“In the shade”: the song that regrettably defined The Human League
With the turn of the decade into the 1980s, The Human League were the supreme rulers of synth-pop. Primarily comprised of frontman Philip Oakey, the collective were a tonic of electronic refreshment as well as, of course, a chart-topping titan, scoring their first taste at the top in 1982 with the iconic tune ‘Don’t You Want Me’.
But, as with so many artists who have scooped such monster hits, the shine somewhat has worn off over time in the eyes of its creator. There’s no denying that Oakey, in no small part, owes his career to the lifeblood of ‘Don’t You Want Me’, but it seems 43 years of churning out the tune has proved long enough. It’s time for the waitress to clock out of the cocktail bar.
He previously told Classic Pop: “‘Don’t You Want Me’ might have shifted gazillions, but either I’ve heard it too many times or the rest of Dare! is just so far ahead that it puts it in the shade. Still, it made the band.”
To be fair, Oakey has a point. In many ways, The Human League surfing high across the seas of a new wave during the early 1980s has been done a bit of a disservice by the dominating legacy of one singular hit, especially because initially, they had founded fears that the song was too mainstream for their usual electronic outfit.
Nonetheless, attacking over the pond as the commanders in chief of the Second British Invasion, Oakey’s squad were still lapped up as pioneers in their own right, even if that vision had become slightly skewed in the eyes of the band themselves. Shooting the rock and roll gods down from their heavens, guitars were apparently “archaic and antique”, with the instrument of choice instead being the LM-1 drum machine famously modelled by Prince on the likes of ‘When Doves Cry’ as the shiny new toy.
The cogs of this machinery were the crux of Dare!, the breakout album that ‘Don’t You Want Me’ found its sonic home within. Although Oakey may want to blame the masses for the storming success of his defining tune, the timing of its release was practically served up to both the band and their prospective audience as a sure-fire launch to the stratosphere in the form of the then-burgeoning MTV, which capitalised on the British new wave to subsequently cannonball into the United States. It was a pop explosion, but clearly, those like Oakey didn’t end up being too fond of the golden detritus.
Whether The Human League – or more specifically Phillip Oakey – are cursing the name of ‘Don’t You Want Me’ for the rest of their days or not, surely it can’t be done with all that much contempt at its heart. While the effort of blasting out those synths approaching half a century later possibly could become a little grating, granted, the stages they still get to perform on to this very day most probably wouldn’t be there for them if it wasn’t for their new wave tsunami hit. One song may have defined The Human League’s legacy, but when it comes down to it, there are far worse things you could be remembered for.
