The Human League is an English synth-pop music group formed in 1977. They were pioneers in the use of synthesizers in England and became initiators of this music style.
Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh initially formed a group called "The Future" with Adi Newton. Newton left to form his own musical group, Clock DVA. Ware then invited Philip Oakey, a former school friend and former hospital porter, to join the band. Oakey accepted the invitation despite having no prior experience in a musical group. Soon after, they decided to call themselves "The Human League." The name Human League was derived from the game Starforce: Alpha Centauro (which was the second science fiction game).
The original members released two LPs that achieved moderate commercial success: "Reproduction" in 1979 and "Travelogue" in 1980. Both albums reached the Top 40 in the UK charts. After the release of Travelogue and feeling disappointed with the limited success of the album, the band disbanded in late 1980. Ware and Marsh eventually joined Glenn Gregory to form the group "Heaven 17," while Oakey retained the rights to the brand The Human League after paying his two former bandmates for the copyrights.
Following the original band's breakup, Philip Adrian Wright (a photographer who exhibited slides and films on stage) and Oakey released another single, "Boys and Girls," in 1980. To fulfill their tour commitments in Europe, they hired bassist Ian Burden and two vocalists, Susanne Sulley (now called Susan Gayle), and Joanne Catherall, two schoolgirls they had met at a nightclub in Sheffield.
It was in the 1980s that The Human League achieved great popularity after the change in their lineup. Guitarist Jo Callis (former member of The Rezillos) was hired by the band, and with Rushent at the helm, The Human League recorded their most successful album, "Dare." The album achieved significant commercial success, driven by their catchy singles "Open Your Heart," "Love Action/Hard Times," and their most famous hit, "Don't You Want Me."
In 1986, the group faced a period of creative stagnation and struggled to record material that matched their previous success. Key composer Jo Callis left and was replaced by drummer Jim Russell. The record label paired The Human League with R&B producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who had achieved great success with Janet Jackson's single "Control." In 1986, with the addition of drummer Jim Russell, they released the album "Crash," which included much material written by the Jam and Lewis team, showcasing their distinctive DX7-led sound, making it novel compared to the band's previous works. The album provided a single with more significant impact on the charts, called "Human."
In 1990, the band released their final album for Virgin Records, "Romantic?". Former members Adrian Wright and Ian Burden, along with Jim Russell, had left the group at the time (although Jo Callis returned to play and write two songs, including the somewhat irrelevant hit "Heart Like a Wheel"). Among the new members of The Human League was keyboardist Neil Sutton, who wrote more than half of the songs on the album, and guitarist/keyboardist Russell Dennett, who, along with Oakey, made a cameo appearance in the TV comedy "The Weekenders," portraying the fictional group Electric Russell performing in a club. The album "Romantic?" failed to recapture the commercial success the group had in 1981. Eventually, Virgin Records decided not to renew their contract and unexpectedly released them, causing lingering resentment to this day.
The Human League returned in 1995, now signed to East West Records, and with the single "Tell Me When," they achieved their first major hit since 1986's "Human." The album that contained that song, "Octopus," became a silver record.
In the credits of the album, the cover, and the videos, the group was presented simply as a trio composed of Oakey, Catherall, and Sulley. In reality, half a dozen other musicians had collaborated on the album, including producer Ian Stanley (former keyboardist of Tears for Fears), who continued playing contributions from Neil Sutton and Russell Dennett, and Oakey co-wrote a song with Jo Callis. The next single from the album, "One Man in my Heart" (sung by Sulley), and a remix of "Don't You Want Me" were successful in the UK, but the next singles, "Filling up with Heaven" and "Stay with Me Tonight," barely made it into the Top 40.
As of September 22, 2006, The Human League performed on the ABC television program "Jimmy Kimmel Live." The most significant event that year was their performance at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, in front of an audience of 15,000 people in October. This was followed by an 11-show tour of the UK and Europe in November and December.
The only original member of the band who continues to this day is the vocalist and songwriter Philip Oakey. The group has continued to record albums and perform live, achieving moderate commercial success during the 1990s and 2000s. Currently, the group is presented as a trio, consisting of Oakey along with his two colleagues Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Gayle.
