"The Height of the Fighting" was remixed for its release as a single, with more aggressive drums plus brass both missing from the album track. The added horn section was performed by Beggar and Co.[2][3] The song failed to make a chart appearance in the UK Singles Chart, but did reach the unnumbered 'bubbling under' section for three consecutive weeks, which would have been equivalent to a position between 76 and 100 at a time when the main charts covered the top 75.[4][5][6]
Critical reception
Upon its release, Red Starr of Smash Hits considered the single a "pointless rehash of an album track in a truly dreadful cover". They added: "The sooner BEF give up this dead-end synthetic funk and turn their talents back to writing classic stuff like "Dreams of Leaving" and "Radio WXJL" from Travelogue the better."[7] Sunie of Record Mirror noted: "It doesn't quite match the magnificent "Penthouse and Pavement" single but it's pretty fab nonetheless."[8] Tony Parsons of the NME remarked that Heaven 17 "serve up a sagging self-improvement chant full of tinny brass and funk-by-numbers, brimming over with a bossy litany admonishing one to sweat and heave and ho etcetera".[9]
In a retrospective review of the album, Dan LeRoy of AllMusic considered the song one of the "standout combinations of witty lyrics and whiplash electro-grooves".[10] Tim O'Neil of PopMatters commented that the song "acts as both a satire of gung-ho militarism and a rallying cry for anti-capitalist insurgency".[11]
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