Song:Human
Album:The Very Best of the Human League
The Human League started out in 1977 as one of the early adopters of synth pop. But the band became a more traditional pop group when Martyn Ware left in 1980 and lead singer Philip Oakey became the focus of the group. Human was one of their two number one hits. They started out in Sheffield, England in 1977 as The Dead Daughters and then The Future. Martyn Ware and Ian Craig were computer operators with an interest in electronic music. They hired lead singer Philip Oakey more for his look than his voice. They thought he looked like a pop star though he had no experience. He had been working in a hospital. In 1978 the group name was changed to The Human League. The group eventually singed with Virgin Records but didn't seem to have much success. Conflict between Oakey and Ware forced Ware to leave. He wanted to remain an experimental electronic music group and Oakey wanted to front a pop group. Ware went on to form Heaven 17. So now Oakey had to hire new musicians and go on tour. Philip Adrian Wright remained to take charge of the music though he wasn't a musician. He was their lighting man. Then Oakey hired two teenage girls that he saw on a dance floor to sing with him. They were Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall. They had no singing experience. He also hired session keyboard player Ian Burden to play on their record though he was never a member of the group. Veteran producer Martin Rushent took charge and hired keyboard player Jo Callis as a permanent member of the band. The 1981 album Dare topped the British charts and the single Don't You Want Me was a worldwide smash hit. Their next album Hysteria was not successful. Meanwhile Oakey had some success with music he had recorded with Georgio Moroder for the 1984 film Electric Dreams. Virgin sent The Human League to Minneapolis to work with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis who had a lot of success with Janet Jackson among others. They wrote Human and it topped the Billboard Hot 100. This comp is a good intro to their music. After this, The Human League faded though they continue to record and perform today. The group is Oakey and the two girls and he hires session musicians for recordings and tours. They released a new CD Credo in March. Here's the video for Human by The Human League.
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