The Twelve Inch #207 - The B-Side : Beats, Acapella & Dub: Inside Dare, The Dub Revolution & The Second British Invasion 🔊
The Twelve Inch 207 : Don't You Want Me (Human League)
This is the B-Side to this week’s episode.
Every twelve inch had a B-side where the DJs and collectors found the extra tools: beats, dubs and alternate versions.
This is the B-Side of this week’s episode, where we dig deeper into the story behind the record. Read it in one go or enjoy the different sections on different moments. The choice is yours
🥁 Section 1 — The Beats
🎛️ BEATS: How Dub Rewired Synth-Pop (The Human League’s Secret Weapon) 🔊
🎯 The “Dub” That Changed Everything
Let’s start with something that might sound… slightly confusing.
We have a “Dub” section later in this B-side.
And yet…
👉 We’re talking about dub here, in the Beats section. 😁
Stay with me.
Because this is not just a detail.
This is one of the reasons why The Human League became The Human League.
🔍 Why Dub Matters Here
The reason I’m opening this B-side with dub is simple. It was essential to the story. When we talk about Martin Rushent, we often focus on: the clean production, the precision of the sound and the synth-pop blueprint
All true.
But there is another layer. For many of us, this is where we first discovered the power of the “dub version.”
I’ve put together a full playlist in the Dub section 😁 where I go deeper into each version, and how I used them as a DJ at the time.
But for now, let’s focus on the shift.
⚡ Before and After Rushent?
Let me put it like this.
👉 There is a period in dance music before Martin Rushent, and after Martin Rushent.
After this moment, something shifts.
Every artist. Every label.
👉 They all understand that a dub version can add to the story of a song, an album, an artist.
And honestly?
I doubt Dare and The Human League would have had the same impact without those dub versions.
Even if they didn’t directly move the sales needle.
🧠 So Was Rushent First?
So… was Rushent the first to create a dub version ?
