Human League appreciation
Glenn A
Posts: 23,877 Forum Member
✭✭✭
There must be quite a few fans out there, so I've started a thread devoted to Sheffield's finest group. From Being Boiled to Mirror Man, this band really were good and for all later stuff is a bit patchy, it's still quite good. Dare and Travelogue are masterpieces and the best albums to come out in the synthpop era.
Also worthy of mention, Phil Oakey, Susanne Sully and Joanne Catherall haven't forgotten their roots, still live in Sheffield and are prepared to talk to fans in the street.
Also worthy of mention, Phil Oakey, Susanne Sully and Joanne Catherall haven't forgotten their roots, still live in Sheffield and are prepared to talk to fans in the street.
0
Comments
Dare has got to be in the top 3 best albums of the 80's, every song is well worth it's place on that album.
Will have to look into the earlier stuff some time. Being Boiled is great. ("Listen to the sound of Buddah...")
I'd say from Being Boiled to Mirror Man the Human League did everything right. However, Hysteria was a bit of a let down and the attempts at rock on The Lebanon were woeful. Yet Crash, an album I remember Smash Hits massacring, sounded more contemporary and produced the excellent single Human.
It took me nearly 15 years to see The Human League from first hearing them, seeing them finally in 1995. They were terrific.
Martyn Ware, along with Vince Clarke, owns the company that created the sensory room at my daughter's school. I e-mailed him gushing about The Human League, he responded kindly
I have made sure that my daughter appreciates their sound and other great music from back in the day.
I'm so glad i managed to find it on vinyl, in my old local record store..
I do have a huge love for the 80s and synth pop as a whole and always turn to music of the past when i'm un inspired or lacking belief in the music which is being pumped out today...
However i always like to try and find new music, and for this particular sound and genre... for me, there is one clean cut winner!!!
PEPPERMINT HEAVEN !!!
New track; 'In You Or Out Of You' and 'Changing The World' are my favourites!
https://soundcloud.com/peppermintheaven/in-you-and-out-of-you
I agree totally, i listen to Reproduction and Travelogue much more than Dare. I know you could argue it is a different band really and Dare is far more commercial and easy to get in to i much prefer the rawness of the first two albums.
That said the 12 inches Dare spawned as well as love & dancing are about as perfect an early 80s theme tune as you can get, Hard Times / Love Action will never fail to make me smile, tap my feet and nod my head like a loony
After "Open Your Heart", I was hooked and managed to track down all their previous releases (including "Dignity Of Labour" which took AGES). Still have them all - including both 7" and 12" versions of all singles from "Sound Of The Crowd" up to and including "Human". My teenage bedroom was plastered with huge Human League posters too
"Crash" unfortunately killed my appreciation for them - thought it was a huge mistake. Saw them live on the Crash tour in '87 (when Ian Burden was still with them) and thought they were great, especially when performing the older stuff such as "Empire State Human" - I can remember the audience groaning whenever Phil said "here's another one from our new album" lol.
(I was in a band at the time, and met Phil Oakey at the stage door, and proceeded to hand him a copy of our demo tape, asking for his opinion lol. Never heard anything back - probably ended up in his bin.)
I agree with the previous posters - "Reproduction" and "Travelogue" are very underrated. I still listen to them. "Dream Of Leaving" is a masterpiece IMHO.