The human league

1977-1978: The Dead Daughters and The Future Projects

In early 1977, Martin Ware and Ian Craig Marsh met through joint participation in the youth art project Meatwhistle, where both worked as PC operators. In their work, they combined pop with avant - garde electronic music . Soon, Ware and Marsh bought the Korg 700S synthesizer for 800 pounds and learned to play it ^[8] . They quickly gained fame in the musical environment and received an invitation to speak at a friend's birthday party. After that, they formed an amateur group called Dead Daughters ^[9] .

A little later, Martin Ware, Ian Craig Marsh and keyboardist Adi Newton joined them created the group The Future ( Russian Future ). Although the musicians never signed labels or released commercial material, their collection of 1970s demos was released on disk in 2002 under the title The Golden Hour of the Future . Mixing was done by Richard X ^[10] .

Adi Newton did not stay in the group for long - he left The Future and organized his own project Clock DVA . After his departure, Ware decided that the collective needed a vocalist, not another keyboard player: The Future could not sign a contract with the label just because the group did not have the ability to record hits, and to achieve commercial success, the musicians needed a talented singer ^{[ 11]} . It was planned that Glenn Gregory would become the vocalist of The Future, but he did not have such an opportunity (in the end, he joined as a soloist in another project of the same musicians - Heaven 17). Then Ware invited his old school friend Philip Oka to the group ^[12] , who worked as a doorman and was known in Sheffield due to the eclectic style of clothing. Ware believed that Okie would be the perfect soloist because he “looked like a pop star.” Oka himself was very surprised at the friend’s proposal - he had absolutely no musical experience and had never before sang in front of an audience - but he accepted it ^[13] .

Finding a vocalist and developing their own style, the group decided to change the name to better meet the needs of record companies. Ware proposed the phrase The Human League, taken from the sci-fi game Starforce: Alfa Centauri . In the game, The Human League, born in 2415 AD, was an advanced society wishing more independence from Earth. The rest of the participants agreed, and since 1978 the team became known as The Human League ^[14] .

1978-1979: The Early Period

The band's first official performance was in June 1978 at the Salter Lane College of Art, ( Psalter Lane Art College ), where the musicians performed a cover version of Lou Reed 's song “ Perfect Day ” ^[15] . After the first concert, the group began work on their own material. Paul Bauer, a friend of Martin Weir, invited The Human League to sign a contract with the small independent record company Fast Records , based in Edinburgh ; he gave demos of the band to label director Bob Last, who found them interesting and signed a contract with the musicians ^[14] . Concluding an agreement with Fast Records, in 1978 The Human League recorded at Monumental Pictures Studios ^[15] and released their first single “ Being Boiled ”, as well as several demo versions of the songs “Circus of Death” and “Toyota City”. All were recorded again; in the end, the group released the songs "Being Boled" and "Only After Dark" singles ^[14] . The group appeared on television - at this concert, Philip Oakey was wearing a wedding dress (stupid costumes were an important feature of Sheffield's music scene in the late seventies) ^[15] .

The single “Being Boiled” hit the charts of Austria (where it took seventeenth position) ^[16] and Germany (where it rose to the sixth line) ^[17] , but did not enter other charts. The text of this song tells how cruel the silkworm industry is. In “Being Boled” in allegorical form, not only the senseless genocide was criticized, but also the moral irresponsibility of the Buddhists was condemned ^[18] . The song “Circus of Death” on the B side of the single “Being Boiled” is a dark and gloomy song, which tells about a circus under the control of an evil clown who dreams of subduing all people ^[18] . Two months after the release of the debut single, the first full-fledged concert in London took place: at the Music Machine in August 1978, the musicians performed with The Rezillos . There, the first meeting of The Human League with their future guitarist Joe Collis took place . In September of the same year, the band played as the opening act for Siouxsie and the Banshees , and in November, the group performed with David Bowie , who was impressed by what he saw and said that in the person of The Human League "he saw the future of pop music ." Soon another member joined the team - Philip Adrian Wright ^[19] .

Being Boled was not a very commercially successful single, but its release was followed by a tour with Siouxsie and the Banshees ^[1] and the new wave group Spizz Oil. After this tour, Fast Records released EP The Dignity of Labor , which was more oriented on instrumental sound than on pop music. Fans of the group were disappointed with this disc ^[19] , however, after its release, other labels wanted to entice the band to themselves. Ultimately, in May 1979, the group accepted Richard Branson 's offer from Virgin Records , and Bob Lust became manager of The Human League ^[20] .

After a joint performance with Iggy Pop in June 1979 as part of a European tour of this artist, many Sheffield musicians became envious of the group. The charisma of the soloist Philip Oka and the growing popularity of the team impressed Virgin Records, which expressed a desire to conclude an agreement with The Human League ^[15] . Although other labels also offered the band contracts, the musicians themselves chose Virgin Records ^[20] . Virgin Records did not prevent the team from returning to their original sound, and in 1979 the band released their debut studio album, recorded under the influence of Kraftwerk and called Reproduction ^[1] . The disc sold so poorly that The Human League had to cancel a planned tour in support of it. The group began to prepare for a joint tour with Talking Heads (the musicians expected to include the songs “King of Kings”, “Almost Medieval”, “Girl One”, “Circus of Death”, “Stylopops”, “Blind Youth”, “ The Touchables ”,“ Being Boiled ”,“ Zero As a Limit ”and“ Empire State Human ”), but these tours were canceled ^[21] . Only the single “ Empire State Human ” was commercially successful and in 1980 took 62nd place on the UK chart ^[6] .

1980: Holiday '80 and Travelogue

In April 1980, a second mini-album entitled Holiday '80 was released , containing the track “Marianne” and two cover versions of the song “Nightclubbing”, written by David Bowie and Iggy Pop. The seven-inch version of the record sold well, and the musicians were first invited to appear on television: on May 8, 1980, The Human League appeared on the Top of the Pops program , where they performed a cover version of Gary Glitter 's Rock'n'Roll. The group began to be considered a movement of " new romantics " because of their electronic sound. The single of the same name from the Holiday '80 mini-album took fifty-sixth place in the British chart ^[6] . Next came the band's second studio album, Travelogue , which became The Human League's first commercially successful CD ^[22] . In support of the album, the band decided to conduct a tour that began May 15 at Mayfair and ended May 29 at Wakefield's Unity Hall . During this tour, Adrian Wright was in charge of special effects for the first time. The group performed in Europe, gave a concert in Amsterdam .

Now the team is constantly competing with Gary Newman . Even then, The Human League were considered pioneers of electro-pop , but Newman was not going to give up positions and remained more popular ^[12] . Jan Craig Marsh described this situation as follows:

Meanwhile, relationships within the group began to heat up. Philip Oakey and Martin Ware were constantly arguing with each other ^[24] . Okie wanted Ware to leave the group; Adrian Wright also did not get along with Weir. Ian Craig Marsh maintained good relations with all other musicians, but Philip Oakey constantly tried to persuade him to work only with him and Wright, fearing that all the best ideas would go to Weir. Okie had become a real star by that time and did not want competition from other participants. Team manager Bob Last invited Ware and Marsh to form their own project, and in 1980 they announced the creation of a new group ^[23] . Meanwhile, Philip Oakey went to a Sheffield night club in search of new members. Instead of finding truly talented professional musicians, he invited Joan Catherall and Susan Ann Sally to a group of ordinary schoolgirls ^[1] . Soon the guitarist Joe Collis came to the band. Thus, the new roster of The Human League consisted of Philip Oakey, Adrian Wright, Joan Cateroll, Susan Ann Sully and Joe Collis. The updated group began working on material for the next album. Martin Ware and Ian Marsh signed with Virgin Records and named their project Heaven 17 ^[23] .

1981-1985: Commercial Success and International Recognition

After the departure of Weir and Marsh, the group’s debts to Virgin Records increased many times over; to reduce them, the musicians decided to release the song "Boys and Girls" single ^[1] . The composition took the forty-eighth position on the UK chart ^[6] . At this time, another new member joined the Human League - keyboardist Ian Burden ^[23] . The first single from the new album was the song " The Sound of the Crowd ", which reached the twelfth line of the British hit parade ^[6] . In support of her, a group performance was organized in the program Top of the Pops ^[25] . The next single was the song " Love Action (I Believe in Love) ", which turned out to be more successful than the previous one, and took third place on the British chart ^[6] , and also rose to the twenty-first line in the New Zealand charts ^[26] . On September 28, 1981, Virgin Records released " Open Your Heart " as the third single. ^[27] This romantic composition immediately hit the UK chart in sixth place ^[6] ; the song took the forty-third line in New Zealand, and it took the twentieth place in the Netherlands ^[28] .

The commercial success of the first three singles impressed Virgin Records, and the company agreed to release their third studio album, called Dare , in October 1981. It was recorded under the direction of producer Martin Rashent in Genetic Sound Studios , the recording cost the group 35 thousand pounds ^[29] . Martin Rascent once suggested that electronic pop, which developed in the 1980s, is the music of the future. Work on the disc took only three months, since the recording was carried out almost 18 hours a day ^[30] . Thanks to the hard work of Rashent, the team gained its own style and found the sound that ensured its success ^[31] . Dare became the group’s best-selling album, received the status of double platinum in the UK ^[32] and platinum in Canada ^[33] . Having recorded the disc together with Martin Rashent, The Human League challenged the established stereotype that synthesizer music could only be cold and insensitive ^[31] . The album took the first places in the charts of Sweden and New Zealand, and in the charts of Norway and the Netherlands hit the top ten ^[34] . Dare sold over five million copies ^[35] .

On November 27, 1981, the band released their best-selling single, “ Don't You Want Me, ” ^[36] . The composition was the last single from the third album, became the number one hit and remained popular throughout the 1980s ^[31] . In the homeland of musicians, the single took first place ^[6] , as in the USA ^[37] . In total, about two million copies of the single were sold worldwide ^[36] , a video clip was shot for the song ^[12] . “Love Action (I Believe in Love)” and “Open Your Heart” became silver , and “Don't You Want Me” received platinum status in the UK ^[32] . Immediately after the success of “Don't You Want Me” and Dare, the old recordings of the band - Being Boiled and Holiday '80 EP - hit the UK chart. “Being Boiled” took sixth place, and Holiday '80 EP - forty-sixth ^[6] . In 1982, Dare was released in the United States, followed by the first Love and Dancing remix album , recorded by Martin Rashent. The collection was published under the name of the group League Unlimited Orchestra and contained rewritten compositions from the album Dare ^[29] . This disc sold as well as the original album ^[31] . The success of the group led to the fact that Rashent was nominated for the BRIT Awards in the nomination "Best Producer" ^[38] .

In 1982, Rashent worked on two new songs by the band - “ Mirror Man ” and “ (Keep Feeling) Fascination ” ^[29] . Both songs became hits in the UK, reaching the second place on the chart ^[6] . The group spent several months recording them; work on “(Keep Feeling) Fascination” began long before the recording of “Mirror Man”, the track was mixed nine times, and it took nine months to process it. However, these singles failed to repeat the success of Dare and “Don't You Want Me” in the USA. “Mirror Man” was released earlier than “(Keep Feeling) Fascination”, but A&M refused to promote the single without an album. The problem was immediately resolved - A&M agreed to release The Human League's third mini-album, Fascination! composed of the songs Mirror Man, Fascination, Fascination Dub, Hard Times, You Remind Me of Gold and the previously unreleased I Love You Too Much. После этого The Human League неожиданно сменили продюсера Мартина Рашента на Криса Томаса , который работал с такими известными группами, как Sex Pistols , Roxy Music и The Pretenders ^[39] . Fascination был выпущен в США и хорошо продавался в Великобритании ^[36] . «(Keep Feeling) Fascination» занял восьмое место в американском чарте, а «Mirror Man» — тридцатое ^[37] .

В январе 1983 года группа была номинирована на « Грэмми » в категории « Лучший новый исполнитель » ^[40] , но на церемонии вручения премии уступила Men at Work ^[41] . Растущая популярность группы позволила издать первый видео-альбом Video Single , в который вошли клипы на песни «Mirror Man», «Love Action» и «Don't You Want Me», в том же году ^[42] .

В 1984 году был выпущен сингл « The Lebanon », посвящённый войне в Ливане 1969 года, поднявшийся до одиннадцатой строчки хит-парада Великобритании ^[6] . В Новой Зеландии и в Нидерландах песня попала в двадцатку ^[43] . Успех второго сингла « Life on Your Own » оказался более скромным: он занял всего лишь шестнадцатое место в британском чарте ^[6] . В том же году Филип Оки в сотрудничестве с Джорджо Мородером записал композицию «Together in Electric Dreams» ^[31] , вошедшую в саундтрек к фильму « Электрические грёзы » ^[4] . Вскоре был издан четвёртый студийный альбом группы, получивший название Hysteria . Несмотря на более высокое качество звукозаписи, этот диск продавался хуже, чем Dare ^[1] , а последний сингл из него — « Louise » — добрался в Великобритании только до тринадцатой строчки ^[6] . Тем не менее, в чартах европейских стран альбом попал в десятку лучших ^[44] .

В 1985 году коллектив взял недолгий творческий перерыв, и Филип Оки выпустил альбом вместе с Джорджо Мородером ^[1] ( Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder ), турне в поддержку которого не проводилось. Джо Коллис, один из основных композиторов коллектива, покинул группу, однако в состав The Human League вошёл ударник Джим Расселл. Менеджер Боб Ласт также отказался от дальнейшего сотрудничества с музыкантами, и замены ему не нашли. В 1985 году The Human League сотрудничали с продюсерами и авторами песен Джимми Джемом и Терри Льюисом , которые работали совместно с Джанет Джексон , The SOS Band , Александром О'Нилом и Черелль ^[31] .

1986—1989: Crash и Greatest Hits

В 1986 году, после частичной смены состава, группа оказалась в состоянии творческого кризиса. Коллективу было необходимо вновь записать популярный альбом, чтобы вернуть себе коммерческую успешность, и The Human League начали работу над новым диском. Джо Коллис, автор многих песен группы, так и не вернулся в её состав, и альбом был записан без него. Четырёхмесячная работа музыкантов над новым материалом проходила столь же тяжело и напряжённо, как и над Hysteria . Джимми Джем и Терри Льюис отклонили почти все композиции, предложенные группой для нового альбома; между ними и The Human League возникло множество споров по этому поводу, и музыканты поспешили покинуть студию ^[45] . Диск был записан в спешке и состоял из песен, в которых присутствовали сильные басовые партии ^[31] . Материал альбома Crash был почти полностью написан Джемом и Льюисом, однако на нём группа продемонстрировала более качественное звучание. Как Hysteria , так и Crash разошлись тиражом в 2 миллиона копий по всему миру ^[46] .

Сингл « Human » стал вторым хитом номер один в США ^[37] , однако коллектив начал постепенно терять популярность ^[1] ; «Human» оказался последним успешным синглом группы 80-х годов ^[12] , другие треки с альбома не смогли повторить его достижений. Альбом Crash занял двадцать четвёртое место в Billboard 200 , а также попал в американский чарт Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums , поскольку был исполнен в жанре R&B ^[47] . В турне в поддержку диска приняли участие клавишник Нил Саттон и гитарист Рассел Деннетт. В это время группу покинул Эдриан Райт, в 1987 ушёл и Иэн Бёрден. В том же году был издан сингл «Love Is All That Matters» с альбома Crash .

В 1988 году вышел первый сборник лучших хитов группы Greatest Hits , который занял третье место в хит-параде Великобритании ^[6] . В 1989 году группа основала собственную студию звукозаписи, чтобы снизить расходы на создание альбомов. Финансировал строительство сам Филип Оки ^[45] .

1990-е: Romantic? и Octopus

Альбом Romantic? , вышедший в 1990 году , стал последним диском коллектива, записанным на студии Virgin Records ^[1] . Над ним работали бывший гитарист группы Джо Коллис, клавишник Рассел Данетт, а также гитарист и клавишник Нил Саттон, выступавший вместе с группой в рамках турне Crash Tour в 1986 году. Несмотря на значительные усилия, потраченные на его создание, этот альбом не был успешен; синглы «Heart Like a Wheel» и «Soundtrack to a Generation» также оказались достаточно равнодушно встречены публикой ^[48] и заняли невысокие позиции в британском чарте ^[6] . Тем не менее, в США песня «Heart Like a Wheel» попала в хит-парад Billboard на тридцать вторую строчку ^[37]. In 1990, Virgin Records refused to further cooperate with The Human League ^[12] .

The decline in popularity and the breakdown of the contract with the label negatively affected the members of the group, but did not prevent them from participating in other projects. In 1993, the musicians collaborated with the Japanese synth-pop group Yellow Magic Orchestra , releasing the mini-album YMO Versus The Human League in Japan and Asia. Philip Oki and Yukihiro Takahashi appeared on the disc as composers, and Susan Sally and Joan Catherall performed vocal parts in the songs “Behind the Mask” and “Kimi Ni Mune Kyun (I Love You)” ^[49] .

The Human League's next album, Octopus , was released in 1995 via EastWest Records . The single “ Tell Me When ” became the band’s first hit after “Human”, which hit the top ten of the UK chart ^[6] , and also entered the top thirty of the US chart ^[37] . In the UK, Octopus sold over 80,000 copies ^[46] - the group returned triumphantly to the music business. The second single from the disc was the song “ One Man in My Heart ”, a synth-pop ballad reminiscent of ABBA 's work with its melodic sound ^[31] . The album sold well and received gold status. The reissue of a major hit “Don't You Want Me” in 1995 consolidated the success of the team: the composition re-headed the British chart, and the third single from Octopus - “Filling Up with Heaven” - took thirty-sixth in the charts ^[6] . The band’s new release proved that The Human League is still able to write good love songs, such as in the 1980s ^[31] .

Changes in EastWest management led The Human League to break the label deal. The musicians also planned a tour with Culture Club and Howard Jones ^[50] .

2000—2010: New Period

In 2000, the band signed to Papillon Records and recorded their eighth studio album Secrets , released in 2001 . Critics rated the disc as the best work of the group since Dare and noted that the new songs are full of good melodies ^[31] , but album sales were extremely low. Papillon Records closed due to major financial problems. BBC Radio 1 refused to promote the single “ All I Ever Wanted ”. Secrets hit the UK chart in forty-fourth place, but quickly left the hit parade ^[6] . In 2001, a Secrets Tour was organized to support the disc, with keyboardist Neil Sutton, recording engineer David Bevers and Nick Berg playing the electric guitar. In 2002, drummer Errol Rollins joined the tour, but in 2004 he was replaced by Rob Burton.

In 2003, another single from Secrets , “Love Me Madly?”, Was released by the small private label Nukove ^[51] .

In 2003, Virgin Records released the video album The Very Best of the Human League , containing video clips shot by the group earlier. It sold well in the US and UK; Soon, a collection of the best hits of the team under the same name was released. In 2004, the group released the video album The Human League Live at the Dome , the material of which was shot at a concert in Brighton Dome , and the concert CD Live at the Dome . At the end of 2005, EMI released the original Remixes and Rarities album ^[52] , with which The Human League hoped to conquer the dance floors of the United States and Great Britain. This period of the group’s activity was also marked by performances at various festivals around the world, including V Festiva in 2004, Homelands in 2005, Nokia Trends in Brazil in 2005, Festival Internacional de Benicassim in 2007 ^[53] .

In November and December 2008, The Human League conducted The Steel City Tour - a tour with the famous ABC and Heaven 17 bands. The purpose of the tour was to unite three groups that still play in the style of the 1980s. Philip Oakey stated that he and Martin Ware forgot about all past disagreements. ^[54]

In 2008, in an interview with The Guardian, the musicians announced that they were preparing to record their tenth studio album. Philip Oakey and drummer Rob Barton wrote new songs, despite the busy schedule. Joan Catherall said that due to not quite commercial material, many labels refused to release a new disc of the group:

2011: Our Time

In 2011, the musicians released the album Credo . Despite the emergence of new material, critics did not expect great achievements from this disc: for example, BBC journalist Tom Hocknell said that The Human League continued to be an influential group, but the album would not improve their reputation ^[55] . As a result, Credo received different ratings from critics. A MusicOMH reviewer called Credo “a funny thing,” but found the lyrics on the album “disgusting.” ^[56] A critic from The Guardian newspaper rated the disc positively, noting that the album is saturated with electronic melodies, its listening evokes strong emotions, and the sound quality is at a high level ^[57] . Three singles from the album (the compositions “ Night People ”, “Egomaniac” and “Sky”) failed on the charts, the album itself took forty-fourth position in the UK charts ^[6] . BBC Radio 2 has agreed to organize the promotion of the single "Never Let Me Go".

In 2011, musicians performed at the 2011 Sonar Festival, performing not only time-tested hits (“The Lebanon”, “Love Action”, “Empire State Human”, “Tell Me When”, “Being Boiled”, “Together in Electric Dreams” ) and the song “Don't You Want Me” that gained international popularity, but also the song “All I Ever Wanted”. Despite the fact that the overall performance was successful, the audience began to leave the show when the group performed “Together in Electric Dreams” ^[58] .

At the beginning of their career, the group was influenced by the German electronic team Kraftwerk ^{[1] [59]} . Initially, the band played hard synth-pop , but since the beginning of the 1980s, disco elements began to dominate in its music, which were especially clearly manifested after the release of the single “Don't You Want Me” ^[60] .

The critics defined their own style in different ways. Dave Rimmer , the author of the book “New Romantics”, noted that the team was ranked among the mentioned direction ^[61] , however, in his opinion, The Human League should not be attributed to “new romantics” ^[62] . The Sheffield scene, within which the band formed, was more influenced by punk rather than “new romance”; Philip Oakey recalled that at first, many thought The Human League was a punk band ^[63] . Already in the first years of its existence, The Human League earned positive reviews from critics who ranked the group among representatives of the British post-punk and synth-pop ^[12] . Over time, the team was recognized as one of the most influential groups of the "new wave" of the 1980s, as well as the founder of the "new pop" genre ^[64] . On the website Allmusic.com, The Human League was named one of the most influential pop groups, combining electronic music and synth-pop in their work. Their "contagious" melodies still have a great influence on popular culture ^[1] .

Critics paid special attention to the group's best studio work - Dare . This disc was included in the list of the most significant albums in the history of pop music according to MTV , where it is in twenty-third place ^[65] . Slant Magazine put the disc in eighty-sixth place on the list of the best albums of the 80s ^[66] . Dare turned out to be the most listened album of 1982, losing only one position to Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret Soft Cell ^[67] . According to The Guardian journalist, this disc was one of those albums that had a decisive influence on the development of pop music ^[68] . The single “Don't You Want Me” became the band's biggest hit; the video clip for this song was included in the list of the hundred greatest music videos according to NME magazine number 89 ^[69] . About.com included the song in the list of forty best pop songs of all time, where it is in thirty-first place ^[70] .

The creativity of The Human League had a significant impact on artists such as Moby ^[71] , Robbie Williams ^[72] . The composition “Human” inspired Genesis vocalist Phil Collins to create the song “Everyday”, which has a similar musical structure ^[73] . Some artists used samples of songs of The Human League in their compositions. Many of the group’s compositions were covered by other musicians, among them - Tony Christie, Utah Saints , Ministry of Sound , Craig David , George Michael , KMFDM , Robbie Williams.

Timeline

• Reproduction (1979)
• Travelogue (1980)
• Dare (1981)
• Hysteria (1984)
• Crash (1986)
• Romantic? (1990)
• Octopus (1995)
• Secrets (2001)
• Credo (2011)

Фан-сайты

• Английский фан-сайт группы The Human League (англ.) . Дата обращения 30 июля 2012. Архивировано 6 августа 2012 года.
• Danish fan site group Human League of The (Eng.) . Date of treatment July 30, 2012. Archived on August 6, 2012.

Other references

• Official page of The Human League in the social network Facebook
• Official page of the Human League of The (Eng.) On the website Myspace
• The Human League profile at Last.fm
• League Human (Eng.) On the website Internet Movie Database
• Human League of The (Eng.) Online AllMusic
• Discography of the group (English) . onDiscogs