"Contenders" is a song by the British new wave and synth-pop band Heaven 17, released in 1986 as the first single from their fourth studio album Pleasure One.[2] It was written and produced by Glenn Gregory, Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware. The song reached No. 80 in the UK and spent four weeks on the chart.[3] It also reached No. 6 on the U.S. Billboard Dance/Club Play Singles Chart. A music video was filmed to promote the single.
On its release, Simon Reynolds of Melody Maker commented: "This one practically hurls itself off the ropes at you, solid funk brawn but light on its feet, bobbing and weaving, jabbing and pummeling and always on the attack, but, somehow, failing to deliver that hook to floor you completely. The killer blow never comes."[4] Cath Carroll of New Musical Express wrote, "Feeble, finger-snapping jive-talk from Heaven 17 which is even more disappointing than you'd probably imagine."[5] In a retrospective review of Pleasure One, Aaron Badgley of AllMusic stated: "Some of the Pleasure One songs are among their best, including the opening track, 'Contenders.'"[6]
