I did an interview with Oakey and the gang in New York for a magazine called Music Computers and Software after the release of Dare. I thought they were going to be the chilly, intimidating people you saw in the video for "Don't You Want Me." I was very young at the time, and was a little nervous. As it turned out, they were just kids like me. I think they were equally relieved that I wasn't some sour old music journalist and we really hit it off. After, they asked if there were any good comic book stores around, and I think I took them to Forbidden Planet in the Village, and we had a great time.
Such great memories, Brad! I imagine the interview touched on the technical side of their music as well, synths, recording techniques, that sort of thing? I’ll be diving into that angle (and more) on the B-side of this week’s post, it’s quite something. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. Wishing you a great Easter weekend!
Yes, we definitely talked about the gear and and how it was democratizing songwriting and recording. Unfortunately, I don't have any copies of the magazine. It was a long time ago! But, here's an interesting fact about the short-lived Music Computers and Software: it was the first US magazine done completely using "desktop publishing" (shortly after, everybody did!). And we had our own music forum on the mysterious thing called the Internet via CompuServe...back then it was primarily inhabited by scientists and a small community of synthesizer nerds!!!
'Don't You Want Me' was played non stop over Christmas '81 here in UK and really heralded the new 'new wave' music that was taking over in UK and later, the world. It was emblematic and at a time when there were various riots in towns and cities that summer as the economy deteriorated.
The Sheffield bands are all good friends again now. We saw them as part of the Steel City Tour about 15 years ago. The line up was composed of Heaven 17, the Human League and ABC. Sheffield was the centre of the UK steel industry and produced very fine cutlery.
Researching and writing these pieces has made me even more curious about the UK’s recent history, Cameron. My first visit was just after the Conservatives came to power, and I remember the overall mood feeling rather grey and bleak. I knew Sheffield as a steel town, but I hadn’t realised it was also renowned for its fine cutlery. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts, Cameron, much appreciated!
When “Don’t You Want Me” came out I thought that the synth/drum intro sounded like “How Long” by Toronto band Saga. It had been released here in Canada in 1977-78, several years before Human League’s song. Saga had toured the UK and Europe in the late 70’s and early 80’s, as well as having their records released in those territories, so I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to suggest that “Don’t You Want Me”, at least the intro arrangement was a rip. This is not to knock The Human League. Musicians copy, borrow and steal from each other all the time, it’s called “influences”. And, “Don’t You Want Me” has undeniable GOOD pop hooks, it has been, for decades, a legacy song from that era and a bona fide hit. B U T . . . give the Saga song “How Long” a spin. It’s a very good song. Well written, full of hooks and an authentic narrative from a lyrical standpoint. It’s Canadian rock music from 1977. It’s WAY better than anything Human League’s ever recorded or released in their short, overhyped career. Saga? Still together, still recording and touring. No number one hits, but their longevity and creative spirit is genuine and very synth driven.
Interesting point, David. I didn’t know the Saga track, so I gave it a spin this morning. I get what you mean, but it does feel quite different overall. The part that really echoes Human League / Don’t You Want Me is that synth in the intro.
I haven’t dug into Saga’s setup at the time, but knowing most of the Human League album was built around the Korg 770, released in 1977, it’s likely a case of similar gear shaping a similar sound rather than direct influence.
I’m actually planning a Saga episode soon. They had some interesting twelve-inch releases, and there’s that curious case of a 1985 track that became a proper dancefloor staple in Belgium during the New Beat era. Probably aiming for late spring.
Thanks for reading and jumping in, David. Wishing you a great Easter Monday and a strong start to the week!
Wow, Pe. This is packed with all the good stuff: historical and geographical contextualisation, cultural sensitivity, industry insights, and deep knowledge of the music and the lives of the individuals creating it. I can't wait for Side B!
Thanks Andy, really glad you enjoyed it. Side B is now live, and there’s more to come as I zoom in on Heaven 17 and other bands Martin Rushent worked with. It’s turning into a fun little mini-series.
Thanks for reading and reacting, and wishing you a happy Easter weekend!
Hmm...I don't know if I can narrow it down to one. If I *had* to choose only one, I'd say "Rage In Eden" by Ultravox. After I came back from Europe (see story in my other comment), I acquired penfriends through an ad for penpals in a Finnish music magazine (Suosikki), and friends sent me tapes of European technopop, richer and darker sounds that what we typically heard in the states. "Rage In Eden" was a song I learned from one of those tapes, a song I immediately became crazy about, and that began my Ultravox fandom. (By now I have six of their original studio albums, including 2012's Brilliant, plus the blue-cover 1984 "greatest hits" The Collection.)
But there are other songs that capture the sound and feeling of the era for me equally as much. They are:
-- "Cambodia" by Kim Wilde -- another song that I heard on a penfriend's tape, which prompted me to buy the album Select -- only available as an import -- when I found it in a record store in 1982 or 1983. So many songs on this album encapsulate the era and bring chills of delight down my spine even today -- "Take Me Tonight," "Action City" -- it's my favorite Kim Wilde album.
-- "Telegraph" by OMD, again, introduced to me by a Finnish penfriend, prompting me to buy the album it came from, Dazzleships, as an import. I'm still an OMD fan to this day, having not only LPs and 12" singles of theirs from the '80s, but also their recent albums English Electric, The Punishment Of Luxury (along with the bonus CD of 12" mixes and B-sides), and Bauhaus Staircase. I like these three albums even better than their 1980s albums.
-- "Talk Talk" by Talk Talk. This might be my #2 track-that-defines-the-era. It never fails to bring chills of delight down my spine.
-- "The Sound Of The Crowd" by The Human League. (I have the 12" of this.) Peak summer 1982 technopop with European sounds and exciting energy.
I couldn't narrow it down to ONE song that defines the era, but I think I can say these five are songs that define the era for me...plus "Take Me Tonight" to make it a half dozen.
This was fun thinking about which tracks define the era for me and listening to them again as I wrote this!
Brilliant, J Lee, that’s exactly the spirit I’m after. Reliving the memories, revisiting the music, and just enjoying it all over again. Solid picks across the board.
If I had to choose a favorite synth-pop band, it would probably be Ultravox. I think I’ve got just about everything they released in my collection. Brilliant the album was… well, yes, brilliant 😁
I was lucky enough to see them live shortly after it came out, what must have been one of their final tours. Midge Ure was still hitting all the notes, and with today’s technical setup, they could get incredibly close to perfection on stage. The venue went absolutely wild. The crowd was on fire, while the band stayed as cool and composed as ever 😁
Anyway, thanks for reading and reacting. Wishing you a happy Easter weekend!
" That’s exactly the spirit I’m after. Reliving the memories, revisiting the music, and just enjoying it all over again." In my case, your mission was definitely accomplished!
Aside from my early 1980s European penfriends (who I lost touch with before 1990), you're only the second person I've ever met who is an Ultravox fan. Nice to meet you, fellow Ultravox fan! Though your level of fandom certainly surpasses mine. I'm glad you had that great concert experience with them in the Brilliant era.
Haha… there are actually quite a few of them in Europe. And let’s not forget, they did score a big number one with Vienna in 1980, right in their classic period. That album Vienna is still one of my all-time favorites. I’ve already covered them once, and there will definitely be more.
The thing is, they never really cracked the US in a big way. When I mentioned the two phases of synth-pop, Ultravox clearly belongs to the first. Their first two synth-pop albums were produced in Germany by Conny Plank, one of the key figures behind Krautrock.
And Krautrock was pretty much the opposite of the American R&B tradition. That’s why their sound felt so detached, very European, and not exactly easy to market in the US. Timing didn’t help either, their peak came just before the Second British Invasion took off stateside.
Anyway… great to have you here, J Lee. Welcome to the feed, and thanks for the reactions. Really appreciate it.
I first became familiar with The Human League in the spring of 1982 when "Don't You Want Me" hit the radio. I bought the 7" single. Then I went to Europe for my first time and learned more "technopop," as I believe it was called then, and became a huge fan of the music, despite knowing few artists yet. To this day, I remember walking the streets of Helsinki with "Lay All Your Love On Me" by ABBA going through my mind after hearing it play in a store, a song which had that European technopop sound. (In the fall of 1982, I bought their album The Visitors and loved that title track for its dark technopop sound also.)
When I came back from Europe, I bought Dare, and immediately I loved the song "The Sound Of The Crowd." It was so exciting! It's by far my favorite Human League song ever. I also bought multiple 12" singles from the album.
Perhaps when I was in Europe, I bought the 7" single of "Being Boiled." I loved that song too -- it sounded so "European" to my ears. I wanted more! Eventually I found the album it came from (Travelogue) and bought it; I liked that album very much. The whole album sounded more European than Dare. "Dreams Of Leaving" was my favorite on the album for its Cold War sound and message.
I knew the Human League of Travelogue was before the group split up into Heaven 17 and The Human League, so I checked out Heaven 17 too. My first two Heaven 17 records were the 12" singles "We Live So Fast" and "Let Me Go," which then got me interested in the album The Luxury Gap, which I bought, though the album version of "We Live So Fast" is so WEAK compared to the exciting 12" version, which I ranked as my #11 favorite dance track of the 1980s. I also liked the 12" of "Let Me Go." Eventually I bought their previous album "Penthouse and Pavement," but I never liked that one at all, so if I listen to a Heaven 17 album, it's The Luxury Gap.
It was informative and a joy to read your article about all this stuff regarding The Human League that I did not know.
Fascinating to read how you discovered those early The Human League and Heaven 17 releases, J Lee. You’re absolutely right, that first phase had a much more “European” feel to it.
You can almost split synth-pop into two eras. The early period was colder, more minimal, even a bit austere. Later on, it became far more melodic and pop-oriented. That shift makes sense when you consider how much those early records leaned on Kraftwerk and the broader Krautrock movement.
That’s also why Penthouse and Pavement sits firmly in that first phase. It’s more angular, more experimental, which might explain why it doesn’t resonate as much as their later, more accessible material.
Personally, I’ve always had a soft spot for that debut. It feels more groundbreaking, like they were still figuring things out in real time.
And as it happens, that’s exactly where I’m heading next. The next episode in this mini-series will zoom in on Heaven 17, and I’ll dig a bit deeper into that transition.
I suppose I should give Penthouse and Pavement another try.
You talk about music direction splits and Kraftwerk...when Kraftwerk released Computer World and the black music stations not only picked it up but musicians started making music in that vein, which was quite big in the early 1980s, I thought it was amazing that a stodgy-acting (at least in stage presence) group of German white guys spawned a whole vibrant genre of dance music in the black American world. (Side note: The first time I ever heard Yazoo was on my local black music [soul & funk] station, when they played the 12" of "Situation" in the summer of 1982 -- I was an instant Yazoo fan.)
I had the opportunity to see Kraftwerk at the 2016 Detroit Movement electronic dance music festival -- a 3D concert. The large area for the concert was packed so tightly that I was pressed against people's bodies on all four sides. It was an amazing concert and vibe!
Either before or after the concert, I was looking through my records and discovered that I had a Kraftwerk album that I didn't even remember ever having: Trans Europa Express. This album came out in 1977, four years before Computer World. (I don't know when I got it, but it had to be long after Computer World.) What astonished me was hearing the riff I knew from 1982's "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa in the Kraftwerk song "Trans Europa Express." All this time I thought it was Computer World that launched the electro sound of songs like "Planet Rock," "Egyptian Lover," etc. -- was I wrong?
But as I've considered it further, I still think it was Computer World that spawned the electro genre, since I don't recall any music of that nature before Computer World. Apparently when Computer World came out, the electro music makers went back to hear more Kraftwerk and pulled that riff from "Trans Europa Express."
The "family tree" of musical genres is such a fascinating topic. I've seen multiple attempts of people to do a family tree of EDM genres, but it's difficult to do because musicians get influences from so many different sources, and there are not always clear lines between genres.
It’s indeed tricky to draw a clean family tree of dance music, J Lee. The connections between genres and artists are messy at best. More often than not, it’s less a straight line and more a constant feedback loop than a simple one-to-one relationship.
Take Kraftwerk, for example. They were influenced by the Stooges, MC5 and Motown, all rooted in Detroit. In turn, Kraftwerk would go on to shape the sound of Detroit techno artists like Juan Atkins. That circular exchange says it all.
I’ll be diving deeper into the origins of electro and that feedback loop in future episodes, including several focused on Kraftwerk. What I can already say is that while Trans-Europe Express and Computer World had a massive impact, the relationship between Kraftwerk and US dancefloors actually started earlier, with Autobahn in 1974.
And once again, you see that fascinating link back to Detroit and the car industry 😁
Funny you should say that, Uncle Maxie 😁 I had exactly the same thought when everything started unfolding over there. Always loved that track, the driving bassline and lyrics hit just the right note.
Thanks for reading and reacting. Wishing you a happy Easter weekend!
merci bien, Buona Pasqua + staying corrected ( for The Twelve Inch fandom files ): technically I am in the category “Passover ageing boychiks”, unbearably secular!!!
Today I learned there’s a band named after a board game! Great read. I obviously know “Don’t You Want Me Baby” (certified banger) but basically none of this fascinating context.
It was fun reading this, Pe! I remember Oakey also gave in to Don't as a single if the label included a poster or something. But it always sounded great to me. Something that stood out on radio. And it was those synths, the narrative, the relative rawness. And it was the reason I got the album. I think Seconds and Love Action are better, but they don't deliver the thrill of Don't
Dare is one of those rare albums where, if you ask me, there’s not a single weak track. I’ve been relistening to it again while doing my research, part of the ritual by now, and honestly one of the reasons I enjoy writing these weekly episodes so much.
Totally agree with you on “Seconds.” I just wish they had released a full dub version of it. What we get on Love and Dancing is spectacular, but it leaves you wanting more.
Anyway, thanks for reading and reacting, Emm, much appreciated. Happy Easter!
Fantastic stuff Pé!! I came to their earlier music a little later but I remember first falling in love with “Fascination” and “Mirror Man” after having that EP on cassette. “Don’t You Want Me” is certainly a synth pop all-time classic and I loved hearing the history behind it. I also never knew that Heaven 17 was one half of an earlier incarnation of The Human League. Looking forward to the B-side!!
The B-side just dropped, curious to hear what you think of it, Mark.
I always loved “Mirror Man,” but I’ve had a bit of a complicated relationship with “Fascination.” There’s something slightly off about it, which is of course part of its charm, but my ears and brain never fully settled into it. I’ve sometimes wondered if that played a role in it not really taking off in the Benelux at the time… though that might just be me projecting my own taste onto an entire region 😂
That said, I’ve definitely grown to appreciate the dub version more over the years. Pure Martin Rushent excellence.
I agree with you that there was always something off about "Fascination." It seems slightly off key, not only in the singing but also the instruments. The instrumental sound is also harsh and brittle. I couldn't remember "Mirror Man," so I just got out my 12" to play it...oh, now I remember it. Yeah, I liked it better than "Fascination." But "Mirror Man" was the last Human League record I bought until Crash, which was so dreadful that I was done with them.
Around that same time (mid-1983) that I felt like The Human League had done all it was going to do that was any good (after "Fascination"), the same was happening with Soft Cell and Yazoo, two other artists I really liked at the time. The fact that Fascination! was only an EP and not a full album contributed to my view. I'm not sure why I missed The Human League's album Hysteria -- whether it was because I lived in rural Kentucky at the time and didn't know about it, or because I assumed The Human League was finished. Or maybe I heard it and didn't like it, but I don't remember any songs from it at all. [Edit: I just went to Spotify to listen to "The Lebanon." It sounds vaguely familiar. But probably all the guitars in the song and the overall sound contributed to my opinion that as a technopop group, they were done.]
Some years ago I found in my collection a cassette of Romantic? that looks like I bought it used in some dump bin. I didn't even remember having it, and when I played it, I didn't like it.
Despite all that, in 2021 I bought the 2-CD deluxe edition of Secrets, which I had not been aware had come out in 2001. I'm not even sure how I stumbled across it in 2021 when I bought it. I like the sound on the album, and the songs are stronger than anything I've heard from them since Dare. Yet somehow the album never clicked with me, unlike the 21st century albums by OMD and Ultravox.
Secrets is indeed one of the best they made. It felt like they reconnected with their "succesfull" past. Somewhere down the line I will be writing an episode on Human and I will explain what happened after the success of Dare and why "Crash" resembles a (car) crash 😁
It wasn't just the prospect for teenagers in the UK that was bleak at the end of the seventies; the music business was in a state too. After well over a decade of apparently effortless growth, the industry was facing the previously unthinkable threat of a recession. It's often forgotten that punk was a commercial dud here, with the industry failing miserably to develop all but a handful of punk acts into profitable album artists. And then in 1978, the price of an album broke the psychological £5 barrier for the first time, just as teenage unemployment was on the verge of going through the roof; the result was a decline in album sales lasting half a decade. I believe that before they were rescued by Dare, Virgin were in dire financial straights themselves after investing in too many bands who disappeared down the toilet such as Cowboys International and Interview. The upside of this crisis however, was that record companies struggling to get their bearings were briefly open to experimentation, which presumably explains why Virgin allowed the League to release their debut single as The Men, and Britain actually became the most exciting place to be a pop fan in the world, with more variety in the singles chart than ever.
One last thing, I think Martyn Ware must have been secretly consumed with jealousy and envy when he trashed Sound of the Crowd; it's a wierd and fantastic single, with Joanne and Susan Anne putting the "crowd in the sound" as writer Jon Savage so memorably put it.
You touch on so many interesting points, Paul. Ever since I started writing this blog/newsletter, I’ve been wanting to understand more about your country in that period.
My first visit to the UK was in 1979, just after the Conservatives came into power. I travelled with a friend and we stayed with a family in Hemel Hempstead, friends of his mother. During the day we’d take the train into central London, just wandering around, taking everything in, things you simply didn’t see back in provincial Antwerp 😁 I must have spent a fair bit of time in the Virgin Megastore as well. What stayed with me most, though, was how grey and bleak it all felt at the time.
Your point about the record company landscape is a really interesting one. I’ll definitely carry that into future posts. And I’ll come back to Heaven 17 down the line, it’s turning into a bit of a mini-series 😁
Like you, I’m convinced that Martyn Ware’s reaction at the time was driven, at least in part, by jealousy. I read the Simon Reynolds interview with Philip Oakey yesterday while preparing the B-side, and it does feel like that tension has eased over time. It sounds like things are fairly normal between them now.
Of course, Penthouse and Pavement may not have matched the commercial impact of Dare, but that 1% share of Dare probably softened the blow. And in the long run, Heaven 17 proved to be the more stable and durable act.
But that’s a story for another episode.
As always, thanks for reading and reacting. Happy Easter!
It is, isn’t it. I got to know it through the Methods of Dance compilation, essential vinyl for any aspiring DJ in the early eighties. I never really understood why it wasn’t a hit, probably just a bit too early for its time.
To me, it doesn’t even sound that disco. It’s really early synth-pop.
Thanks for reading and reacting, Matt. Happy Easter!
I had a feeling this one would be right up your street, Dan 😁 You mentioned as much after the Pete Shelley episode. I’ll definitely be doing more on The Human League, most likely around Human and the challenges behind that album and its recording.
But first, I’m flipping to the other side of the story: Heaven 17.
Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts, and have a great Easter weekend!
I did an interview with Oakey and the gang in New York for a magazine called Music Computers and Software after the release of Dare. I thought they were going to be the chilly, intimidating people you saw in the video for "Don't You Want Me." I was very young at the time, and was a little nervous. As it turned out, they were just kids like me. I think they were equally relieved that I wasn't some sour old music journalist and we really hit it off. After, they asked if there were any good comic book stores around, and I think I took them to Forbidden Planet in the Village, and we had a great time.
Such great memories, Brad! I imagine the interview touched on the technical side of their music as well, synths, recording techniques, that sort of thing? I’ll be diving into that angle (and more) on the B-side of this week’s post, it’s quite something. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. Wishing you a great Easter weekend!
Yes, we definitely talked about the gear and and how it was democratizing songwriting and recording. Unfortunately, I don't have any copies of the magazine. It was a long time ago! But, here's an interesting fact about the short-lived Music Computers and Software: it was the first US magazine done completely using "desktop publishing" (shortly after, everybody did!). And we had our own music forum on the mysterious thing called the Internet via CompuServe...back then it was primarily inhabited by scientists and a small community of synthesizer nerds!!!
😁 Those were the days! Brilliant!
'Don't You Want Me' was played non stop over Christmas '81 here in UK and really heralded the new 'new wave' music that was taking over in UK and later, the world. It was emblematic and at a time when there were various riots in towns and cities that summer as the economy deteriorated.
The Sheffield bands are all good friends again now. We saw them as part of the Steel City Tour about 15 years ago. The line up was composed of Heaven 17, the Human League and ABC. Sheffield was the centre of the UK steel industry and produced very fine cutlery.
Researching and writing these pieces has made me even more curious about the UK’s recent history, Cameron. My first visit was just after the Conservatives came to power, and I remember the overall mood feeling rather grey and bleak. I knew Sheffield as a steel town, but I hadn’t realised it was also renowned for its fine cutlery. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts, Cameron, much appreciated!
When “Don’t You Want Me” came out I thought that the synth/drum intro sounded like “How Long” by Toronto band Saga. It had been released here in Canada in 1977-78, several years before Human League’s song. Saga had toured the UK and Europe in the late 70’s and early 80’s, as well as having their records released in those territories, so I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to suggest that “Don’t You Want Me”, at least the intro arrangement was a rip. This is not to knock The Human League. Musicians copy, borrow and steal from each other all the time, it’s called “influences”. And, “Don’t You Want Me” has undeniable GOOD pop hooks, it has been, for decades, a legacy song from that era and a bona fide hit. B U T . . . give the Saga song “How Long” a spin. It’s a very good song. Well written, full of hooks and an authentic narrative from a lyrical standpoint. It’s Canadian rock music from 1977. It’s WAY better than anything Human League’s ever recorded or released in their short, overhyped career. Saga? Still together, still recording and touring. No number one hits, but their longevity and creative spirit is genuine and very synth driven.
Interesting point, David. I didn’t know the Saga track, so I gave it a spin this morning. I get what you mean, but it does feel quite different overall. The part that really echoes Human League / Don’t You Want Me is that synth in the intro.
I haven’t dug into Saga’s setup at the time, but knowing most of the Human League album was built around the Korg 770, released in 1977, it’s likely a case of similar gear shaping a similar sound rather than direct influence.
I’m actually planning a Saga episode soon. They had some interesting twelve-inch releases, and there’s that curious case of a 1985 track that became a proper dancefloor staple in Belgium during the New Beat era. Probably aiming for late spring.
Thanks for reading and jumping in, David. Wishing you a great Easter Monday and a strong start to the week!
Wow, Pe. This is packed with all the good stuff: historical and geographical contextualisation, cultural sensitivity, industry insights, and deep knowledge of the music and the lives of the individuals creating it. I can't wait for Side B!
Thanks Andy, really glad you enjoyed it. Side B is now live, and there’s more to come as I zoom in on Heaven 17 and other bands Martin Rushent worked with. It’s turning into a fun little mini-series.
Thanks for reading and reacting, and wishing you a happy Easter weekend!
"Which synth-pop track defines this era for you?"
Hmm...I don't know if I can narrow it down to one. If I *had* to choose only one, I'd say "Rage In Eden" by Ultravox. After I came back from Europe (see story in my other comment), I acquired penfriends through an ad for penpals in a Finnish music magazine (Suosikki), and friends sent me tapes of European technopop, richer and darker sounds that what we typically heard in the states. "Rage In Eden" was a song I learned from one of those tapes, a song I immediately became crazy about, and that began my Ultravox fandom. (By now I have six of their original studio albums, including 2012's Brilliant, plus the blue-cover 1984 "greatest hits" The Collection.)
But there are other songs that capture the sound and feeling of the era for me equally as much. They are:
-- "Cambodia" by Kim Wilde -- another song that I heard on a penfriend's tape, which prompted me to buy the album Select -- only available as an import -- when I found it in a record store in 1982 or 1983. So many songs on this album encapsulate the era and bring chills of delight down my spine even today -- "Take Me Tonight," "Action City" -- it's my favorite Kim Wilde album.
-- "Telegraph" by OMD, again, introduced to me by a Finnish penfriend, prompting me to buy the album it came from, Dazzleships, as an import. I'm still an OMD fan to this day, having not only LPs and 12" singles of theirs from the '80s, but also their recent albums English Electric, The Punishment Of Luxury (along with the bonus CD of 12" mixes and B-sides), and Bauhaus Staircase. I like these three albums even better than their 1980s albums.
-- "Talk Talk" by Talk Talk. This might be my #2 track-that-defines-the-era. It never fails to bring chills of delight down my spine.
-- "The Sound Of The Crowd" by The Human League. (I have the 12" of this.) Peak summer 1982 technopop with European sounds and exciting energy.
I couldn't narrow it down to ONE song that defines the era, but I think I can say these five are songs that define the era for me...plus "Take Me Tonight" to make it a half dozen.
This was fun thinking about which tracks define the era for me and listening to them again as I wrote this!
Brilliant, J Lee, that’s exactly the spirit I’m after. Reliving the memories, revisiting the music, and just enjoying it all over again. Solid picks across the board.
If I had to choose a favorite synth-pop band, it would probably be Ultravox. I think I’ve got just about everything they released in my collection. Brilliant the album was… well, yes, brilliant 😁
I was lucky enough to see them live shortly after it came out, what must have been one of their final tours. Midge Ure was still hitting all the notes, and with today’s technical setup, they could get incredibly close to perfection on stage. The venue went absolutely wild. The crowd was on fire, while the band stayed as cool and composed as ever 😁
Anyway, thanks for reading and reacting. Wishing you a happy Easter weekend!
" That’s exactly the spirit I’m after. Reliving the memories, revisiting the music, and just enjoying it all over again." In my case, your mission was definitely accomplished!
Aside from my early 1980s European penfriends (who I lost touch with before 1990), you're only the second person I've ever met who is an Ultravox fan. Nice to meet you, fellow Ultravox fan! Though your level of fandom certainly surpasses mine. I'm glad you had that great concert experience with them in the Brilliant era.
Haha… there are actually quite a few of them in Europe. And let’s not forget, they did score a big number one with Vienna in 1980, right in their classic period. That album Vienna is still one of my all-time favorites. I’ve already covered them once, and there will definitely be more.
The thing is, they never really cracked the US in a big way. When I mentioned the two phases of synth-pop, Ultravox clearly belongs to the first. Their first two synth-pop albums were produced in Germany by Conny Plank, one of the key figures behind Krautrock.
And Krautrock was pretty much the opposite of the American R&B tradition. That’s why their sound felt so detached, very European, and not exactly easy to market in the US. Timing didn’t help either, their peak came just before the Second British Invasion took off stateside.
Anyway… great to have you here, J Lee. Welcome to the feed, and thanks for the reactions. Really appreciate it.
I first became familiar with The Human League in the spring of 1982 when "Don't You Want Me" hit the radio. I bought the 7" single. Then I went to Europe for my first time and learned more "technopop," as I believe it was called then, and became a huge fan of the music, despite knowing few artists yet. To this day, I remember walking the streets of Helsinki with "Lay All Your Love On Me" by ABBA going through my mind after hearing it play in a store, a song which had that European technopop sound. (In the fall of 1982, I bought their album The Visitors and loved that title track for its dark technopop sound also.)
When I came back from Europe, I bought Dare, and immediately I loved the song "The Sound Of The Crowd." It was so exciting! It's by far my favorite Human League song ever. I also bought multiple 12" singles from the album.
Perhaps when I was in Europe, I bought the 7" single of "Being Boiled." I loved that song too -- it sounded so "European" to my ears. I wanted more! Eventually I found the album it came from (Travelogue) and bought it; I liked that album very much. The whole album sounded more European than Dare. "Dreams Of Leaving" was my favorite on the album for its Cold War sound and message.
I knew the Human League of Travelogue was before the group split up into Heaven 17 and The Human League, so I checked out Heaven 17 too. My first two Heaven 17 records were the 12" singles "We Live So Fast" and "Let Me Go," which then got me interested in the album The Luxury Gap, which I bought, though the album version of "We Live So Fast" is so WEAK compared to the exciting 12" version, which I ranked as my #11 favorite dance track of the 1980s. I also liked the 12" of "Let Me Go." Eventually I bought their previous album "Penthouse and Pavement," but I never liked that one at all, so if I listen to a Heaven 17 album, it's The Luxury Gap.
It was informative and a joy to read your article about all this stuff regarding The Human League that I did not know.
Fascinating to read how you discovered those early The Human League and Heaven 17 releases, J Lee. You’re absolutely right, that first phase had a much more “European” feel to it.
You can almost split synth-pop into two eras. The early period was colder, more minimal, even a bit austere. Later on, it became far more melodic and pop-oriented. That shift makes sense when you consider how much those early records leaned on Kraftwerk and the broader Krautrock movement.
That’s also why Penthouse and Pavement sits firmly in that first phase. It’s more angular, more experimental, which might explain why it doesn’t resonate as much as their later, more accessible material.
Personally, I’ve always had a soft spot for that debut. It feels more groundbreaking, like they were still figuring things out in real time.
And as it happens, that’s exactly where I’m heading next. The next episode in this mini-series will zoom in on Heaven 17, and I’ll dig a bit deeper into that transition.
I suppose I should give Penthouse and Pavement another try.
You talk about music direction splits and Kraftwerk...when Kraftwerk released Computer World and the black music stations not only picked it up but musicians started making music in that vein, which was quite big in the early 1980s, I thought it was amazing that a stodgy-acting (at least in stage presence) group of German white guys spawned a whole vibrant genre of dance music in the black American world. (Side note: The first time I ever heard Yazoo was on my local black music [soul & funk] station, when they played the 12" of "Situation" in the summer of 1982 -- I was an instant Yazoo fan.)
I had the opportunity to see Kraftwerk at the 2016 Detroit Movement electronic dance music festival -- a 3D concert. The large area for the concert was packed so tightly that I was pressed against people's bodies on all four sides. It was an amazing concert and vibe!
Either before or after the concert, I was looking through my records and discovered that I had a Kraftwerk album that I didn't even remember ever having: Trans Europa Express. This album came out in 1977, four years before Computer World. (I don't know when I got it, but it had to be long after Computer World.) What astonished me was hearing the riff I knew from 1982's "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa in the Kraftwerk song "Trans Europa Express." All this time I thought it was Computer World that launched the electro sound of songs like "Planet Rock," "Egyptian Lover," etc. -- was I wrong?
But as I've considered it further, I still think it was Computer World that spawned the electro genre, since I don't recall any music of that nature before Computer World. Apparently when Computer World came out, the electro music makers went back to hear more Kraftwerk and pulled that riff from "Trans Europa Express."
The "family tree" of musical genres is such a fascinating topic. I've seen multiple attempts of people to do a family tree of EDM genres, but it's difficult to do because musicians get influences from so many different sources, and there are not always clear lines between genres.
It’s indeed tricky to draw a clean family tree of dance music, J Lee. The connections between genres and artists are messy at best. More often than not, it’s less a straight line and more a constant feedback loop than a simple one-to-one relationship.
Take Kraftwerk, for example. They were influenced by the Stooges, MC5 and Motown, all rooted in Detroit. In turn, Kraftwerk would go on to shape the sound of Detroit techno artists like Juan Atkins. That circular exchange says it all.
I’ll be diving deeper into the origins of electro and that feedback loop in future episodes, including several focused on Kraftwerk. What I can already say is that while Trans-Europe Express and Computer World had a massive impact, the relationship between Kraftwerk and US dancefloors actually started earlier, with Autobahn in 1974.
And once again, you see that fascinating link back to Detroit and the car industry 😁
To be continued.
ugh, sadly their “The Lebanon” of Hysteria, 1984 comes timely in a way again, I had to say it, underneath all that, thanks for the insight as ever!!!
Funny you should say that, Uncle Maxie 😁 I had exactly the same thought when everything started unfolding over there. Always loved that track, the driving bassline and lyrics hit just the right note.
Thanks for reading and reacting. Wishing you a happy Easter weekend!
merci bien, Buona Pasqua + staying corrected ( for The Twelve Inch fandom files ): technically I am in the category “Passover ageing boychiks”, unbearably secular!!!
Today I learned there’s a band named after a board game! Great read. I obviously know “Don’t You Want Me Baby” (certified banger) but basically none of this fascinating context.
That's where I come in Max 😂 Thanks as ever for reading & reacting! Much appreciated. Happy Easter!
It was fun reading this, Pe! I remember Oakey also gave in to Don't as a single if the label included a poster or something. But it always sounded great to me. Something that stood out on radio. And it was those synths, the narrative, the relative rawness. And it was the reason I got the album. I think Seconds and Love Action are better, but they don't deliver the thrill of Don't
Dare is one of those rare albums where, if you ask me, there’s not a single weak track. I’ve been relistening to it again while doing my research, part of the ritual by now, and honestly one of the reasons I enjoy writing these weekly episodes so much.
Totally agree with you on “Seconds.” I just wish they had released a full dub version of it. What we get on Love and Dancing is spectacular, but it leaves you wanting more.
Anyway, thanks for reading and reacting, Emm, much appreciated. Happy Easter!
Fantastic stuff Pé!! I came to their earlier music a little later but I remember first falling in love with “Fascination” and “Mirror Man” after having that EP on cassette. “Don’t You Want Me” is certainly a synth pop all-time classic and I loved hearing the history behind it. I also never knew that Heaven 17 was one half of an earlier incarnation of The Human League. Looking forward to the B-side!!
The B-side just dropped, curious to hear what you think of it, Mark.
I always loved “Mirror Man,” but I’ve had a bit of a complicated relationship with “Fascination.” There’s something slightly off about it, which is of course part of its charm, but my ears and brain never fully settled into it. I’ve sometimes wondered if that played a role in it not really taking off in the Benelux at the time… though that might just be me projecting my own taste onto an entire region 😂
That said, I’ve definitely grown to appreciate the dub version more over the years. Pure Martin Rushent excellence.
I agree with you that there was always something off about "Fascination." It seems slightly off key, not only in the singing but also the instruments. The instrumental sound is also harsh and brittle. I couldn't remember "Mirror Man," so I just got out my 12" to play it...oh, now I remember it. Yeah, I liked it better than "Fascination." But "Mirror Man" was the last Human League record I bought until Crash, which was so dreadful that I was done with them.
Around that same time (mid-1983) that I felt like The Human League had done all it was going to do that was any good (after "Fascination"), the same was happening with Soft Cell and Yazoo, two other artists I really liked at the time. The fact that Fascination! was only an EP and not a full album contributed to my view. I'm not sure why I missed The Human League's album Hysteria -- whether it was because I lived in rural Kentucky at the time and didn't know about it, or because I assumed The Human League was finished. Or maybe I heard it and didn't like it, but I don't remember any songs from it at all. [Edit: I just went to Spotify to listen to "The Lebanon." It sounds vaguely familiar. But probably all the guitars in the song and the overall sound contributed to my opinion that as a technopop group, they were done.]
Some years ago I found in my collection a cassette of Romantic? that looks like I bought it used in some dump bin. I didn't even remember having it, and when I played it, I didn't like it.
Despite all that, in 2021 I bought the 2-CD deluxe edition of Secrets, which I had not been aware had come out in 2001. I'm not even sure how I stumbled across it in 2021 when I bought it. I like the sound on the album, and the songs are stronger than anything I've heard from them since Dare. Yet somehow the album never clicked with me, unlike the 21st century albums by OMD and Ultravox.
Secrets is indeed one of the best they made. It felt like they reconnected with their "succesfull" past. Somewhere down the line I will be writing an episode on Human and I will explain what happened after the success of Dare and why "Crash" resembles a (car) crash 😁
Holy crap, what a tale. I had no idea.
haha.. thanks Tamara. Glad you liked it. Happy Easter!
It wasn't just the prospect for teenagers in the UK that was bleak at the end of the seventies; the music business was in a state too. After well over a decade of apparently effortless growth, the industry was facing the previously unthinkable threat of a recession. It's often forgotten that punk was a commercial dud here, with the industry failing miserably to develop all but a handful of punk acts into profitable album artists. And then in 1978, the price of an album broke the psychological £5 barrier for the first time, just as teenage unemployment was on the verge of going through the roof; the result was a decline in album sales lasting half a decade. I believe that before they were rescued by Dare, Virgin were in dire financial straights themselves after investing in too many bands who disappeared down the toilet such as Cowboys International and Interview. The upside of this crisis however, was that record companies struggling to get their bearings were briefly open to experimentation, which presumably explains why Virgin allowed the League to release their debut single as The Men, and Britain actually became the most exciting place to be a pop fan in the world, with more variety in the singles chart than ever.
One last thing, I think Martyn Ware must have been secretly consumed with jealousy and envy when he trashed Sound of the Crowd; it's a wierd and fantastic single, with Joanne and Susan Anne putting the "crowd in the sound" as writer Jon Savage so memorably put it.
You touch on so many interesting points, Paul. Ever since I started writing this blog/newsletter, I’ve been wanting to understand more about your country in that period.
My first visit to the UK was in 1979, just after the Conservatives came into power. I travelled with a friend and we stayed with a family in Hemel Hempstead, friends of his mother. During the day we’d take the train into central London, just wandering around, taking everything in, things you simply didn’t see back in provincial Antwerp 😁 I must have spent a fair bit of time in the Virgin Megastore as well. What stayed with me most, though, was how grey and bleak it all felt at the time.
Your point about the record company landscape is a really interesting one. I’ll definitely carry that into future posts. And I’ll come back to Heaven 17 down the line, it’s turning into a bit of a mini-series 😁
Like you, I’m convinced that Martyn Ware’s reaction at the time was driven, at least in part, by jealousy. I read the Simon Reynolds interview with Philip Oakey yesterday while preparing the B-side, and it does feel like that tension has eased over time. It sounds like things are fairly normal between them now.
Of course, Penthouse and Pavement may not have matched the commercial impact of Dare, but that 1% share of Dare probably softened the blow. And in the long run, Heaven 17 proved to be the more stable and durable act.
But that’s a story for another episode.
As always, thanks for reading and reacting. Happy Easter!
Great stuff, Pe! I wasn't familiar with "I Don’t Depend on You." Cool sounding track!
It is, isn’t it. I got to know it through the Methods of Dance compilation, essential vinyl for any aspiring DJ in the early eighties. I never really understood why it wasn’t a hit, probably just a bit too early for its time.
To me, it doesn’t even sound that disco. It’s really early synth-pop.
Thanks for reading and reacting, Matt. Happy Easter!
Happy Easter to you, too, Pe!
Great work again Pe! I'm assuming you're going to cover it but the single "Human" was also a number one hit in the U.S.
"Don't You Want Me" will always be one of the defining songs of the 1980s for me!
I had a feeling this one would be right up your street, Dan 😁 You mentioned as much after the Pete Shelley episode. I’ll definitely be doing more on The Human League, most likely around Human and the challenges behind that album and its recording.
But first, I’m flipping to the other side of the story: Heaven 17.
Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts, and have a great Easter weekend!