The Human League Thread

Big fan of Romantic, shame this album flopped in the US. Cut-out bin galore.
The Orbit 7 inch mix of Heart is a favorite, great 12 inch mix as well

 

Their best record since Dare for me until Secret came along

 

I’ve been relistening to Dare for the first time in years, and remember that when I first played it, my elder sister’s copy in 1981 when I was 9, the moment that sucked me in was when the female voices come in towards the end of the opener, The Things That Dreams Are Made Of. It’s a great song before that, but their voices were so otherworldly and interesting whatever their limitations. And fit really well with electronics...I can imagine them sounding amazing on tracks like Isolation by Joy Division the previous year, or if they’d been members of New Order!

The Dreams female outro vox are just way cool, I love them...

 

I had the 12" single with 3 different versions of don't you want me. Still play my needle drop. Love this song.

 

A little OT: LCD Soundsystem covers The Human League's Seconds on their new Electric Lady Sessions LP. I usually don't recommend covers, but in this case, I give this a good recommend only because they matched the brash brassy power synth line so well it startled me.

 

Just read that “Octopus” is coming up for rerelease by Rhino.

 

Can someone tell me hows the 2012 Dare / Fascination! set sounds?

 

--
Remember when this came out, I thought blah. Recently listened to this parent album and thought, "Hang on. Some of these songs are not bad at all." That time was a strange time for this style of band as they were getting hit with subpar reviews which tainted the albums.

 

Going to see Heaven 17 perform Reproduction and Travelogue in full at the Roundhouse this year. It is going to be odd with no Phil. Part of me is hoping he'll show up, but probably won't as it would disrespect Glenn a bit as he will be doing vocals all night for albums he never had a part in!

This is a longshot, but I'll ask anyway. When I was a lot, lot younger, I recorded off the radio (Radio 1 I think) a show in which Phil chose his top 10 tracks. I can hear the title sequence now "My Top 10 with Philip Oakey"

On that show he chose two tracks I've hunted down for years. One was a Zappa track, the other was Cabaret Voltaire. Just wish I could remember the Zappa one, anyone remember this??

 

The Human League - Artists

23rd January 2020 marks the 25th anniversary of The Human League’s seventh studio album ‘Octopus’. To commemorate the release, the band is to reissue this iconic album in three formats, 2LP, 2CD and 1LP.

The limited edition vinyl features the original album plus an exclusive poster insert and a bonus disc of remixes, including the previously unreleased “Tell Me When (The Real Purple Mix)”.

Featuring 7 previously unreleased tracks, the 2CD format includes the original album plus a second disc of demos, singles and edits. Also featured are two bonus tracks that the band made with Yellow Magic Orchestra - “Behind The Mask” and “Kimi Ni Mune Kyun”.

Originally released in 1995 by EastWest Records, it was the first new album from The Human League in five years after the termination of their long-term contract with Virgin Records. ‘Octopus’ was the first album that presented the band as a trio consisting of the singers Philip Oakey, Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley. It was produced by Tears For Fears Ian Stanley and former band members Jo Callis and keyboard player Neil Sutton also contributed to the writing of the album.

The album's sound is notable for the nearly exclusive use of analogue synthesizers, a marked change from the band's primarily digital sound in the mid-to-late 1980s. The album saw a return to the public eye for the band, who had been out of the top ten since their 1986 album ‘Crash’. ‘Octopus’ was a commercial success. The first single, ‘Tell Me When’ became the band's first top-ten hit in nine years, peaking at number six in the UK singles chart, with the second single ‘One Man in My Heart’ also breaking into the top 20. The album also saw similar chart success peaking at number six in the UK, becoming the band’s sixth top-ten album.

Track Listing
LP1 Side One

1. Tell Me When
2. These Are The Days
3. One Man In My Heart
4. Words
5. Filling Up With Heaven

Side Two

1. Housefull Of Nothing
2. John Cleese; Is He Funny?
3. Never Again
4. Cruel Young Lover

LP2 Side One

1. Tell Me When (Utah Saints Mix 1)
2. One Man In My Heart (T.O.E.C. Nasty Sue Mix)
3. Filling Up With Heaven (Hardfloor Vocal Remix)
4. Stay With Me Tonight (The Biff & Memphis Remix)

Side Two

1. One Man In My Heart (T.O.E.C. Radio Edit)
2. These Are The Days (Sonic Radiation)
3. Filling Up With Heaven (ULA Remix)
4. Tell Me When (The Real Purple Mix) *

CD1 – Original Album

1. Tell Me When
2. These Are The Days
3. One Man In My Heart
4. Words
5. Filling Up With Heaven
6. Housefull Of Nothing
7. John Cleese; Is He Funny?
8. Never Again
9. Cruel Young Lover

CD2 - The Demos / Singles / Edits

1. Tell Me When (Demo) *
2. These Are The Days (Demo) *
3. One Man In My Heart (Demo) *
4. Words (Demo) *
5. Filling Up With Heaven (Demo) *
6. Housefull Of Nothing (Demo)
7. John Cleese; Is He Funny? (Demo) *
8. Never Again (Demo) *
9. Cruel Young Lover (Demo) *
10. Tell Me When (7” Edit)
11. The Bus To Crookes
12. Stay With Me Tonight (Single Version)
13. Behind The Mask (YMO vs THL)
14. Kimi Ni Mune Kyun (YMO vs THL)

* Previously Unreleased

There is a specially priced bundle for the 2CD and 2LP set at that Rhino link, at a very resonable £26.99

I think the 2LP edition is exclusive to the Rhino Store.

It's going to have to be the bundle isn't it, to get everything.

 

Travelogue and Dare are their best for me.Especially Travelogue which I find beautifully unsettling,has great tunes,and some of the greatest lyrics in all 80's pop.

 

Thanks! Ordered the bundle!

 

I started separate thread for the Octopus release, since I didn't find it with the search.

later
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Given that I’ve seen single LP releases at £26.99 it’s a pretty good price for the bundle!

 

Just picked up the Fascination EP again, had a beat up copy many years ago. Good stuff.
I still have yet to come across Travelogue and Reproduction, everything else is pretty easy to find.

 

On CD, or vinyl, there's lots of copies of both on discogs.

later
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Vinyl

 

I love their first 2 ends there...

 

Travelogue:
The Human League - Travelogue (Vinyl, UK, 1980) For Sale | Discogs

Reproduction:
The Human League - Reproduction (Vinyl, UK, 1979) For Sale | Discogs

later
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Which version was that, almost all the original versions only
had the 7 inch, and 12 inch with seconds.

Never seen one with 3 on it.

later
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I may be having false memories..

I thought I had a 12"with:
Extended Instrumental Version
Single version
Extended 12" Version
I can't remember it was so long ago, but I do have a needle drop of that 12"...I'll have to check.

 

You should also get the CD's with the bonus tracks which are mostly awesome.

Is Octopus really iconic? Dare is iconic not sure about the other albums

 

There is no extended instrumental version.

The Human League - Don't You Want Me




The Human League ‎– Don't You Want Me
Label:
Virgin ‎– VS 466-12, Virgin ‎– VS466-12
Format:
Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, Single
Country:
UK
Released:
23 Nov 1981
Genre:
Electronic
Style:
Synth-pop

Tracklist
A1 Don't You Want Me 3:56
A2 Seconds 5:01
B Don't You Want Me (Ext. Dance Mix) 7:31
Total Time: 16:28


The extended mix is mostly instrumental though, while disappointing at the time.
I still enjoyed it.

I did add the lyrics back into my own version, which I listen to a lot more.

They've remixed this song to death, but none of the versions can match the original one.

later
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Love and Dancing is iconic to me, as one of the first Remix albums out there also.

later
-1

 

The back sleeve of the Don't You Want Me should put to bed the question of who Seconds was about- some seem to think it's about Lennon, but clearly it's about JFK