The Human League

The Human League are an English synth-pop group from Sheffield, formed in 1977 and active since then. Their work spans electronic, minimal synth, new romantic, new wave, pop and synth-pop, and they become one of the most successful British new wave acts of the 1980s.

Formation and early line-up

The group begins with Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, who work as computer programmers in 1977 and share interests in glam rock, Tamla Motown and avant-garde electronic music. They buy a Roland System 100 synthesiser and start making music in their own rehearsal space. Their first group name is The Dead Daughters, which becomes The Future with Adi Newton on vocals. Newton later leaves to form Clock DVA.

Ware and Marsh look for a singer and first approach Glenn Gregory, who is unavailable. They then invite Philip Oakey, a school friend who works as a hospital porter and has not been in a band before. He joins after they leave a note on his door, and the group soon takes the name The Human League.

Breakthrough and early releases

The original line-up debuts in 1978 with “Being Boiled”, a dark synth single that later proves influential on industrial musicians. It is followed by “Empire State Human”, while the albums Reproduction (1979) and Travelogue (1980) do not sell strongly. After this, Ware and Marsh leave in 1980.

After the split, Philip Adrian Wright, who has been the band’s live slide projectionist, becomes a full member. Oakey and Wright release “Boys and Girls”, which also fails to chart strongly. To complete European touring commitments, the band recruits bassist Ian Burden and adds singers Susanne Sulley and Joanne Catherall, who they meet in a Sheffield nightclub.

Commercial success in the 1980s

In 1981, Virgin Records pairs the band with producer Martin Rushent. The first result is “The Sound of the Crowd”, which gives the group chart success. Jo Callis, formerly of The Rezillos, joins on guitar, and the band records Dare!, its most successful album.

Dare! produces several major hits, including “Open Your Heart”, “Love Action” and “Don’t You Want Me”. “Don’t You Want Me” reaches number one in the UK at Christmas 1981 and later reaches number one in the United States in 1982. The songs are also associated with striking promotional videos, including “Love Action”, which is based on The Graduate. During the Dare! period, the band is often linked with the New Romantic movement.

The follow-up comes as the six-song EP Fascination!, which includes the singles “Mirror Man” and “Fascination”, before the full-length album Hysteria appears three years later. Their commercial momentum then fades during the mid-1980s.

Later work and line-up changes

Outside the band, Oakey records “Together in Electric Dreams” with Giorgio Moroder in 1985 for the film Electric Dreams. The pair also record the album Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder for Virgin, although it is less successful.

By 1986, the band is in a period of creative difficulty. Jo Callis leaves, and Jim Russell replaces him. Virgin then pairs the group with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, leading to the album Crash. The record uses material written partly by Jam and Lewis’ team and features a DX7-led sound that differs from earlier Human League releases. It produces the US number one single “Human”, while the other singles have a smaller chart impact.

Later touring line-ups include Neil Sutton and Russell Dennett, with David Beevers serving as resident engineer on and off stage from 1990. After Dennett leaves in 1996, Nic Burke becomes his live replacement from 2001.

Later release

The Human League release the album Credo in 2011.

Members

The group includes Philip Oakey, Joanne Catherall, Susan Ann Sulley, Philip Adrian Wright, Ian Burden, Jo Callis, Jim Russell, Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware.