— David Hepworth
They spent a long time try to have a hit. Then they had one. Now it was only a matter of having several hundred more.
Needless to say, The Human League are remembered for "Don't You Want Me". It was a song they didn't think much of and objected to record label Virgin issuing it as a single at the end of 1981. Three hits from their Dare album was sufficient (if only they knew what Michael Jackson was about to do a year later as he went about reinventing the concept of scraping the bottom of the barrel). Such a mediocre work had no business coming out as a 7" in its own right — one that was bound to undermine all that they had accomplished during their extraordinary first big year.
Of course, nothing of the sort happened. Everyone beyond the six members of ver League loved "Don't You Want Me". It became the highest selling single in the UK that year and it did similarly healthy business in Europe and, a few months' later, in North America. As I already said above, it is their legacy. Eighties retro nights wouldn't exist without it. Going from 'ironic love of the eighties' to 'genuine love of the eighties' begins here.
And yet, none of this would have happened had everything worked out as it did. 1980 ended with the first iteration of The Human League in a shambles. Founding members and "serious" musicians Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware departed and the prospects of the depleted duo of singer Philip Oakey (recruited because he was a well-known Sheffield scenester, even though he had next to no musical experience) and 'director of visuals' Adrian Wright (there's a reason not many film makers join bands) were understandably low. Under these conditions, the League's unlucky Top 40-less streak didn't seem to have much of a chance of ending. If they were going to somehow score a fluke hit it would've been bound to be with a mainstream pop sellout.
But that didn't happen either. As I have previously written in this space, comeback single "The Sound of the Crowd" was a work that could've been recorded by their earlier lineup. The Top 20 placing was impressive enough but Oakey and Wright managed to pull it off with a brilliant single that didn't bow to pop trends. And as if out to prove that they didn't just have luck on their side, they promptly went to work on arguably their finest single.
It may not be as well-remembered now but "Love Action" is an absolute delight from start to finish. And everyone knew it at the time. David Hepworth praises its "splendidly loping chorus and staccato synth fill" as well as Oakey's "distinctive baritone". (Sterling stuff indeed, Heps) Meanwhile, Record Mirror's Sunie named its 12" mashup of it and b-side "Hard Times" as that week's Megahit, describing the ten minute reworking as "tasteful, tuneful, witty and danceable, and you can't ask for much more than that from a single". The NME even named it the year's fifth best single.
The great tune and Oakey's outstanding performance could easily be enough but there are plenty of nods to their avant-garde past. The synths are as experimental as ever with new recruit Jo Callis using his guitar to create an electronic sound that is unique and extraordinary. Oakey tries his hand at something close to a rap ("I believe, I believe...") that I cannot manage to keep up with as I try to sing along. He even makes very subtle references to both Iggy Pop (the unforgettable "But this is Phil talking" line is nicked from the former Stooge) and, cryptically, Lou Reed (I'll take his word for it that the 'old man' from "I believe what the old man said..." is meant to be the godfather of punk). You don't do all this in a throwaway pop song.
Thus, The Human League were stronger than ever. "Love Action" became their first of several Top 10 hits in the UK. Joanne Catherall and Susan Sulley contributed but the whole was much more than the sum of its parts. The sly experiments carried over to follow-up single "Open Your Heart" which was another big hit. It was only with the unloved, unwanted "Don't You Want Me" that they capitulated to pure pop — and look what that did for them. But it was all a culmination. Had their now-classic smash come out first, it might not have connected in the same way. They started off 1981 with a cult following, the critics gradually came on board and the pop kids were beginning to pay attention. It was only for everyone else to discover them.
~~~~~
Also Released This Fortnight
The Belle Stars: "Slick Trick"
A melange of Pigbag's "Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag", Blondie's "Rapture", Madness' "The Return of the Los Palamos 7" and the stuttering sound of Talking Heads in general, The Belle Stars' second single may be low on originality but they have energy to burn and it's clear they were a tight septet. "Slick Trick" is impressive but not quite likable enough for me to ever want to hear it again so Hepworth is right to keep it at arm's length. Their hardcore followers doubtless won't agree but they needed to shake the remnants of predecessor punk group The Bodysnatchers from their sound. Good thing they eventually would.
(Click here to see my original review)
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