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1977
Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh
were two computer operators in Sheffield who both shared an intense passion
for German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk. Armed with a few months' savings,
Ware was able to buy a modest monophonic synth (a Korg 770S) that had
just become available on the commercial market at an affordable price.
Despite having never played a single note, Marsh and Craig set themselves
the task of understanding the art of sound synthesis and it wasn't long
before their combined enthusiasm began to exceed the limits of the cheap
synth.
The Dead Daughters were formed for a gig at a friends 21st birthday party
in 1977 and the Korg was put to the test by Ware with a rendition of the
groundbreaking theme from the long running BBC sci-fi series Dr
Who.
Marsh and Craig together with Adi Newton had all enjoyed the experience
of playing live and they decided to form a new band called The Future
where they would concentrate purely on electronic music, something that
was quite unheard of at the time in the UK. There had been some experimentation
with synths during the 70's, but it was mostly the domain of prog rock
groups like Sky. Ware was keen to distance himself from this style of
music believing the melodic capabilities of the synth had not been properly
exploited.
1978
The
Future set about recording some demos that were all mainly instrumentals
including the hypnotic track Pulse Lovers that was a hint of things to
come. Even at this early stage, the demo tape sounded quite unlike anything
that was being produced at the time, and the band proudly travelled down
to London in the hope of getting signed but the record companies were
predictably bemused by the lack of guitars. Despite the pioneering sound
of The Future, Newton decided to move on favouring a more traditional
approach to music and formed Clock DNA. Convinced that they were on the
right path musically, both Ware and Marsh felt they needed a vocalist
rather than another musician to replace Newton.
 Martyn
decided that old school friend Philip Oakey would be ideal to front the
band because they felt that Oakey already looked 'like a pop star' with
his long fringe haircut and left of centre fashion sense. The invitation
came in the form of a note stuck on Philip's front door who was surprised
and delighted by the offer. Oakey was working as a hospital porter at
the time and had never considered performing in front of an audience but
he had admired The Future from a distance and was impressed that they
had visited record companies in London. Initially, Ware and Marsh were
unsure as to how Oakey would fit in.
They couldn't afford another synth at the time and the only instrument
the new band member owned was a saxophone that he couldn't play. Things
would soon click into place however when Phil heard a new instrumental
that would later become Being
Boiled and it inspired him to write lyrics for the track though he
was very nervous at presenting them the next day. After hearing Phil sing
to Being Boiled, Ian & Martyn were both amazed by the lyrics and Oakey's
distinctive vocal delivery.
With
a new musical blueprint in place, the trio set about finding a new band
name briefly considering ABCD (bizarre as fellow Sheffield musician Martin
Fry would find worldwide success with ABC
just 3 years later). Finally, they decided to take a memorable quote 'The
Human League' from a sci-fi board game called Star Force and set about
recording three new tracks on a two-track tape recorder they had just
purchased. The very first Human League demo contained Being Boiled, Circus
of Death & Toyota City all recorded in mono and it soon caught the
attention of Bob Last who ran a small record label in Scotland called
Fast Records.
Being Boiled was released in June 1978 after the League and Bob Last had
agreed a deal over the phone. Although the single had a limited amount
of copies pressed, the song succeeded in attracting the admiration of
NME whilst guest reviewer Johnny Rotten described the group as 'trendy
hippies'! Being Boiled was completely at odds with the prevailing punk
movement of the time. The track was a stark slab of electro that would
influence many artists in years to come, memorable also for its lyrics
that linked the slaughter of silk worms with Buddhism.
Encouraged by the critical praise that followed
the release of the debut single, the group were convinced to play live
and the first gig took place on June 12th 1978 at Bar 2 in Sheffield's
Psalter Lane art college with the help of backing tapes. Although common
practice nowadays, the use of backing tapes proved to be controversial
at this time but they were essential considering the complexity of the
bass lines and the hours spent creating the sounds on temperamental equipment
in the studio.
 With all
three band members being somewhat reluctant to play live, there were worries
that they had appeared static on stage and Adrian Wright who was in the
audience for that concert agreed to become the League's Director of Visuals.
Sharing the group's love of sci-fi and pop culture, Adrian eventually
introduced four large screens where he would project slides from cult
TV shows such as Dr Who & Captain Scarlet as well as famous images
from recent history that seemed to fit perfectly with the League's lyrics.
Adrian's visual talents were called into action almost immediately as
the group played their first London gig in Music Machine on August 17th
1978 supporting The Rezillos (who included future League collaborator
Jo Callis). The venue had something of a rough reputation and fearing
a hostile crowd who would scorn at the use of backing tapes & synths,
the League considered appearing on stage wearing motorbike helmets. Music
critics responded favourable, as did members of Siouxsie and The Banshees
who then invited the League to support them on a small UK tour during
December.
The band were happy to accept the Banshees offer but fearing an aggressive
reaction from punk fans, the group set about protecting their synths from
expected showers of beer bottles by constructing fiberglass shields. Some
critics mistook the shields as a statement in modern art but previous
fears about crowd trouble proved unfounded as the League set was a resounding
success.
Some of the instrumentals were replaced with crowd pleasers like the cover
of glam rock track Rock 'n' Roll and word of mouth was quickly spreading.
After watching the League perform, David Bowie commented that he had just
seen the 'future of pop music, whilst The Undertones featured an affectionate
dig at the 'arty' League in their memorable top ten hit My Perfect Cousin.
1979
 Fast
records released the second Human League single in April in the form of
a 4 track EP of instrumentals collectively called The Dignity of Labour.
Extremely experimental in places yet ground breaking, the single unsurprisingly
failed to dent the top 75. Despite the poor chart performance, the League
began to get approached by major record companies including Polydor but
it was the promise of creative freedom from Virgin's Simon Draper that
finally tempted the League away from Fast Records. Pleased with the support
that Fast Records supremo Bob Last had provided, the band offered him
the job of Manager and signed a recording contract with Richard Branson's
innovating label Virgin whose artists included The Sex Pistols.
 Shortly
after supporting an artist they admired a great deal namely Iggy Pop for
a European tour, the band set about recording their debut single for Virgin.
The track I Don't Depend on You ended up being an uneasy compromise between
the League and Virgin when bosses began to worry that the record buying
public would not accept a song void of guitars. Despite initial assurances
promising artist freedom, the League were forced to add conventional instruments
to the track that included bass guitars and drums but demanded that the
track be issued under the pseudonym of The Men. It was an artistic confrontation
that confirmed how radical the League's music had become, the thought
that record companies bosses panicked at a pure electronic sound would
surely bemuse today's younger generation of record buyers.
 After
seeking assurances that similar conflicts would not arise further down
the line, The League began recording their eagerly anticipated debut album
at the Workshop in Sheffield and was completed within 3 weeks during July
before being handed over to Colin Thurston for mixing and overdubs in
London.
Reproduction with its
unique electronic sound was finally released in October followed shortly
afterwards by a taster single in the form of the quirky and irresistible
Empire State Human. Experimental yet highly engaging, the album received
lukewarm reviews and failed to make any impact on the album charts (though
it did finally chart a few years later in 1982).
Disappointed
by the lack of sales, Virgin reacted swiftly by cancelling the League's
proposed UK tour in November asking the band to support the Talking Heads
instead. Reluctantly, the group agreed releasing a press statement that
revealed their plans for the upcoming performance. With tongue firmly
in cheek, the League suggested that they wouldn't actually be on stage
for the performances and that their place would be taken by backing tapes
and a slide show hinting that they would occasionally view the show as
members of the audience.
David Byrne and co failed to see the funny side and the League were dropped
from the support slot.
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