The Human League

Beginning life as an intense electronic outfit influenced by Kraftwerk and the post-punk scene in the UK, The Human League fractured when Martyn Ware and Ian Marsh departed to form Heaven 17. Vocalist Phil Oakey was left holding the baby, one who came with significant debts to Virgin Records and live commitments demanding to be met.

The rebirth story is a good one. Oakey visited some London clubs seeking a backing singer cum dancer to add a bit of colour and movement to a pick up band he was pulling together. What he ended up with was a pair of school friends, Susan Sulley (17) and Joanne Catherall (18) who, after a stormy and contentious beginning, became—with Oakey—the core of the band for the next thirty years.

The Human League’s breakthrough album was their first with the new line-up, Dare, a top 5 album in a dozen countries, whose 1981 hit "Don’t you want me" came to define the synth pop sound of the decade.