Those once darlings of the dance club – the Human League – are back. With a new hit single “Human,” and album, Crash, they are currently in the midst of their first U.S. tour in over five years, adding their name to the fast growing list of recent revivals and comebacks in rock n’ roll.
But whatever happened to the next big things of 1982–who seemed to have the entire pop world in the palms of their well manicured hands–in the first place? And what have they been doing all these years while the musical genre they helped create, Synth Pop, became the standard schtick of every group from Hoboken to Budokon?
In post-punk America, circa 1982, the Human League seemed to have all the answers. They had style. They had class. They had a sound – a sophisticated blend of Kraftwerk’s cold computer world, black American disco, Roxy Music’s glittery kitsch and punk’s pessimism. They had pretty girls and a hot looking Ferry-esque frontman. They even had some good songs like “Mirror Man” and “Things That Dreams are Made Of.”
And their early videos were little cinematic pleasures, evoking the Hollywood dream factory of the 1930's – slick, professional, representing both high and low fashion, with interesting narrative story lines told in quick cuts, not necessarily connected to the song lyrics. The Human League used video as a promotional vehicle to sell a lifestyle of new wave glamour and glitter, and did it well.
But after their huge initial success (with the U.S. Releases of Dare and Fascination) the band found themselves victims of the media just as much as they used to be masters of it. Due to overexposure on MTV and mediocre releases like Hysteria (1983), they soon floundered, adrift on a synthesizer sea of possibilities, all of them fast becoming cliche. The Human League were ultimately overrun and eclipsed by their predecessors, like OMD, Heaven 17, Depeche Mode, Bronski Beat and ABC. Despite their immense impact on the music, and more importantly, the look of early 1980’s rock, in 1984, they were facing life as major league has-beens with mass media moving faster and more fickle by the minute. The group seemed to have had their 15 minutes of fame – they’d been labeled, dated and filed in the collective data bank of entertainment history.
But the Human League proved to be ingenious creatures with strong survival instincts.
After a brief hiatus and some solo projects (like Oakey’s Georgio Moroder-produced “Electric Dreams”) they are making crossover history again with their new A&M album, Crash. The obvious key to their comeback appears to be their choice of producers – the new dynamic duo of Minneapolis funk, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who worked similar wonders with Janet Jackson. The number one single, “Human” single-handedly resurrected the Human League from near dead, complete with good backup video support and great brand name identification – and a thoroughly entertaining live show. At first glance, the arena-type stage set (complete with shimmery curtains, smoke machines, risers, stairs and colored lights) seemed over done. But from the moment the League hit the first few notes of their tongue-and-cheek choice of opener, “Hard Times,” it all made sense.
Appearing one at a time for maximum cheezy theatrical effect (with the best, the girls – singers Joanne Catherall and Susan Sulley – saved for last, of course) it immediately seemed funny and cute, tacky and slick. The Human League Show. The Big Time. Las Vegas. Hollywood, U.S.A.
The past (“Hard Times”) went right into the present, with “Money” (off the new album). The music was great, the singers were fab. Yes, they’re still selling sex and new wave glitz, but their sense of humor has improved. They’ve reclaimed their glitter rock roots, becoming in the process, a great party band.
Dressed in casually trendy black, accessorized with with mascara and rhinestone earrings, Phillip Oakey still manages to come off as a down-to-earth bloke, a nice guy with two pretty girlfriends (as Catherall is in real life). His cute attempts at between-song performer/audience communication were light-hearted and low-key. “It’s late, what are you all doing here? You’re going to miss Pee Wee tomorrow,” he informed the audience.
Moving along at a sleek, rapid-fire pace, the band (all but one are original members) kept the hits coming – from 1981’s funky anthem “Things That Dreams Are Made Of” (dedicated to the Ramones in attendance), to today’s “The Real Thing” and “I Need Your Loving” (which sounded suspiciously like Janet Jackson’s “Nasty) – showing good examples of the League’s six-year evolution from suave, British synth pop to their new Minneapolis-flavored funk, but still retaining their characteristically dark sound.
But consistently, the best moments of the set were during the older material, which seemed to generate more of an emotional response from the group, especially Oakey. The cool, plastic soul sound of the new material was slick and emotionless in comparison.
The real standout was the chilling and powerful “Seconds,” about the assassination of JFK, in a riveting new version sans girls and guitars. An equally compelling “The Lebanon” kicked in with a bass-driven vigor and intensity, while the funk dance ballad, “Mirror Man” built slowly to a harmony-heavy crescendo. “Love On the Run” was one of the better pieces off Crash, with a Spectoresque disco beat reminiscent of the League’s earlier sound.
They, of course, did the big one, “Don’t You Want Me,” and their current MTV and VH1 smash, “Human.” both complete with schmaltzy soap opera-like monologues played to perfection.
They ended on a high with a flashy synth-powered encore of “(Keep Feeling) Fascination,” closing appropriately with rousing high-tech cover of glam rocker Gary Glitter’s 1972 classic, “Rock and Roll Part II.”
The new Human League show is like a hip, live action Disney movie in flashy technicolor – cute, happy, successful, well-dressed new wave boys and girls together, having fun, and making swell dance music.
The Human League are not a rock group in the usual sense. They only merely hint at the possible power and fury of the music. They sell sanitized sex, glamour and good times in a PG rock format, never getting heavy, never bringing anyone down for more than a few seconds.
In real rock and roll terms,. The Human League are lightweights. But they’re nearly perfect in the its-got-a-good-beat-and-you-can-dance-to-it department. And they know how to put together a snappy outfit.
Originally published February 25, 1987.
Originally published February 25, 1987.
