The Human League are an English electronic new wave band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Dare (1981), the bands most popular album, yielded the single Dont You Want Me, a No. 1 hit in the pop charts of UK, US and many other countries. After its UK success, their first single, Being Boiled was reissued and became a top ten hit at the beginning of 1982. The success of Dont You Want Me is seen as the beginning of the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US. Other international hits include: Love Action, Open Your Heart, Mirror Man, Fascination, The Lebanon, Human (a US No. 1) and Tell Me When. The only constant band member since 1977 is vocalist and songwriter Philip Oakey. Originally an avant-garde all-male synthesizer-based group, The Human League evolved into a commercially successful synthpop band under Oakeys leadership. Since 1987, the band has essentially been a trio of Oakey and long-serving female vocalists Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley (both of whom joined the ensemble in 1980), with various sidemen. Dont You Want Me is a conflicting male/female duet on the subject of jealousy and romantic obsession. The male protagonist of the song (Oakey) is a svengali figure who turns a female waitress (sung by Susan Ann Sulley) into a star, who then subsequently leaves him once she has obtained fame. It is underscored by two backing synthesiser samples and Rushents LM-1 sequence with Burdens core keyboard background. Rushent and Callis would be responsible for the final mix which was disliked by the rest of the band as it was not the dark and brooding track they had envisaged. The track is different to the rest of Dare, not only for its pop sound but also because it features a female joint lead vocal. Against Oakeys wishes, it was released as a single in November 1981; the song then became the bands biggest hit and one of the highest selling singles of all time in the UK. https://youtube/watch?v=uPudE8nDog0
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 05:49:28 +0000
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