"The Human League" are a musical group formed in Sheffield, Great Britain, in 1977. In early 1977, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, who had met in the youth art project "Meatwhistle", were both working as computer. They embarked on a new musical collaboration that combined pop music with avant-garde electronic music. Ware and Marsh bought a Korg 700S synthesizer, learned to play it, and decided to form a band. The experimental band dubbed themselves 'The Future' and began making music in a disused workshop in central Sheffield. Ware and Marsh searched for a singer, but their first choice, Glenn Gregory, wasn't available (Gregory eventually became the lead singer of their next band "Heaven 17"). Martyn Ware decided to contact an old school friend, Philip Oakey, about joining the band. Oakey was working as a hospital porter at the time and was known on the Sheffield social scene for his eclectic dressing style. Although he had no musical experience, Ware thought he would be ideal as the singer for "The Future" as he had the appearance of a true "pop star". The friend accepted the invitation, but the first sessions were embarrassing. Oakey had never sung in front of an audience and could not play any musical instruments. While waiting to improve and learn, Oakey decided to contribute to the band as a lyric writer: thus the song "Being Boiled" was born. With a new lineup, new sounds and a new singer, Ware decided to change the band's name. Ware suggested the name "The Human League", inspired by a group from the science fiction board game "StarForce: Alpha Centauri". In early 1978, "The Future" became "The Human League." The band recorded a demo tape for record companies under their new name. The tape featured versions of "Being Boiled", "Toyota City" and "Circus of Death". The band released their first single, "Being Boiled," in June 1978, which became the third Fast Product release. Prompted by critical acclaim, on 12 June 1978 the band played their first live concert at Psalter Lane Art College, Sheffield's 'Bar 2'. In May 1979, the band accepted an offer from Richard Branson's Virgin Records. In June 1979, The Human League supported singer Iggy Pop on his European tour, before starting to record their first single for Virgin. The band's first single under "Virgin Records" was "I Don't Depend on You", released in July 1979 under the pseudonym "The Men". For female vocals they were called Lisa (Liza) Strike and Katie Kissoon Oakey and Ware's relationship had always been turbulent and the pair often quarreled over creative and personal matters.The lack of success and constant bickering led Martyn Ware and Craig Marsh to leave the band to form a new one: Heaven 17. Instead, Philip Oakey decided to continue with The Human League project and recruit new members to the group.After looking around various places, he walked into the Crazy Daisy Nightclub on the High Street, and saw two girls dancing together on the dance floor. dance. Susan Ann Sulley (age 17) and Joanne Catherall (age 18) were two female students who were simply having an evening out for fun. Neither had any professional singing or dancing experience. Without preamble, Oak ey asked both girls to join the tour as dancers and occasional singers. In addition to Sulley and Catherall, Oakey hired professional musician Ian Burden of the Sheffield Graph synth band as session keyboardist for the tour to fill the role abandoned by Ware and Marsh. In January 1981, despite the tour, the band was still in trouble and heavily in debt to Virgin Records. But the turning point was upon us… The band's new single, “The Sound Of The Crowd”, reached number 12 in the UK. Bob Last thought the band could be further improved with the addition of another professional musician, so in April 1981, his partner Jo Callis was invited to become the last permanent member of the band. In August 1981, the follow-up single, "Love Action (I Believe in Love)", reached number three in the UK chart. In October 1981, Virgin released a new single, "Open Your Heart", which gave the band another Top 10 hit. The band's new album, “Dare”, released in October 1981, also reached the top of the charts. ranking in the UK. The album spent a total of four weeks at number one during 1981/82, staying on the charts for 77 weeks and going triple platinum. In November 1981 the new single "Don't You Want Me" from the album "Dare" was released. Philip Oakey didn't think that this single would have achieved success, indeed, he didn't convince him at all and considered it imperfect by putting it as the last track on the album "Dare". The song reached number one in the UK and became a worldwide hit during Christmas 1981. "Don't You Want Me" thus became the band's biggest hit, selling over 1.5 million copies in the UK alone. The album “Dare” was labeled as one of the most influential pop music albums ever. In November 1982, the electropop single “Mirror Man" reached number 2 in the UK chart. The follow-up single, "(Keep Feeling) Fascination", was released in April 1983 and reached number 2 in the UK. In May 1984, the band released the politically charged single "The Lebanon" which peaked at number 11 in the UK.In the same year, another big hit for Oakey with "Together in Electric Dreams", a collaboration with one of his idols, the synth pioneer Giorgio Moroder. In 1986 the album “Crash” was released and the single “Human” reached #1 in the US and #8 in the UK. In 2021 the band embarked on the European and UK tour" Dare 40". They played the album “Dare” in full, as well as other songs from their back catalog.
Album
1979 - Reproduction
1980 - Travelogue
1981 - Dare
1983 - Fascination !
1984 - Hysteria
1986 - Crash
1990 - Romantic ?
1995 - Octopus
2002 - The Golden Hour Of The Future
2004 - Live At The Dome
2011 - Credo
1978 - Being Boiled / Circus Of Death
1979 - Empire State Human
1979 - The Dignity Of Labour Pts. 1-4
1979 - I Don't Depend On You (sotto pseudonimo "The Men")
1980 - Rock'N' Roll
1980 - Holiday '80
1980 - Only After Dark
1981 - Boys And Girls
1981 - The Sound Of The Crown
1981 - Love Reaction (I Believe In You)
1981 - Open Your Heart
1981 - Don't You Want Me
1982 - Mirror Man
1982 - The Things That Dreams Are Made Of
1983 - Fascination
1984 - Louise
1984 - The Lebanon
1984 - Life On Your Own
1984 - I'm Coming Back
1986 - Human
1986 - I Need Your Loving
1986 - Are You Ever Coming Back
1986 - Love Is All That Matters
1990 - Soundtrack To A Generation
1990 - Heart Like A Wheel
1994 - Tell Me When
1994 - One Man In My Heart
1995 - Filling Up With Heaven
1995 - Stay With Me Tonight
2001 - All I Ever Wanted
2002 - You'll Be Sorry
2002 - Love Me Madly?
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