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the 80s, Vol. 13, the same year Columbia brought Throw the Warped Wheel Out back into print on compact disc. Fiction Factory followed with the 1985 release Another Story before disbanding.
