Don't You Want Them, Baby?

Human League, circa 2003

Human League in Concert on DVD

Music Video Distributors and Secret Films will release Human League – Live at the Dome on DVD August 23, 2005. The concert was filmed in Brighton in December 2003, as part of their 2003 tour. “Listening to the Human League, is like listening to 1980!” These words came from David Bowie in 1979. The Human League that Bowie referred to was a futuristic synth, vocals and slide-show experience, not a band in the normal sense.

Formed in Sheffield in 1977 by Martyn Ware, Ian Craig-Marsh and singer Adi Newton (and called The Future), former hospital porter Phil Oakey (he was the one with "the hair") was invited to join, he says, just because he was tall. Adi left (eventually to join Clockdva) and Adrian Wright joined (on visuals and synth) shortly after their debut single ‘Being Boiled’ was voted NME’s single of the week in summer 1978. It didn’t chart then, but got to No. 6 when reissued in 1982. But it did help to get them a tie-in with Virgin Records.

Their EP ‘Holiday ‘80’ got them on Top Of the Pops, and the next single ‘Empire State Human’ remains in their set and is featured on this DVD. In 1981 their first single, ‘Boys and Girls’ was released, with the band addition Ian Burden, on bass and synth – it scraped into the charts at 48 in February. A couple of months later ‘The Sound Of The Crowd’ went to 12 shortly after that guitarist Jo Callis joined from the Rezillos. Then ‘Love Action’ went to No. 3 in July. ‘Open Your Heart’ reached No. 6 in October. It also marks the debut of the chart-topper ‘Don’t You Want Me Baby.’ The album, Dare, sold more than five million copies and introduced Human League to the U.S. as well.