Travelogue

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In 1987, Ian Burden also left the band. In November 1988, a greatest hits compilation album was released that reached No.3 in UK. This was preceded by the release of the single " Love Is All That Matters" from Crash. The little Korg 770 was Philip Oakey's synth but I'm not sure when he got it. It is however to be seen in live pics from '79 and '80 so they probably used it on the more recent material recorded for Reproduction and Travelogue. Oakey later used the 770 with the new incarnation of Human Leage, eg on 1981's Dare. Despite its steadier pace, ‘The Path Of Least Resistance’ was quite aggressive, what had it been inspired by?

The Human League has influenced many electropop, other synth-pop, and mainstream performers, including Pet Shop Boys. [ citation needed] Moby and Little Boots are longtime fans of the group. [46] [47] They have been sampled and covered by various artists, including Ladytron, Utah Saints, George Michael, Robbie Williams and LCD Soundsystem. [ citation needed] It was a rallying call to rebel against conformity. Both Phil and myself went to grammar school, the top state school in Sheffield, so we were surrounded by a lot of people who wanted to be professionals, lawyers and all that stuff… my parents were poor. So Phil and I being rebellious types were calling for ‘The Path Of Least Resistance’. Yellow Magic Orchestra Versus Human League, The – YMO Versus The Human League (CD) at Discogs". discogs. 21 April 1993 . Retrieved 30 January 2014.With the addition of Oakey’s shadowy, handsome voice, they renamed themselves the Human League and started to reconceptualize themselves as a pop band. Befitting their avant-garde origins, they worked from an indiscriminate definition of “pop,” covering advertisement jingles and themes from film scores, absorbing and refracting every kitsch artifact in their grasp. But their approach proceeded from a true love of pop culture and its ephemera; the cover of the Righteous Brothers’ “ You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” on their 1979 debut album Reproduction, manages to be truly heartfelt and warm through the cold glitter of its instrumentation. Human emotions were timeless, the League seemed to say. Only the technologies that conveyed them changed.

Rechristened The Human League, the trio recruited fourth member, “director of visuals” Philip Adrian Wright, whose slide projections added a futuristic extra dimension to the League’s live shows. Virgin Records signed the group after Bob Last’s Edinburgh-based indie imprint Fast Product released two reputation-building 45s, “Being Boiled” and The Dignity Of Labour EP, yet while their Virgin debut, Reproduction, and attendant single, “Empire State Human,” were critically acclaimed, both sold slowly.

Music Played

In August 1978 the band recorded a session for John Peel, including a re-worked version of "Being Boiled." [10] In November and December 2008, the Human League got together with Martin Fry's ABC and Heaven 17 for 'The Steel City Tour' of the UK. This was Philip Oakey's concept of a joint tour of all three bands celebrating the original electronic music of early 1980s Sheffield (the titular Steel City). Much had been made in the UK media [ citation needed] of the history between Heaven 17 and the Human League, the original events of 1980 and the fact they were now working together. Both Oakey and Martyn Ware said that any acrimony from that period had long since been forgotten. [36] At Falkirk festival in May 2007. From left: Sutton, Burke, Beevers, Catherall, Barton, Sulley, Oakey. My interpretation was that it was a powerful metaphor that was as much about leaving home and leaving the warmth of the family.

Retaining the Human League name came at a heavy price for Oakey. As the band's sole remaining member, he was responsible for all Human League debts and commitments. Furthermore, the terms of the Virgin contract required him to pay Ware and Marsh one per cent of royalties of the next Human League album. The split also jeopardized the band's upcoming tour. With the first performance only ten days away and the music media reporting that the Human League was finished now that "the talented people had left", promoters started threatening to sue Oakey if the concerts were not completed as contracted. It is an interesting concept. We’re spending quite a bit of money on the production, I wanted to make sure that was right and the venues were right. Who knows? We might even do a few more of them, if it is deemed to be successful. Reynolds, Philip (26 November 2012). "The Human League, The Dome, Brighton, review". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 . Retrieved 29 December 2012. I always felt that Sheffield had more in common with somewhere like Liverpool than Manchester. We used to play at The Factory and they were all too cool for school, it was all 40s raincoats and dark glasses with nobody applauding at the end of numbers. Chris Westwood in Record Mirror was less enthusiastic awarding the album "+ + 1/2" describing the group as "a lost, worried Human League dangling from their own tether". [2]

Track listing

Empire State Human’ should have been a huge hit as songs like ‘Are Friends Electric?’ and ‘No1 Song In Heaven’ had charted quite high, any thoughts in hindsight as to why that might not have happened? One of the best sounding early 80s electronic albums you can buy that doesn't sound out of date and cheesy. On 22 September 2006, the band performed on the US network television show Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The band's highlight of 2006 was a performance to an audience of 18,000 at the Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, on 24 October 2006, one of their largest concerts to date. This was followed up by an 11-venue tour of Europe in November and December 2006. In hindsight, do you think it would have been different if you’d had done ‘Being Boiled’ or ‘Marianne’? Manager Bob Last tried to reconcile both parties, and when that proved impossible, various options were suggested, including two new bands under a Human League sub-label. Eventually, it was agreed that Oakey would continue with the Human League name, while Ware and Marsh would form a completely new band, which became Heaven 17. Two weeks before the UK/Europe tour, the band split. [7] [ unreliable source?]