0:00:04 > 0:00:06# Young guns, having some fun
0:00:12 > 0:00:14# Young guns, having some fun
0:00:16 > 0:00:17# Young guns! Heads up off! Go for it!
0:00:18 > 0:00:19# Young guns! Heads up!
0:00:20 > 0:00:21# Young guns! Heads up! Go for it!
0:00:22 > 0:00:23# Young guns! Heads up!
0:00:25 > 0:00:26# Young guns! #
0:00:30 > 0:00:35The manifesto. Scenario: summer 1977, The Human League was formed,
0:00:35 > 0:00:39in order to channel its members' immense talents.
0:00:39 > 0:00:44Background: none of The Human League have any orthodox training,
0:00:44 > 0:00:48seeing compositions as an extension of logic, inspiration and luck.
0:00:48 > 0:00:54Conclusion, manifesto: interested in combining the best of all worlds,
0:00:54 > 0:00:58they aim to improve the future by close attention to the present,
0:00:58 > 0:01:02allying technology with humanity and humour.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05# Don't you want me, baby...? #
0:01:05 > 0:01:12The Human League's manifesto was written by three art-school boys during the heady days of punk.
0:01:12 > 0:01:17It wasn't fulfilled until singer Philip Oakey went to a local disco
0:01:17 > 0:01:21and asked two schoolgirls to join his critically acclaimed
0:01:21 > 0:01:25but commercially unsuccessful synthesizer group.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29A few weeks later, Philip and the girls were on Top Of The Pops.
0:01:29 > 0:01:34The Human League became one of the biggest groups of the early '80s.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39The Human League's success hasn't sustained throughout the '90s,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43but the trio of Philip, Joanne and Susanne
0:01:43 > 0:01:47have remained loyal to the group and to their home town of Sheffield.
0:01:47 > 0:01:53I'm just proud that we stayed together and we're still doing it.
0:01:53 > 0:01:59It's hard being in a group for nearly 19 years, and being able to keep your sanity.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04Although I'm sure there'd be a few doubters along the way!
0:02:04 > 0:02:10The Human League didn't begin with Philip and the girls. In the beginning, there were no girls
0:02:10 > 0:02:15and the music leant far more to the avant-garde than to pop.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18HYPNOTIC SYNTHESIZER MUSIC
0:02:35 > 0:02:37# Faced with the choice
0:02:39 > 0:02:41# What would you say?
0:02:43 > 0:02:45# The path of least resistance
0:02:47 > 0:02:48# It seems the only way
0:02:48 > 0:02:52# But can't we look a little further...? #
0:02:53 > 0:02:58The band had been formed in 1977 by two computer operators
0:02:58 > 0:03:03with a passion for Kraftwerk and science fiction.
0:03:03 > 0:03:10I started my first well-paid job. I thought, "How shall spend my cash?"
0:03:10 > 0:03:14I could have learned to drive, which I've still never done -
0:03:14 > 0:03:17bought a second-hand car.
0:03:17 > 0:03:23The first cheap commercial synthesizers were just coming on to the market.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26So I went and bought one.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34I was always into all things science fiction.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39In Sheffield, you're surrounded by strange sounds, with the steelworks.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43You're surrounded by "musique concrete".
0:03:43 > 0:03:46The drop forges hammering away at night.
0:03:46 > 0:03:51- A natural environment. They sounded like natural sounds.- Yeah. Not alien.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55We grew up with the sound of machinery
0:03:55 > 0:03:58We thought, "We need a vocalist," and Martyn...
0:03:58 > 0:04:05Basically, I went to school with Phil from the age of 16, and he looked like a pop star.
0:04:05 > 0:04:13I ended up doing four years as a hospital porter at two different hospitals,
0:04:13 > 0:04:18which is a great job, but absolutely no prospect of promotion.
0:04:18 > 0:04:24If you work very hard for 15 years, you get to be deputy head porter.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28I'd have been lost without the group.
0:04:28 > 0:04:29# To level four I think
0:04:31 > 0:04:33# Softly is the answer
0:04:35 > 0:04:36# And not another drink
0:04:38 > 0:04:41# They say it might be the only way... #
0:04:41 > 0:04:44I thought it would be a bit of a hobby.
0:04:44 > 0:04:51I was surprised they asked me. Everybody was trying to be in bands, but I wasn't.
0:04:51 > 0:04:56They played me their tapes. I'd say, "You're doing fantastic stuff,"
0:04:56 > 0:05:01which probably helped my prospects with them.
0:05:01 > 0:05:06Still, when we were doing it, it seemed so left-field.
0:05:06 > 0:05:12that we'd mess around with our tape recorders for two or three years
0:05:12 > 0:05:15and then go and do what we were gonna do.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23This is Psalter Lane Art College - our first venue.
0:05:23 > 0:05:28I was so nervous, I sang the same verse over and over.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32I couldn't remember the verses. I'd never been on stage in my life.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Neither had we.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38The tape recorder - this is the very one -
0:05:38 > 0:05:43would be placed centre-stage, where a drummer would be.
0:05:43 > 0:05:48The rhythms and bass were on there. We had keyboards. Philip had a mike.
0:05:48 > 0:05:53The show started with us walking on and turning the tape on.
0:05:53 > 0:05:59Stuff started without us playing anything, which was provocative.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03Adrian Wright was in the audience. He liked the gig.
0:06:03 > 0:06:09He approached us afterwards. He was at the art college, doing film and photography.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12# ..The flight into space
0:06:12 > 0:06:15# Sucking in the human race
0:06:15 > 0:06:18# How can it stay at the top...? #
0:06:18 > 0:06:25They said, "We've heard about your slide collection." I said, "How?" They said, "I don't know."
0:06:25 > 0:06:30They said, "We're boring on stage."
0:06:30 > 0:06:34I said, "Yes, you are. I saw your first concert."
0:06:34 > 0:06:38They said, "Will you project your slides behind us?"
0:06:39 > 0:06:42# Big on the town
0:06:42 > 0:06:46# And the gleam is an iron red
0:06:46 > 0:06:50# Said my father was a prole
0:06:50 > 0:06:52# Now I once more... #
0:06:52 > 0:06:57It was just not like a band should be. Everyone did laugh at us.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02We were a joke in Sheffield. We were an affront to their sensibilities.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05People wanted to hit us.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Someone threw beer over Martyn and his keyboard, which is shocking.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13We had no insurance. We thought, "God!
0:07:13 > 0:07:16"We're gonna have to do something."
0:07:16 > 0:07:19I built a cage to protect my synth.
0:07:19 > 0:07:24Which the writers thought was a statement of alienation.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28- They did. That's what they all said. - In fact, it was a beer guard.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31- In fact, it was...- A beer guard.
0:07:31 > 0:07:37It was to stop the invalidation of the hire-purchase agreement.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41# You're trying hard not to show it
0:07:41 > 0:07:44# Baby
0:07:44 > 0:07:45# But, baby
0:07:47 > 0:07:51# Baby, I know it
0:07:51 > 0:07:56# You've lost that loving feeling... #
0:07:56 > 0:08:01I was taken with their version of You've Lost That Loving Feeling.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04They were very original.
0:08:04 > 0:08:09Phil Oakey looked extraordinary with his hair... Which side did it go on?
0:08:09 > 0:08:13I attempted immediately to sign them and was successful.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16They were avant-garde.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Would they be a commercial success?
0:08:21 > 0:08:25Human League's first two albums, Reproduction and Travelogue,
0:08:25 > 0:08:29hovered around the lower reaches of the charts.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33They made it into the top ten in January 1980,
0:08:33 > 0:08:37with their enigmatic single Being Boiled.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42I remember a review of Being Boiled.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45They'd got John Lydon reviewing singles.
0:08:45 > 0:08:50- I think it started...- Two words. - "Trendy hippies."- Yeah.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53# Listen to the voice of Buddha
0:08:56 > 0:08:58# Saying stop your sericulture
0:09:01 > 0:09:03# Little people like your... #
0:09:03 > 0:09:09They'd done a good backing track. I didn't know if I was good enough for the group.
0:09:09 > 0:09:14I took a tape home, wrote some stuff. They said, "It's all right."
0:09:14 > 0:09:19I sang it to them, which was one of the scariest things I've ever done.
0:09:19 > 0:09:25- They said, "That's all right." - I thought it was brilliant. - Jaw-dropping!
0:09:25 > 0:09:30However, one question remained to perplex the record buyer.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33WOMAN: What is Being Boiled about?
0:09:33 > 0:09:35Here's your man.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39It was... I'd got some religions mixed up.
0:09:39 > 0:09:44I thought that, like, Buddhism was the same as Hinduism.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47It was sort of a plea for vegetarianism,
0:09:47 > 0:09:52against killing silkworms to make socks, or something.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54I got confused about it.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56# He'll say carry on your slaughter
0:09:59 > 0:10:01# Who cares for the little children?
0:10:01 > 0:10:04# You can slice with no conviction... #
0:10:04 > 0:10:07Even those who got the silkworms
0:10:07 > 0:10:11were frequently confused by the group's appearance -
0:10:11 > 0:10:14particularly Philip's.
0:10:14 > 0:10:19We turned up to a festival, I think in Vienna. I think once in France.
0:10:19 > 0:10:24In one of them, the booklet said, "England's leading gay group."
0:10:24 > 0:10:29I thought, "OK. That's worrying." I don't think any of us ever were gay.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33It's unlikely, when you think about it. But it wasn't a gay thing.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37It wasn't effeminate. It was somewhere in between.
0:10:37 > 0:10:45I had ten or 15 years when I didn't wear men's clothing, but it wasn't really women's clothing either.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47I was just somewhere else.
0:10:47 > 0:10:52Human League had made considerable progress with the music press,
0:10:52 > 0:10:57but were becoming frustrated at their lack of mainstream success..
0:10:57 > 0:11:02Our intention was to become the first popular synthesizer band
0:11:02 > 0:11:07that was doing vocals, as opposed to experimental stuff.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10We released things that could do that.
0:11:10 > 0:11:15Nothing ever quite became a hit. Then Gary Numan came along
0:11:15 > 0:11:19and stole our glory by suddenly... Out of nowhere.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22He used to be a rock act.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27He suddenly took on our clothing and became incredibly successful.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29We were quite miffed.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31# Here in my car
0:11:31 > 0:11:33# I feel safest of all
0:11:33 > 0:11:35# I can lock all my doors
0:11:35 > 0:11:36# It's the only way to live
0:11:36 > 0:11:38# In cars. #
0:11:38 > 0:11:41It was like a kind of cusp for the group.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45Until that point, it had been a laugh and art.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48We'd assumed we'd break through.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52That point really broke the morale, looking back, of the band.
0:11:52 > 0:11:57All we could see stretching into the future was being...
0:11:57 > 0:11:59All right, we were mentioned as being influential,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02but we weren't earning any money -
0:12:02 > 0:12:06I think that was the engine that drove the split.
0:12:06 > 0:12:12Ian and Martyn formed Heaven 17, taking their musical expertise.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16Philip and Adrian were left with only the name - The Human League.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20I was terrified - I can't play anything.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Martyn and Ian were the players. It was me and Adrian.
0:12:24 > 0:12:31It didn't help that Melody Maker had headlines like "The Creative People Have Gone".
0:12:31 > 0:12:37It looked like we would fall flat on our faces and be laughed around Sheffield.
0:12:37 > 0:12:42The Human League were contracted to a European tour in two weeks' time.
0:12:42 > 0:12:48If they failed to show, Philip and Adrian would be sued for £250,000.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51They had to act fast.
0:12:51 > 0:12:56We needed a group so Philip said, "I know. We need some girls."
0:12:56 > 0:13:00He said, "I've been thinking. Two girls."
0:13:00 > 0:13:04So he went out that night to this nightclub.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06And I went down another nightclub.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09And he found these two girls.
0:13:09 > 0:13:14We saw Joanne and Susanne who were sort of dancing with each other,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17dressed as Gary Numan or something.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20But they weren't...
0:13:21 > 0:13:25..they weren't too tied to style, too extreme.
0:13:25 > 0:13:32The way they dressed WAS stylish, but in ten years' time, you probably wouldn't be laughing.
0:13:32 > 0:13:39They were the same as the people we were trying to sell to - more closely even than we were.
0:13:39 > 0:13:45We'd liked people from a generation or two before of music.
0:13:45 > 0:13:52But they were right there - they liked Gary Numan and Japan, they knew exactly what was going on.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54I came off the dance floor.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59And he said, "I'm Philip Oakley from The Human League."
0:13:59 > 0:14:02We knew because we liked the group.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05He said, "Look, we're doing this tour.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09"You and your friend looked good together.
0:14:09 > 0:14:14"What do you think?" He gave me a list of dates and his phone number.
0:14:14 > 0:14:21We'd actually bought tickets to go and see the group in Doncaster on that tour we ended up playing at.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25Adrian Wright progressed from slides to synthesiser.
0:14:25 > 0:14:31Ian Burden was drafted in to play another and they were ready to tour.
0:14:31 > 0:14:37Our parents had to check with the school that it was all right.
0:14:37 > 0:14:43The school thought we could study lots and get to see lots of different places.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47But we didn't study at all!
0:14:47 > 0:14:53The Human League was an all-male band. They did not take well to two females.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56We got full cans of beer thrown at us
0:14:56 > 0:15:03and just people coming up to us after shows and saying, "You're crap!"
0:15:03 > 0:15:07It was just... They just didn't like us.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11I suppose, to be fair, they were expecting a different tour.
0:15:11 > 0:15:16They were expecting the original line-up with Ian and Martyn.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19They didn't get any warning that it would be different.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23They played the Hammersmith Odeon. It was half full.
0:15:23 > 0:15:29It didn't look good. But there was a very good feeling afterwards.
0:15:29 > 0:15:36I was so relieved because there had been so many things about that gig that didn't go right.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40So many people doubted that they could be successful again.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44There was a groundswell of interest in this music.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48SUSAN: Within weeks, my mum was running round the schools,
0:15:48 > 0:15:52knocking on classroom doors, getting us out of school.
0:15:52 > 0:15:58"I've got to get them because they've got to go to London to do Top Of The Pops."
0:15:58 > 0:16:01# Get around town, get around town
0:16:01 > 0:16:05# Where the people look good Where the music is loud... #
0:16:05 > 0:16:10MAN: At the time, we were very much considered by Virgin, not by Simon,
0:16:10 > 0:16:13as the fag end of The Human League.
0:16:13 > 0:16:18Phil had negotiated to still retain the name.
0:16:18 > 0:16:25But the ones they were looking at were the other lot. They thought Martyn Ware would do it.
0:16:25 > 0:16:30"Phil's the singer and Adrian's the slide operator. What can they do?"
0:16:30 > 0:16:36So I think Sound Of The Crowd was just, "Bung them in and see what happens."
0:16:36 > 0:16:40But Simon Draper had another view of it.
0:16:40 > 0:16:48Once they heard that, and particularly when it charted, it was, "Let's go the whole way."
0:16:48 > 0:16:52- # The lines on a compact guide - Pass around... #
0:16:52 > 0:16:59Martin Rushent was very important to the success of this new group, effectively.
0:16:59 > 0:17:04Before this, they had quite good ideas but didn't sound convincing.
0:17:04 > 0:17:10With Rushent's production, they were a quasi dance band with a great sound.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14This was a tremendous signpost to what was about to happen.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18# Add your voice to the sound of the crowd
0:17:18 > 0:17:18# Oh
0:17:18 > 0:17:20# Oh... #
0:17:20 > 0:17:24Now The Human League's image centred around Phil and the girls.
0:17:24 > 0:17:30Philip and Joanne embarked on a romance that lasted for eight years.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32I don't think it affected the group.
0:17:32 > 0:17:39It was just something that was happening for eight years while the group was going.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42And that was it. Yeah.
0:17:42 > 0:17:49It just meant that more people came to our house cos there was two of us there.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52It was sort of convenient, really.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54It saved money on hotel rooms!
0:17:54 > 0:18:01It just happens. People DO meet in the workplace. And it was our workplace.
0:18:01 > 0:18:07I think there was often the resentment against Joanne and Susan generally.
0:18:07 > 0:18:14Because they don't write any songs, they were thought to have more of an influence than they needed to.
0:18:14 > 0:18:19But they were very good at knowing which paths to take.
0:18:19 > 0:18:26They were the ones who would hear five tracks and know which one would sell.
0:18:26 > 0:18:32# ..Just looking Watching your love action... #
0:18:32 > 0:18:39Although Phil and Joanne are matter of fact about their relationship now, it inspired their second hit.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41# I believe, I believe what the old man said
0:18:41 > 0:18:43# Though I know that there's no lord above
0:18:43 > 0:18:45# I believe in me, I believe in you
0:18:45 > 0:18:47# And you know I believe in love
0:18:47 > 0:18:49# I believe in truth though I lie a lot
0:18:49 > 0:18:51# I feel the pain from the push and shove
0:18:51 > 0:18:53# No matter what you put me through
0:18:53 > 0:18:55# I'll still believe in love
0:18:55 > 0:18:55# And I say
0:18:55 > 0:18:59# I love your love action
0:18:59 > 0:19:03# Love's just a distraction
0:19:03 > 0:19:07# No talking, just looking... #
0:19:07 > 0:19:14In March 1981, Jo Callis, guitarist and songwriter with the Rezillos, joined the group.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17The Human League had a proper musician,
0:19:17 > 0:19:22even if their manifesto insisted on the synthesiser, not his guitar.
0:19:22 > 0:19:28They were in a transitionary period, trying to cement a new line-up,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31and I sort of came on board,
0:19:31 > 0:19:36initially to help out with songwriting.
0:19:36 > 0:19:41I got more and more involved as time went on, really,
0:19:41 > 0:19:44and became the missing piece of the jigsaw.
0:19:44 > 0:19:49With Jo on board and Martin Rushent producing,
0:19:49 > 0:19:54The Human League set about making one of the key albums of the decade.
0:19:54 > 0:19:59# And when it hurts You know they love to tell you
0:20:02 > 0:20:05# How they warned yo-o-ou
0:20:07 > 0:20:15# They say don't be surprised at someone's lies... #
0:20:15 > 0:20:20Phil's visual image and presentation of The Human League
0:20:20 > 0:20:24was more clearly defined in his mind than the music was.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28He was quite laissez faire with the music.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32It was, "Yes, Martyn. Yes, Jo, if you feel that'll work, OK."
0:20:32 > 0:20:36That was his general attitude.
0:20:36 > 0:20:41When it came to imagery, it had to be like THIS.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43You had to wear THAT.
0:20:43 > 0:20:48He was very clear on what the band should look like and be seen to be.
0:20:50 > 0:20:58# ..And so you stand here with the years ahead... #
0:20:58 > 0:21:03The rest of us didn't understand, but he picked the girls for a reason.
0:21:03 > 0:21:08That was apparent when you saw the photos on the sleeve of the album -
0:21:08 > 0:21:11a pastiche of the Vogue cover.
0:21:11 > 0:21:16I'm still not clear about his vision to this day, but it worked.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20# ..You better change it back or we will both be sorry
0:21:20 > 0:21:23# Don't you want me, baby?
0:21:24 > 0:21:28# Don't you want me, o-o-oh?
0:21:32 > 0:21:36We didn't really know what we were doing.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40It was as big a surprise to us that we had a million selling album.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44# ..Don't you want me...? #
0:21:44 > 0:21:49Don't You Want Me was number one in a lot of other countries as well.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52The single was number one in America.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56It did well there. And Iceland, apparently!
0:21:56 > 0:21:59And Iceland! Yes, we went to Iceland.
0:21:59 > 0:22:06JOANNE: You'd go into town and go to a shop, and they would close off shops for us.
0:22:06 > 0:22:13As soon as people heard that we were in a shop, a thousand people would be trying to get into it.
0:22:13 > 0:22:20I remember going to see Teardrop Explodes and having to be rescued out of the audience.
0:22:20 > 0:22:28We'd go to a concert at Sheffield City Hall and we'd get mobbed to the extent that it was very frightening.
0:22:28 > 0:22:34Dare sold five million albums worldwide and transformed British pop music.
0:22:34 > 0:22:39This massive, but unexpected success proved hard to follow.
0:22:39 > 0:22:44Two interim singles, Fascination and Mirror Man, made the top 20
0:22:44 > 0:22:49but tensions arose in the two years it took to finish Hysteria.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54We came back and did start doing a new record with Martin Rushent.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58But...it wasn't the same.
0:22:58 > 0:23:04It got to the point where no-one knew what to do.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07We'd had all this success and...
0:23:07 > 0:23:12Well, we did know what to do but we couldn't do it.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16# Winter is approaching There's snow upon the ground
0:23:16 > 0:23:21# It's good of you to visit me I'm glad you came around... #
0:23:21 > 0:23:26Producer Martin Rushent departed to be followed by two other producers.
0:23:26 > 0:23:33Hysteria contained three hit singles - none matched the success of the group's previous output.
0:23:33 > 0:23:38Then we tried to make another record, I've forgotten who with now,
0:23:38 > 0:23:41and that was a real disaster.
0:23:41 > 0:23:46We just could not get a song finished. We couldn't do it.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51Me and Philip weren't as close as we were before, for whatever reason,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54so I didn't know what was happening.
0:24:03 > 0:24:10Simon Draper teamed The Human League with American R'n'B producers Jam and Lewis.
0:24:10 > 0:24:15The group went to the studio in Minneapolis to record.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17# I'm only human
0:24:17 > 0:24:22# Of flesh and blood I'm made
0:24:24 > 0:24:27# Human
0:24:27 > 0:24:31# Born to make mistakes... #
0:24:31 > 0:24:38The collaboration with Jam and Lewis produced a number one in the States with Human.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42But the album Crash sounded manufactured.
0:24:42 > 0:24:47After four years, their next record was ominously dubbed a comeback.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00# Calling up the promised land
0:25:00 > 0:25:03# Jonny Seven's coming over the sea... #
0:25:03 > 0:25:09By the time Heart Like A Wheel and the album Romantic were released in 1990,
0:25:09 > 0:25:14only Philip and the girls remained from the team that made Dare.
0:25:14 > 0:25:20All three of us are very loyal people in a way most people aren't.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25I only see it when I come across people who don't stick together.
0:25:25 > 0:25:33Perhaps because it was so obvious to get Joanne and Susanne in for one LP to give a bit of spice...
0:25:33 > 0:25:39Then we'll drop them for another group and the lads will go on
0:25:39 > 0:25:44and maybe think of some other novelty.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47I didn't want to be accused of that.
0:25:47 > 0:25:54They're proper people who should be treated as such. Also, they're extremely loyal to me.
0:25:54 > 0:25:59They've never said a word against me, or made a move against me.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05In 1992, the group and Virgin Records parted company.
0:26:05 > 0:26:12Back in their own studio in Sheffield, but without a recording contract,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15they began sending demos to record companies.
0:26:15 > 0:26:21There was a lot of baggage with The Human League.
0:26:21 > 0:26:27The business had changed, and we felt maybe we should be investing in a brand new act
0:26:27 > 0:26:30rather than a dinosaur.
0:26:30 > 0:26:35But it was the songs. The songs on the tape were impressive.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37# Tell me when
0:26:37 > 0:26:39# Will I see you again
0:26:39 > 0:26:41# Tell me when
0:26:41 > 0:26:43# Will I see you again
0:26:43 > 0:26:45# Tell me when
0:26:45 > 0:26:50# Will I see you again Na-na na-na na na na... #
0:26:50 > 0:26:57Octopus was a very successful album. It was top ten for a long time.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00It did pretty well in America.
0:27:00 > 0:27:05We'd brought them back, so by the end of '95,
0:27:05 > 0:27:09The Human League were high in the public consciousness.
0:27:09 > 0:27:15But they were taking a long time to think about the next record.
0:27:15 > 0:27:20After I left East West Records, a new regime came into the company
0:27:20 > 0:27:23and they were actually let go.
0:27:26 > 0:27:31We were going through another one of those transition periods.
0:27:31 > 0:27:37The majority of those at the record company when we first started
0:27:37 > 0:27:41thought we'd probably be a one-album wonder.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43They thought that's all it would be.
0:27:43 > 0:27:48INTERVIEWER: Why have you stayed in Sheffield?
0:27:48 > 0:27:51Big fish in a little pond?
0:27:51 > 0:27:56Wouldn't stick out much in London, would we?
0:27:56 > 0:28:03You walk down the King's Road, there's Paul Young walking one way, George Michael the other.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06Fear of authority.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08All sorts of things.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12We never...I never felt adequate
0:28:12 > 0:28:19against the people running the business - that happens to a lot of people from the provinces.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23I don't know how to use my knife and fork properly.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26I feel inadequate, so I hide here.
0:28:26 > 0:28:31Human League are now on an '80s revival tour
0:28:31 > 0:28:35playing second on the bill to Culture Club.
0:28:35 > 0:28:40We'd much rather still be doing the old stuff because we're proud of it.
0:28:40 > 0:28:47But we'd like to do new things, too. We don't really want to be considered a "retro" band.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51- But you get caught up in it. - This tour's work, isn't it?
0:28:51 > 0:28:58They're paying us the money, we're doing the job - like Shane Ritchie doing a Daz ad.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01It's not what we would choose to do.
0:29:01 > 0:29:05If you want the '80s, you'll get the '80s.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08# As if we were still lovers
0:29:11 > 0:29:15# And though they talked for just a little time
0:29:16 > 0:29:21- # Before she said she had to go - Ooo-oo-oo-oo-ooh... #
0:29:21 > 0:29:29- You once said, "We won't stop till we're bankrupt".- Yeah. That's the way we're heading - the dole queue!
0:29:30 > 0:29:34# And so Louise
0:29:36 > 0:29:39# Waved from the bus
0:29:41 > 0:29:46# And as she left She gave that smile
0:29:48 > 0:29:52# As if they were still lovers. #
0:29:53 > 0:29:58Subtitles by Matthew Singh-Toor and Elena Ounsworth, BBC - 1999