PART 4: THE 90's: Virgin Blues & East West Delights

1990

Work commenced on the new album and Jo Callas made a welcome and unexpected return to help out on some of the song writing duties together with Dare producer Martin Rushent hinting that the album would bring a welcome departure in sound from that of Crash. Neil Sutton and Russell Dennett who had helped out during the Crash tour were also invited to become full-time members and both contributed to several of the tracks amidst the workmen and bricks in the new studio.



Four years on from Crash and the last official Human League single, August saw the release of 'Heart Like a Wheel', the first track Jo Callis had contributed to since 1984's Louise. Produced by Martin Rushent and supported by two CD singles featuring various mixes from William Orbit, the track signaled a welcome return to the sound of the Dare period. The music press were also pleased to see the League return to familiar ground after the mistakes of Crash, and a promo sampler entitled Dare To Be Romantic? led to generous and enthusiastic media coverage.

Prior to the release of 'Heart Like a Wheel', the band appeared on chat show Wogan to perform the track together with Russell Dennett and Neil Sutton on keyboards. Phil had now reverted back to the lopsided haircut of 1981 perhaps in a bid to escape the 'fashion model' look of the Crash period, whilst the girls were dressed to thrill.
The group's new image however, seemed slightly odd as though they had just come back from a biker's convention at a time when people seemed to be hooked by the sound and look of 'Mad'chester.
Faceless DJ music had began to usher in the era of dance music in the wake of Acid & House, and feelings that this comeback had been miss-timed were re-enforced when Heart Like a Wheel entered the charts at a disappointing number 29.




The initial press excitement of the League's return was replaced with muted silence when Romantic was released a few weeks later with little fanfare from Virgin. The music press reviews were harsh and unforgiving with Melody Maker reviewing Romantic under the headline 'Beazer Homes League!' (the lowest football league in the UK).




The album itself did have conflicting styles. Attempts to cross over into dance territory sounded half hearted with some of the tracks being pulled in all directions by various producers. What Romantic seemed to suffer from was a clear sense of identity and the material featured would certainly have benefited from the guidance of just one producer. Ironically, the tracks that did work superbly, succeeded because they were free from overdubs of whatever the current fad was. Rebound and The 'Stars Are Going Out' were real gems hinting that Phil had stumbled across a rare song writing talent in the form of Neil Sutton. Today, the album retains an odd charm to it and the general feeling is that the album remains vastly underrated with many preferring Romantic to Crash.




Cult comedian Vic Reeves who was enjoying star status during 1990 on the back of his critically acclaimed Big Night Out TV series, revealed himself as a long time fan citing Rebound as one of the League's finest tracks. Phil would later return the compliment by appearing in a TV pilot for Reeves called 'The Weekenders'.

Romantic peaked at number 24 in the closing week of September before disappearing from the Top 100 UK album charts after just two weeks falling way short of the commercial success that Crash had generated. Hopes of a US reprieve were raised briefly when 'Heart Like a Wheel' peaked at number 32 on the Billboard chart (impressive as many UK acts fail to hit the Top 70 in today's climate), but Romantic suffered a similar fate in America.
Virgin decided to release one more single from Romantic in November opting for the William Orbit produced 'Soundtrack To A Generation' with a myriad of mixes over two CD singles including a dub version of album highlight 'A Doorway'. With it's poignant lyrics ('Years have gone on in between. But all I knew at seventeen. Is all I know now'), coupled with a killer bassline, the single received very little in the way of promotion or radio support and failed to enter the Top 75.

The failure of 'Soundtrack' would finally sound the death knell of the band's long and fruitful association with Virgin and the lyrics to Romantic's finest track 'The Stars Are Going Out' seemed to sum up the League's apocalyptic future.

Another single featuring Phil on vocals for a local Sheffield band called Respect was also released around Christmas on the Chrysalis label. Entitled 'What Comes After Goodbye', the single suffered a similarly depressing fate as 'Soundtrack To A Generation'.
Few believed that they would ever have another hit single and 1990 ended on a depressing note whilst The Farm enjoyed a Top 20 hit with their cover version of 'Don't You Want Me'.

1991

With the band's confidence severely affected by the commercial failure and critical mauling of Romantic (though some critics would later describe the album as 'underrated'), the band retreated back to their recording studio where Phil finally began to lay down some new demos. Convinced that a radical departure such as the one Crash had produced was not they way forward, Phil stuck resolutely to the belief that the League should remain 100% electronic. Demos that were undeniably stamped with the League identity were presented to an indifferent Virgin who were perhaps hoping for a radical new sounding Human League.

Virgin at this time were undergoing huge managerial changes as Richard Branson looked to expand the Virgin Empire into new business ventures. Personnel who were once supportive of the League were either moved on to other departments or had left to pursue other careers whilst the supportive and loyal fan Simon Draper was moved to Europe to oversee Virgin interests in those territories.
There were also worrying trade rumours that Virgin were considering a huge rethink with regards to their music operations in the light of a declining market share in CD sales.

1992

Japan's influential band of musicians that included Ryuichi Sakamoto (who co-wrote the haunting classic 'Forbidden Colours' single with David Sylvian in 1983), approached the League through a producer to collaborate on some tracks. Phil & the girls recorded some vocals and sent them back to Japan where they were released on a single called 'YMO vs The Human League' on the 21st of April.

Come the summer of 1992, the industry whispers of drastic artist cutbacks had sadly became true as Virgin finally confirmed that they were 'letting go' of almost half of their recording acts with contracts being declared as void. For the first time since 1978, the Human League were without a label despite completing promising demos. Heaven 17 were also another of Virgin's once revered acts who were dropped by the company's new bosses. When the news reached Simon Draper in Europe, he was very saddened by the loss of two innovative recording acts. It was the end of a glorious era and few doubted that either band would survive and recover from Virgin's loss of faith.

Understandably, both Phil and Susan took the news very badly whilst Joanne remained positively strong. They had been extremely loyal to the label, and despite the love - hate relationship, it had been an amazingly successful era for both parties. As the news sunk in, Phil and Susan would later admit in 1995 that the psychological blow of being dropped would lead them to seek professional counseling in order to claw back some confidence.

1993

In a situation similar to the period following Hysteria, the Human League were once again perceived as a forgotten band whilst they continued to work on the demos originally offered to Virgin. Royalties from older singles being played across the world were enabling the band to keep afloat but they were virtually broke having not had a major hit since 'Human' in 1986.

An unexpected confidence booster arrived from an unlikely source however when the innovative UK dance act The Utah Saints released a single called 'Believe in Me' in early spring. Reaching number 8 in the UK charts, the single was a clever blend of sampled tracks mixed with The Utah Saints own unique style; it's main focus being Phil's vocals taken from 'Love Action'. 'Believe In Me' also contained samples of Gwen Gutherie's 'Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But The Rent', a track that was originally in the UK single charts during the time of 'Human'. Phil's vocals though, were the most prominent and it would be a single that he would remember just a few years down the line.

Towards the latter half of the year, the band began to feel confident enough to send the new demo tapes to major record labels.

1994

Unknown to most fans and the public at large, one record company did come forward after hearing the demo tapes, though there was an element of caution as former A&R man at East West - Matt Hole revealed some years later, "Their was a lot of baggage to come with The Human League, and a lot of that feeling well you know the young man's business, the business has changed maybe we should actually be investing our time in a brand new act rather than something that was a bit of a dinosaur. But it was the songs really; the songs on the tape were impressive."

East West was a relatively new label owned by the Time Warner Company whose recording artists included Simply Red and the groundbreaking dance act The Beloved. Former Tears For Fears keyboard player Ian Stanley was also an A&R man at East West at the time of the League signing. Something of a synth expert himself (Ian had co-written two of Tears For Fears biggest and most memorable hits: 'Shout' and 'Everybody Wants To Rule The World'), East West gave him the job of producing the League's new material and bosses were pleased with the initial results. The tracks were so encouraging that East West would guarantee a committed promotional campaign for the new material.





By December, the impressive promotional campaign was launched and many fans were surprised to learn that the League were due to release a brand new single called 'Tell Me When' on the 31st of that month. Full page spreads began appearing in the music press and glossy style magazines showing the cover of the forthcoming single designed by Mark Farrow who had been responsible for the Pet Shop Boys distinctive covers for both the singles and albums since 1986.

After the traumatic experience of Romantic four years earlier, how would the League fare in a vastly different pop arena? The emphasis was now very much on manufactured bands aimed at young teens and faceless dance music, though Brit Pop was trying it's best to challenge this worrying trend in ballad-led chart music.
The UK's leading radio station Radio One had ignored Romantic's singles and the new single 'Tell Me When' was about to face a tense make-or-break test for both the League and East West who had taken considerable financial risks in signing the band.

Midway through December, Radio One took the encouraging step of adding 'Tell Me When' to their C-list ensuring enough plays throughout the week and the DJ's took to it with great enthusiasm. The single sounded perfect with its catchy chorus, classic vocal interaction and punchy bass-line but more importantly, 'Tell Me When' had instant appeal. All it took was one listen and despite it's retro sound, the song sounded incredibly fresh. Aided by Ian Stanley's superb, crystal clear production, 'Tell Me When' could match anything on the timeless Dare. It was an inspired return to form and within a week, the single was added to the A-list resulting in maximum plays. A chart entry would now be guaranteed for a single that seemed tailor made for radio play.

When 'Tell Me When' did finally appear in record stores (credited to Paul Beckett & Phil Oakey), the CD single included a remix by Utah Saints (as a thanks to their impressive single 'Believe In Me' back in 1993). Other tracks included the likable YMO collaboration 'Kimi ni Mune Kyun' that was born out of the Japanese artist's admiration for the League, and a warm sounding instrumental by Dennett & Oakey called 'The Bus To Crookes', neither of which would appear on the forthcoming album.

1995

The following week, 'Tell Me When' exceeded expectations by entering the UK charts at number 12 beating the previous three singles from Romantic and Crash that had all failed to enter the Top 20.
It was the time of the volatile UK chart. Singles were beginning to have high chart entries before sales would drop off alarmingly the following week (this trend would get even worse in the years that followed), and it was becoming rare for singles to increase their sales in the following week.

After an impressive appearance on 'Top Of The Pops' (the League's first since September 1990), the single bucked trends by rising to Number 7 in the second week of release. Looking even happier than they did during their first TOTP's appearance, the League were called back to perform the song again for the second of three studio performances (unprecedented unless a single actually reaches Number 1). Virgin must have looked on regretting the day they turned down the demo of 'Tell Me When in 1992 shortly before dropping them from the label. The promo video for the single was also particularly stylish, shot entirely on location in Prague, the beautiful capital of the Czech Republic.

With the single reaching Number 6 the following week (where it would remain for another 14 days), the League were suddenly invited on just about every music show that was on UK TV at that time. Memorable interviews and performances included the BBC's 'Live And Kicking' and 'O-Zone' (where Phil would promise that there would now be a Human League album once every two years). The band also appeared on the popular daytime show 'This Morning' with Richard & Judy as well as various MTV slots.

The same old grainy clip of the 'Don't You Want Me' video accompanied all appearances and the tired old references to the word 'comeback' would prompt Joanne to remind the interviewer that 'we have actually never been away', but busy working in their studio. In some interviews, the researchers had to be reminded that there had been significant hit singles since Dare from both Hysteria and Crash, including a second US Number 1 with 'Human'.



It had seemed like an eternity since the release of Romantic and on January 23rd the oddly named Octopus was unveiled complete with it's striking profile shot of Phil, the girls and futuristic logo (a cover that Phil now say's he doesn't like). Containing nine tracks of perfect analogue pop, Octopus was welcomed and praised by both the NME and Melody Maker. Finally, the League had produced an album that could truly be held up to Dare.








Ian Stanley was instrumental in giving the album a cohesive sound that Romantic had lacked and the whole thing was unashamedly electronic compared to the rest of 1995's album releases.
Octopus contained many highlights with Phil having rediscovered his unique talent for memorable lyrics. 'These Are The Days' was a classic return to the Dare era though the message it enforced was that the time for looking back had passed, it was time to move on. In terms of melody and pop sensibility, Octopus was untouchable and impressive. The album was also fairly emotional in places perhaps in reference to Phil's breakup with Joanne some years earlier on tracks such as the haunting 'Never Again', a tortured love song where Phil seems to reveal his soul.

Once again, the League had refused to follow any musical trends with Octopus containing some wonderfully unfashionable analogue sounds. Octopus also saw the League return to their left-wing political roots as a response to damaging Tory policies especially in the North of England with the decay of industry and a lack of social policies. 'Remember society? Bring it back…' sang Phil to an irresistible sonic melody in 'House Full Of Nothing', a reply to Mrs. Thatcher's infamous announcement that there was 'no such thing as society'. The girls also sang the memorable line 'after 16 years of legalized class hate' on 'These Are The Days' hinting at the bitterness they all felt at the time.



Media interest for the League was at an all-time high, and full-paged press adverts helped to guarantee Octopus a UK album chart entry of Number 6 (beating Crash's personal best by one place).
East West then created the League's first ever official website despite the fact that Internet access in the UK was not that common. It was a modest affair (like most official sites during the early days of the Internet) with some nice pictures and brief biog based on the group's East West output.

The second single to be lifted from Octopus was the radio-friendly ballad 'One Man In My Heart' with Susan singing lead vocals and was released on March 12th as a two CD set. It seemed a surprising choice at first and wasn't quite as instant as 'Tell Me When', but the track was a real grower and received plenty of radio play and even led to some of the older 80's League hits being played on Radio One.





Phil had approached legendary Swedish DJ/producer Denniz Pop (who had produced an impressive mix of Don't You Want Me called the SweMix version in 1988), to provide versions of 'One Man In My Heart' but Denniz was sadly unavailable. Pop was instrumental in setting up the production team that would later have great international success with Dr Alban, Britney Spears and Five to name just a few before sadly passing away with cancer in 1998. The remix duties were instead offered to Ace Of Base another Swedish act enjoying huge international success at the time and they provided all of the 'TOEC' mixes.

The single peaked at 13 after another memorable 'Top Of The Pops' performance with Phil trying hard to maintain a straight face as he mimed to some bizarre electronic sounds behind a strange box-like instrument that could well have been an original prop from Dr Who.

On June 11th, 'Filling Up With Heaven' became the third and final single to be released from Octopus that included a mix of 'These Are The Days', a track that really should have been the second single. 'Filling Up With Heaven' probably lacked that instant appeal needed to generate radio play though it became positively irresistible after a few listens and was joyously upbeat. It was a feeling that was mirrored in the rarely seen promo video - another stylishly shot affair with impressive photography.

Due to lack of radio play, the single only managed to enter the charts at number 36 despite being a song that still sounds fantastic today. No 'Top Of The Pops' appearance for this single though the band gave an impressive performance of the track on the 'ITV Movie Awards' hosted by Bob Monkhouse in New York during mid June.

With no more activity planned from East West for the rest of '95, old label Virgin suddenly decided to capitalize on their former stars by releasing a Greatest Hits package to replace the old 1988 compilation.




Released for the Christmas market on the 23rd November, the new hits package came with a revised track listing to include 'Tell Me When', a Snap remix of 'Don't You Want Me' and a brand new track that was recorded specifically for Virgin's new compilation 'Stay With Me Tonight' licensed from East West. On the wave of continuing media attention, the hits package entered the UK album charts at Number 9 whilst the fairly average Snap & Red Jerry 'Don't You Want Me' mixes were released as a single peaking at Number 16. A digitally remastered video of the hits was also issued with superb sound and included the rarely seen 'Heart Like A Wheel' and 'Soundtrack To A Generation' videos though the track listing on the sleeve was incorrect.

At the end of November, the League made their first UK TV live appearance since the wobbly Tube set in 1986 on 'Later With Jools Holland' for BBC-2. It was a stunning and memorable performance that featured all the band including the rarely seen Neil Sutton and Russell Dennett. For those watching on stereo TV sets, the quality of the live keyboards, vocals and percussion was nothing short of impressive. Opening with 'These Are The Days', the band then returned to play the much-underrated Romantic classic 'The Stars Are Going Out' before closing the show with the old Dare favourite 'Sound Of The Crowd'.

1995 ended on a triumphant note with two sold-out concerts at the Royal Albert Hall venue in London, the League's first live dates since 1987.

The entire year had been a remarkable success story with Octopus reaching gold status in the UK with sales of over 100.000.

1996

Twelve months after the release of 'Tell Me When', East West decided to try their luck with the new track 'Stay With Me Tonight' that was recorded for Virgin's Greatest Hits compilation. Released on 14th January as a single CD, the track was accompanied with the excellent Space Kittens remix. Produced and co-written by Ian Stanley together with Phil, the single was another perfect slice of melodic pop with finely crafted layers of synth effects. However, the track lacked instant attraction for the casual listener and Radio One give it little in the way of airtime. '

'Stay With Me Tonight' only managed to reach Number 40 on the UK chart, but it's chances would surely have been improved had it been released before the Greatest Hits. Despite it's poor chart showing, the League appeared on GMTV and the late night music show 'Hotel Babylon' for ITV where the band gave a brief interview.

Future Music magazine would be the last we would hear from Phil for quite some time. When asked what the future would hold for the Human League, Phil replied, "We've got to do the album that Octopus should have been. It's got to have more tracks. I think Ian [Stanley] wants to get more involved in the writing so he'll be a big component. We've all got the songs, the subjects and the titles, which is how we start.
"It took four years to write the nine songs on Octopus. We gave them to Virgin and they said, 'Do you want to leave the label?'! That's alright though. They did us a favour, although we were a bit miffed at the time. They had a tape with Tell Me When on... It did so well, I still can't believe it. It was up there for weeks. Just brilliant."

After completing all remaining promotion duties, the League returned to Sheffield to begin work on new demos for the follow-up to Octopus, an album East West were expecting in 1997. With co-writing credits on the most recent single, Ian Stanley was also expected to produce the new album, but he unexpectedly left to pursue other musical projects.
Recording began well in the latter part of the year with the completion of three tracks called 'New Start', 'Nervous' and 'S-H5' with new producers Robin Hancock, Ross Cullum, Jamie Cullum and Peter Davis.
Master tapes of a basic demo containing the League's cover version of Madonna's 1986 hit 'Into The Groove' had to be hidden from EastWest execs who were keen to release the track as a new single.
During the sessions, Russell Dennett had also decided to leave the band. Tired of the cold climate in Sheffield, he headed immediately to Spain where he joined a reportedly 'sinister' electro circus.

1997

The anxiously awaited follow-up to Octopus failed to appear. With no revised release date offered, the band continued to work in Sheffield. The Internet saw massive expansion throughout the year and although call charges were extortionate especially in the UK, Human League fan sites began to appear most notably with the Australian site 'Dare!' attracting most hits.

1998

It was the year that lightning would strike the League twice. Their current label East West began to undergo extensive management changes (just like Virgin did in '92) and those who had supported the League were either pushed out or jumped labels.
With no hint of what was to come, the League continued to work on a cover of Gary Clail's classic electro track 'Human Nature' (originally a hit in 1991) a track the League had played live during the Albert Hall dates in 1995.

In the summer, the League received an unexpected offer from old 80's sparring partner Boy George to join a lucrative tour of America together with Howard Jones called The Rewind Tour aimed primarily at the 80's nostalgia market. With strict instructions that would only allow the big hits to be added to the set list, Phil and the band decided that it was too good an opportunity to turn down. Despite the success of Octopus, the band still had large overheads to pay as well as the maintenance of their studio and hired staff. It was one of the first tours of its kind and the success of the 80's revival touring circuit has spawned many different lineups since and is still going strong selling out venues such as Wembley Arena that has a 20,000 plus capacity.

Almost every act that had a hit record in the 80's have taken part (except for Flock of Seagulls who are still waiting by the phone).

When the band returned after a few months, they discovered that the new management at East West had decided to drop them from the label together with The Beloved. For the second time in six years, the League were dumped facing an uncertain future.

Former A&R man for East West would later reveal on BBC-2's 'Young Guns' documentary, "Octopus was a very successful album, it was top ten for quite a long time. It was a gold record in the UK it did pretty well in America so we brought them back so by the end of 95 The Human League were high in the public's consciousness and the media's.
Then it was a problem that they were taking a very long time to think about the next record. After I left East West records a new regime came into the company and they were actually let go."
Meanwhile, another new website appeared called Hysteria again from Australia with stylish web design and extensive content. It would go on to become an invaluable in keeping League fans informed for the next two years.

In the winter, the League were coaxed back into appearing on the bill of the UK leg of the Rewind Tour again with Culture Club headlining and a welcome return to the big stage for fellow Sheffield innovators ABC.
The huge success of the tour led to much media interest and although the League were without a record label, they appeared on GMTV to be interviewed by Lorraine Kelly who had last flirted with Phil in 1990 on the same show (then called TV-AM). They also performed two hits 'Human' and the more recent 'Tell Me When' for the programme.
The year ended with another TV appearance this time on BBC-1 for the peak time special 'Winter's Wonderland' where Phil, Jo and Sue performed the original version of 'Don't You Want Me' with two unknown keyboard players though Neil Sutton was still thankfully with the band.

1999

Media fascination with the League continued in January with the screening of a documentary called 'Young Guns' that focused on the leading artists of the early 80's. Brilliantly researched for the most part, the programme documented the early beginnings of the band and featured Phil Oakey with Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh being interviewed together for the first time since 1980. Filmed around Sheffield, 'Young Guns' also featured contributions from Joanne, Susan, Jo Callais, Simon Draper and the much missed Adrian Wright.

Running for 30 minutes, a glorious backdrop of analogue keyboards was also shown whilst Phil & the girls were interviewed in their rarely seen studio.
Narrated by long time fan and singer of the original synth pop duo Soft Cell - Marc Almond, this particular episode was pure heaven for Human League fans.

Another TV appearance followed in March this time playing themselves in the made- for- TV comedy film 'Hunting Venus' that starred British comedians Martin Clunes and Neil Morrisey. The film featured the ficticious reunion of an old 80's band in the 90's and ended with the League performing 'Don't You Want Me' - 'Hunting Venus' was never released on video and is locked away in a film vault where it will never be seen again.

Things remained quiet until August when it was revealed that Phil had recorded some guest vocals on the forthcoming All Seeing I single. Also from Sheffield, All Seeing I had scored two impressive Top 20 hits with the infectious 'And The Beat Goes On' followed by 'Walk Like A Panther' with 60's crooner Tony Christie (a track written by Pulp's Jarvis Cocker). Before its release, the League played two gigs firstly at London's Astoria followed by a PA in Ibiza.
'
''The First Man In Space' (again written by Jarvis) became Radio One's 'Single Of The Week' during the week of the total eclipse in the UK ('total' only for those in a boat moored 20 miles south of the Isle of Wright). It was a wonderful track with lyrics that wouldn't have seemed out of place on either Reproduction or Travelogue and the song also featured cameo vocals from Joanne and Susan.
To promote the single, Phil unexpectedly joined the All Seeing I live in the dance tent at Reading festival to perform the track to a wildly enthusiastic audience whilst Blur played on the main stage. All Seeing I also performed 'And The Beat Goes On' with a delightful, but shy female vocalist and Jarvis Cocker came on to sing 'Walk Like A Panther'. It was a memorable evening with Stuart Pearce's superb Las Rhythm Digital performing in the same tent just a few hours earlier.

The song entered the UK charts at Number 27 in early September with TV appearances on 'Top Of The Pops' (Philip's final TOTP to date that included live vocals) and 'The Pepsi Chart Show' for Channel 5. Phil was also interviewed by Jamie Theakson for the 'O-Zone' (BBC) on the same tram line in Sheffield that featured on the 'Young Guns' documentary. When asked what the meaning was behind the bizarre video, Phil replied that he had no idea, "the director wouldn't talk to me" he joked.







Phil's association with All Seeing I continued when he recorded two stints as a DJ entitled 'The History Of The Synthesizer' that were streamed from the official All Seeing I website. Phil played a selection of his favourite electronic records that included Alice Deejay's 'Better Off Alone' before retreating back to the studio in Sheffield for another mini-hiatus.

(With many thanks to Krister Malm & David Cooper for checking & correcting the chronology)

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