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 contained four hit singles, including the UK/US number one hit "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 "Mirror Man", "(Keep Feeling) Fascination", "The Lebanon", "Human" and "Tell Me When".
Philip Oakey is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the lead singer, songwriter, and cofounder of British synth-pop band the Human League. Aside from the Human League, Oakey has enjoyed an extensive solo music career and has collaborated with numerous other artists and producers.
Dare is the third studio album by English synth-pop band The Human League, first released in the United Kingdom in October 1981 then subsequently in the US in mid-1982. The album was recorded between March and September 1981 following the departure of founding members Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, and saw the band shift direction from their previous avant-garde electronic style toward a more pop-friendly, commercial sound led by frontman Philip Oakey.
"Don't You Want Me" is a song by British synthpop group the Human League. It was released on 27 November 1981 as the fourth single from their third studio album, Dare (1981). The band's best known and most commercially successful song, it was the biggest 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.
"(Keep Feeling) Fascination" is a song by British synthpop group the Human League. It was composed by Jo Callis and Philip Oakey, and produced by Martin Rushent.
Joanne Catherall is an English singer who is one of two female vocalists in the English synth-pop band The Human League.
Hysteria is the fourth studio album by English synth-pop band the Human League, released on 7 May 1984 by Virgin Records. Following the worldwide success of their previous studio album Dare (1981), the band struggled to make a successful follow-up and the sessions for Hysteria were fraught with problems. The album title itself is taken from the problematic recording period. Producers Martin Rushent and Chris Thomas both left the project which would eventually be finished by producer Hugh Padgham.
Romantic? is the sixth studio album by English synth-pop band the Human League. It was issued by Virgin Records in 1990 and was the band's first album of new material in four years. Romantic? had several producers, most notably Martin Rushent, who worked with the Human League on their biggest commercial success and had walked out of the recording sessions for its 1984 follow-up (Hysteria). Also producing several tracks is Mark Brydon, who would be one half of musical duo Moloko several years later.
Love and Dancing is a remix album by English synth-pop band The Human League, released in July 1982 by Virgin Records. Issued under the band name "The League Unlimited Orchestra" as a nod to Barry White's disco-era Love Unlimited Orchestra, the album was principally the idea and work of producer Martin Rushent and contains dub-style, largely instrumental remixes of songs from the band's multi-platinum selling album Dare (1981), along with a version of the track "Hard Times", which had originally been the B-side of the single "Love Action ". Rushent was inspired by hip hop turntablist Grandmaster Flash and created Love and Dancing on a mixing board. He created vocal effects by cutting up portions of the Dare tape and manually gluing them together. In total, over 2,600 edits feature on the album.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the English synth-pop band The Human League, released on 31 October 1988 by Virgin Records. It contains 13 singles released by the band, spanning from their debut single to their most recent album at the time, as well as lead singer Philip Oakey's collaboration with Giorgio Moroder, "Together in Electric Dreams". The album reached No. 3 in the UK.
Susan Ann Sulley, formerly known as Susanne Sulley and Susan Ann Gayle, is an English singer who is one of the two female vocalists in the synth-pop band The Human League.
"Tell Me When" is a song by British synthpop group the Human League, released as the first single from their seventh album, Octopus (1995). Written jointly by lead singer Philip Oakey and Paul C. Beckett, it was recorded at 'Human League Studios', Sheffield same year. The single and the album were produced by Ian Stanley. It peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart, while reaching number four on the UK Dance Chart. In the US, it peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 15 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and number eight on the Cash Box Top 100.
"The Lebanon" is a song by the British synthpop group the Human League, released as a single in April 1984. Written jointly by lead singer Philip Oakey and keyboard player and guitarist Jo Callis, it was the first single from the band's fourth album Hysteria. It was recorded at AIR Studios in 1983-84.
"Life on Your Own" is a song by the British synthpop group The Human League. Written jointly by lead singer Philip Oakey, Keyboard players Jo Callis and Adrian Wright, it was recorded at AIR Studios between 1983–1984. Originally an album track on Hysteria, it was then released as a single in the UK.
"Open Your Heart" is a song by the British synthpop group The Human League. It was released as a single in the UK in October 1981 and peaked at number six in the UK Singles Chart. It was written jointly by lead singer Philip Oakey and keyboard player Jo Callis. The song features a lead vocal by Oakey and female backing vocals by Susanne Sulley and Joanne Catherall, analogue synthesizers by Jo Callis, Philip Adrian Wright and Ian Burden. Drum machines, sequencing and programming were provided by producer Martin Rushent.
"Love Action " is a song by the British synthpop group The Human League, released as a single in the UK in July 1981. It became the band's first Top 10 success, peaking at number three in the UK Singles Chart.
"The Things That Dreams Are Made Of" is a song by the English synthpop group The Human League. It was originally recorded for the band's 1981 album Dare, but was remixed, remastered and released as a dance EP single in 2008. It reached number two in the official UK Dance Chart in February 2008.
"Louise" is a song by the British synthpop group The Human League. It was released as a single in the UK on 5 November 1984 and peaked at number thirteen in the UK Singles Chart. It was written jointly by lead singer Philip Oakey with fellow band members Jo Callis and Philip Adrian Wright. The song features a lead vocal by Oakey and female vocals by Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall, analogue synthesizers by Philip Oakey, Jo Callis, Philip Adrian Wright and Ian Burden. The producers were Chris Thomas and Hugh Padgham. Although enjoying modest success when released as a single, it appeared on Melody Maker’s list of 50 top singles of 1984.
"Good-Bye Bad Times" is a song by British singer and composer Philip Oakey and Italian producer Giorgio Moroder. It was written by Oakey and Moroder and recorded for the album Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder. Released as a single in the UK in June 1985 as the follow-up to Oakey and Moroder's 1984 hit "Together In Electric Dreams"; it reached number 44 in the singles charts and remained in the charts for 5 weeks. It was moderately successful in Australia, where it peaked at number 26.
