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| The Human League |
| In 1981 the strains of "Don't You Want Me Baby" were inescapable. In cars, on beachs, in the clubs, on radios, the U.S., England, across the board and around the world. It ushered in the 1980's revolution of synthesizer pop and The Human League was the group du jour. But in actuality their roots and beginnings started years before. The group was formed in Sheffield, England, in 1977 by synth players Martyn Ware and Ian Marsh, after enlisting vocalist Phillip Oakey they dubbed themselves The Human League. They quickly cut their first demo and began playing small club dates. After adding Adrian Wright as the "director of visuals" their live shows started gaining popularity. Signing with the indie label Fast in 1978, the Human League issued their first single, "Being Boiled"; a minor underground hit, it was followed by a tour as opening act for Siouxsie & the Banshees. After a 1979 EP, "The Dignity Of Labour," the group released its first full-lenskills dovetailed with almost all of the band's shortcomingsgth effort, "Reproduction." The 1979 release with it's high tech primitivism featured such sonic novelties as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," "Morale" and "Empire State Human." The seeds of what would become their famous 1980's sound was there but the group had yet to perfect it and polish it. The album sold poorly but broadened their appeal. 1980's "Travelogue" is much better, broadening the palette to include a wide variety of subtle synthesizer shadings, from the arcane to the sublime, and introducing vastly improved material. It reached the U.K. Top 20, but internal tensions forced Ware and Marsh to quit the group in late 1980, at which time they formed the British Electronic Foundation. Their departure forced Wright to begin learning to play the synthesizer. Oakey then recruited bassist Ian Burden as well as a pair of schoolgirls, Susanne Sulley and Joanne Catherall, to handle additional vocal duties. The re-vamped group recruited a new producer Martin Rushent. Rushent's skills dovetailed with almost all of the band's shortcomings and his first project was 1981's "Boys And Girls," which reached the British Top 50. The follow-up, "Sound Of The Crowd," fell just shy of the Top Ten. Their next single, "Love Action," reached number three, and after adding ex-Rezillo Jo Callis they issued "Open Your Heart," yet another hit. Their big breakthrough came with the release of "Dare." Containing their last three singles, the album featured an irresistible mix of state-of-the-art technology and old-fashioned pop-single formula and set millions of toes to tapping. The first single single released after the album hit the stores was the now classic "Don't You Want Me." Both single and album topped their respective charts in England, and went on to become major hits in the U.S. as well. In the U.S. Disconet, the DJ remix service, released a remixed version of the track segued with "Do Or Die" which allowed them to top the club charts and usher in the 1980's synth movement. With their new found American success a U.S. tour was launched to promote the remix album, "Love And Dancing." The album contained Rushent's revamped versions of seven cuts from "Dare," plus one extra tune. Between global touring and milking the "Dare" sessions for hits it would be another two years before new material arrived. 1983's "Fascination" EP scored a pair of hits with "Mirror Man" and "(Keep Feeling) Fascination." But the group was still having trouble putting together a completely new album of material. The much-anticipated full-length "Hysteria" finally surfaced in mid-1984, heralding a more forceful sound than earlier Human League releases; the record failed to match the massive success of "Dare," however, with the single "The Lebanon" earning insignificant airplay. The group soon went on indefinite hiatus, and Oakey recorded a 1985 solo album with famed producer Giorgio Moroder titled simply "Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder." The album featured two powerful 12" singles, "(Together In) Electric Dreams" from the hit movie and "Goodbye Bad Times." The Human League resurfaced in 1986 with "Crash," produced by the duo of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis; the plaintive lead single "Human" soon topped the U.S. charts, but the group failed to capitalize on its comeback success, disappearing from the charts for the remainder of the decade. When the Human League finally returned in 1990 with "Romantic," their chart momentum had again dissipated, and the single "Heart Like A Wheel" barely managed to rise into the Top 40. The record was the band's last with longtime label Virgin; now a trio consisting of Oakey, Sulley, and Catherall, they ultimately signed with the EastWest label, teaming with producer Ian Stanley for 1995's "Octopus." The album went largely unnoticed both at home and overseas, with the single "Stay With Me Tonight" issued solely in the U.K. A resurgent interest in synth pop and post-punk during the early 2000's enabled the group's 2001 album "Secrets" considerable press coverage. The album saw the group update its early sound to pleasing results. The trio now tours the oldies circuit as a novelty act but here they will always be honored for ushering in that wonderful 1980's dance sound. |
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