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The Human League
English synth-pop band
The Human League are an English synth-pop 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 produced the hit singles "The Sound of the Crowd", "Love Action ", "Open Your Heart" and the UK and US number one "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 the non-album singles "Mirror Man" (1982) and "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" (1983), "The Lebanon" from the album Hysteria (1984), "Human" from the album Crash (1986) and "Tell Me When" from the album Octopus (1995).
1977–1980: Early years, Reproduction, and Travelogue
In early 1977, Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware, who had met at youth arts project Meatwhistle, were both working as computer operators. Their musical collaboration combined pop music (such as glam rock and Tamla Motown) with avant-garde electronic music. With the price of electronic components dropping in the mid-1970s, equipment became more affordable for the average consumer; Marsh and Ware purchased a Korg 700S synthesizer together and learned how to play it. Their musical reputation spread, and they were invited to play at a friend's 21st birthday party. For the party, Marsh and Ware formed themselves into an informal band called The Dead Daughters. After a few more low-key, private performances, Marsh and Ware decided to officially...
The Human League were associated with the early synth-pop scene in the UK; Nightshift identified the group, along with fellow late 1970s debutants Gary Numan and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), as "the holy trinity of synth-pop". The Human League were also part of the new pop movement in the early 1980s, being described by Pitchfork as "the essence" of the scene: "Strikingly modern at the time, bright and tuneful beyond belief." Their song "Don't You Want Me" was the first song to exclusively use a drum machine to reach number one in the UK singles chart.
Electronic band from Sheffield, England. Formed in 1977 by Martyn Ware, Ian Craig Marsh and Adi Newton. Originally called 'The Future (3)', but changed their name to 'The Human League' in 1978 following the departure of Adi to form Clock DVA and with the addition of vocalist Phil Oakey and the release of the single "Being Boiled".
This original line-up lasted until 1980, after which Ware and Marsh left to form Heaven 17. Oakey kept the band name and added female vocalists, and it is this incarnation that gained widespread popularity.
Mainly known for a synthesizer based pop sound, in particular the song “Don’t You Want Me”.
In 1982 The Human League released a remix album, Love and Dancing, under the band name as a nod to Barry White's disco-era .
Also known as: H.L., Human 2002, Human Leage, Human League, Human Legue
From Discogs (free to use). Their entry
Liner notes
The Human League, the records, oldest first
Reproduction
1979 album
Holiday ’80
1980 ep
Travelogue
1980 album
Dare
1981 album
Fascination!
1983 ep
Hysteria
1984 album
Crash
1986 album
Romantic?
1990 album
YMO Versus The Human League
1993 ep
Octopus
1995 album
Secrets
2001 album
Excerpts From the Golden Hour of the Future
2002 ep
Credo
2011 album
Records from MusicBrainz; covers from the Cover Art Archive.
"Don't You Want Me" is a song by the English synth-pop band the Human League. It was released on 27 November 1981 by Virgin Records as the fourth single from their third studio album, Dare (1981).
The band's best known and most commercially successful song, it was the best selling UK single of 1981, that year's Christmas number one, and has since sold over 1,560,000 copies in the UK, making it the 23rd-most successful single in UK singles chart history. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the US on 3 July 1982, where it stayed for three weeks.
Background
The lyrics were inspired after the Human League's lead vocalist Philip Oakey read a photo-story in a teen-girl's magazine. Though the song had been conceived and recorded in the studio as a male solo, Oakey was inspired by the American musical romantic drama film A Star Is Born (1976), and decided to turn the song into a conflicting duet with one of the band's two teenage female vocalists. Susan Ann Sulley was then asked to take on the role. Until then, she and the other female vocalist, Joanne Catherall, had only been assigned backing vocals; Sulley says she was chosen only through "luck of the draw".
Critical reception
In a contemporary review, Record World praised its "throbbing synthesized beat and sharp hook".
Music video
In 1981, the Human League's record label Virgin were becoming aware that the music video was evolving into an important marketing tool, with MTV being launched that year. Virgin commissioned a promotional video for "Don't You Want Me".
