Blame it on a cocktail waitress. “Don’t You Want Me” by The Human League was the biggest selling single in the UK 40 years ago. Four decades later, the song remains an iconic moment in synth-pop and a song which will forever define the band. In a way, even though Dare is the third album from The Human League, it a debut album for Phillip Oakey’s new version of the group after founding members Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware left to form Heaven 17. Full of infectious singles, Dare sounds as good today as it did in 1981 and is one of the best examples of the synth-pop genre. Coincidentally, the previous incarnation of The Human League were pivotal to the birth of that very genre.
While any new music style evolves in subtle shifts, the year 1978 marked a significant moment in the birth of synth-pop. Kraftwerk’s “The Model” and The Normal’s “Warm Leatherette” hinted at where the future of music was headed and the influence of both tracks are still being felt today. Duran Duran covered “Warm Leatherette” on their 2008 tour and while everyone from Rammstein to The Cardigans has covered “The Model”. Equally important, The Human League’s “Being Boiled” is perhaps the most significant of the three songs as it finds a balance between Kraftwerk’s percolating synths and The Normal’s industrial electronics.
Lyrically, “Being Boiled” is perhaps the most subversive of the three songs. “Warm Leatherette” relies heavily on science-fiction writer J.G. Ballard’s 1973 novel Crash for its inspiration while “The Model” cleverly dissects celebrity culture but Kraftwerk have always been more about the sounds than the lyrics. However, “Being Boiled” embodies a more post-punk consciousness. Declaring war on the silkworm industry and how it goes against Buddhist teachings, Oakey sounds cold and ominous in his warnings. This rallying cry against sericulture would almost be ridiculous if the song wasn’t so perfectly executed.
It’s a chilling track and miles away from the band’s 1986 chart-topping ballad “Human”. In a way, that might be a reason The Human League are not regarded more seriously. Especially in the US, the band is probably more known for “Human” and, to borrow Robert Christgau’s term, the ultimate Anglodisco anthem “Don’t You Want Me”. However, without songs like “Being Boiled”, none of the synth-driven pop music of the 80s would have been possible which is what makes The Human League such a treasure.
Whereas The Normal proved to be a one-off project for Daniel Miller before taking Mute Records to the forefront of 80s music and Kraftwerk kept being Kraftwerk, The Human League did their part of lay the foundation for synth-pop with Reproduction (1979) and Travelogue (1980) and then delivered hit single upon hit single through the 80s. Even when the sound of the crowd was full of grunge guitars in the 90s, The Human League were still making exciting pop as evidenced by “Tell Me When” from the overlooked Octopus record in 1995. On the 40th anniversary of “Don’t You Want Me”, now is the perfect time to explore the entire history of The Human League and appreciate just how deep and influential they have been.