Producer: The Human League
Format: WAV
Contents: 13 channels
Quality: 16 bit Frequency 48 kHz Channels stereo
Description: Multitrack of the band The Human League song Don’t You Want Me.
“Don’t You Want Me” is a single by British synthpop group Human League, released from their album: Dare on 27 November 1981. It is the band’s best known and most commercially successful recording to date, and was the Christmas number one in the UK, in 1981, where it sold over 1,400,000 copies, making it the 25th most successful single in UK Singles Chart history. It later topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the US on July 3, 1982 where it stayed for three weeks.
The Human League is a British dance music group, considered classics of the new wave and the first synth-pop stars to achieve success outside the UK.
Formed in 1977 in Sheffield, they reached the peak of their popularity with the dance hits “Don’t You Want Me” (the best-selling single in the UK in 1981) and “Human” (#1 in the US, 1986). They enjoyed a new surge of popularity in the UK in the mid-1990s.
Additional info (subject to editing). The history of the Human League is essentially the history of two radically different British bands, one progressive and experimental, the other melodic and commercial. The first incarnation of the band was formed in the summer of 1978, consisting of Ian Craig Marsh (b. 11 November 1956, Sheffield, England; synthesizer), Martin Ware (b. 19 May 1956, Sheffield, England; synthesizer), Phil Oakey (b. 2 October 1955, Sheffield, England; vocals) and Eddie Newton. The latter soon left the Human League and was replaced by keyboardist Adrian Wright (b. June 30, 1956, Sheffield, England), who was also the show’s director and responsible for visual effects. In early 1978, the band signed a contract with the independent label Fast Product. Their first single, Being Boiled, sounded very unusual and attracted the attention of another company, Virgin Records. The band’s debut album, Reproduction, sold well, but they gained wide recognition with the release of the EP Holiday, ’80. The team got the opportunity to participate in the prestigious TV show Top Of The Pops. Oakey’s image (piercing, square haircut) made him the center of attention in the group.
This led to some friction within the band, which did not disappear even after their second album, Travelogue, entered the charts. The affair ended with the acrimonious departure of Marsh and Ware in late 1980, who subsequently went on to form BEF and Heaven 17. On the condition that they were paid commissions on future releases, Marsh and Ware allowed Oakey to keep the name Human League. Instead of hiring experienced musicians to replace them, Oakey recruited two teenage girls he had picked up at a Sheffield discotheques. Suzanne Sally (b. 22 March 1963, Sheffield, England) and Joanna Caterall (b. 16 September 1962, Sheffield, England) were schoolchildren and had no previous knowledge of the music business.
The new Human League line-up was completed by bassist Ian Barden (b. 24 December 1957, Sheffield, England) and ex-Rezillos guitarist Joe Collis (b. 2 May 1955, Glasgow, Scotland). The new group was a radical contrast to the cold, aloof image of the original Human League and made a strong move towards pure pop, producing a string of hits during 1981. Boys And Girls, The Sound Of The Crowd, Love Action and Open Your Heart paved the way for the success of the album Dare!, which sold over five million copies. The year ended with the release of the best-selling single Don’t You Want Me, which reached number one in the UK charts. The track also went to number 1 in the US, spearheading the British invasion of new pop. After this, Human League took a long creative break.
The new 1984 album Hysteria was met with a mixed reception, although the accompanying singles The Lebanon, Life On Your Own and Louise all made the UK Top 20. Oakey, in company with Giorgio Moroder, released a surprisingly successful album by the end of 1984. Two years passed before the release of the next Human League album, Crash, during which time Wright and Collis left the band. In 1990, Human League returned with a new album, Romantic?, which was met with a very cool reception. After this, the group disappeared from view for five years, reappearing only in 1995 with the album Octopus and a number of hit singles. The disc was similar in its freshness and simplicity to Dare! Despite their erratic career, Human League have shown a remarkable ability to achieve commercial and aesthetic triumphs, usually at the least predictable moments.
