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The Human League are an English synth-pop [1] band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album Dare in 1981 after restructuring their lineup. The album contained four hit singles, including the UK/US number one hit " Don't You Want Me". The band received the Brit Award for Best British Breakthrough Act in 1982. Further hits followed throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, including " Mirror Man", " (Keep Feeling) Fascination", " The Lebanon", " Human" (a second US No.1) and " Tell Me When". Tapes of their earliest demos of Reproduction and Travelogue are impossible to find, as are recordings of their live shows from the 70s. The only compilation of early songs that exists is "Golden Hour of the Future", which was released in 2003 and includes just a few of their earlier songs.

Boxed Set: 2022's The Virgin Years is a five-LP set containing all of the Mark II lineup's studio albums on Virgin Records plus the EP Fascination!, each on color-coded vinyl (the two Mark I albums, Reproduction and Travelogue, are omitted). Consequently, the set marks the first time Romantic? was reissued outside of Japan since its original 1990 release, having previously been thrown into Canon Discontinuity by Virgin on account of its critical and commercial underperformance.

“You could dance to it”

In 2000, the tribute album Reproductions: Songs of The Human League was released. It contains cover versions of 16 of the Human League's songs, including performances by Ladytron, Lali Puna, Momus, Future Bible Heroes, Stephin Merritt and The Aluminum Group. [48] The Human League's 'The Virgin Years' Celebrated With New Colored Vinyl Boxset". U Discover Music. September 2022 . Retrieved 11 November 2022.

While still working on the album, the band issued the single "The Sound of the Crowd", which Virgin reluctantly promoted, only to see it become their first Top 40 hit. Virgin then asked for two more singles, again before the album was even finished, causing some stress with the recording process. Virgin's idea paid off: "Love Action (I Believe In Love)" and "Open Your Heart" were even bigger hits, both reaching the Top 10. Around this time, guitarist Jo Callis was added as the band's sixth and final member late in to the album's production. Stealth Parody: Most of their older pop songs tend to be parodies of then current trends, like some of the songs on Reproduction and Travelogue. Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020 . Retrieved 27 February 2020. So I have 4 to like, 3 to skip and 3 in between on this album. Not enough to love, but good enough to like.The Svengali: "Don't You Want Me" is a duet between a Svengali and his increasingly-rebellious protegee. Dare wasn't released in the United States until a year after its UK release, owed to the limited success of the band's prior albums leading Virgin Records to take a "wait and see" approach with the album. The Human League: (Keep Feeling) Fascination". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 12 June 2020. Acclaimed Flop: Secrets was hugely popular among fans and critics and was widely considered an effective update of the band's Synth-Pop style, but it significantly underperformed on store shelves thanks to Papillon Records going under shortly after its release.

Left Hanging: The song "Human" is all about a guy who cheated on his lover and is remorseful and asking her forgiveness. At the end she does forgive him, then admits she cheated too and asks for the same charity from him. The song ends without saying whether he did or not, although one would certainly hope so, as he'd be a world class hypocrite otherwise. Although the subject of retirement is often brought up in interviews, Oakey, Sulley and Catherall have all stated that they still enjoy performing and intend to carry on for "as long as they are filling concerts and people want to see them". Sulley has joked that she "has to carry on because she doesn't know how to do anything else". [39] 2010s: Credo and further tours [ edit ] At Paradiso, Netherlands, in April 2011. From left to right: Joanne Catherall, Phil Oakey and Neil Sutton. At the end of 2012, the band undertook the 'XXXV Tour' across Europe and the UK to celebrate 35 years in existence. The shows were critically acclaimed. The UK's Daily Telegraph said "as good a night's entertainment as you are likely to find anywhere on the planet". [41] Human' is probably the best vocal that I ever did, but it took a month to record," Oakey recalled. "A really big influence on doing those monologues was Gary Numan, particularly ' Are "Friends" Electric?', which has two different spoken bits, and he pulls it off." [6] Retaining the Human League name came at a heavy price for Oakey. As the band's sole remaining member, he was responsible for all Human League debts and commitments. Furthermore, the terms of the Virgin contract required him to pay Ware and Marsh one per cent of royalties of the next Human League album. The split also jeopardized the band's upcoming tour. With the first performance only ten days away and the music media reporting that the Human League was finished now that "the talented people had left", promoters started threatening to sue Oakey if the concerts were not completed as contracted.

Follow-up “Love Action (I Believe In Love)” intensified the dance dynamic still further and made it all the way to the UK Top 3 in the summer of 1981, with The Human League finding themselves Top Of The Pops regulars. It was perfect timing – the UK music scene was in a freshly confident mood. Magazines like Smash Hits and The Face were helping telegraph a soap-opera narrative of high-street glamour and kitchen-sink creativity, also shaped by the growing reliance on pop promos to help sell a song. The Human League had a strong look that played perfectly into that. In 1992, Virgin abruptly cancelled their recording contract. Damaged by the failure of the album, their rejection by Virgin, harsh criticism in the media and facing financial ruin, the emotional well-being of Oakey and Sulley deteriorated badly. Pareles, Jon (1 August 1998). "POP REVIEW; Early 80's Return, With English Artifice". The New York Times . Retrieved 10 September 2011. The album name was taken from a moment in the studio during the recording. Oakey described it thus: The Human League has released 9 studio albums, a live album, a remix album, 13 compilations, 6 extended plays and 29 singles.