THE FUTURE / THE HUMAN LEAGUE - The Golden Hour of the Future

Original recordings 1977-1979
Compilation CD Black Melody 2002
Remastered CD reissue Black Melody 2008



"Synth pop's first international superstars, The Human League were among the earliest and most innovative bands to break into the pop mainstream on a wave of synthesizers and electronic rhythms, their marriage of infectious melodies and state-of-the-art technology proving enormously influential on countless acts following in their wake. The group was formed in Sheffield, England, in 1977 by synth players Martyn Ware and Ian Marsh, who'd previously teamed as the duo Dead Daughters; following a brief tenure as The Future, they rechristened themselves The Human League after enlisting vocalist Philip Oakey. The trio soon recorded a demo, and played their first live dates; they soon tapped Adrian Wright as their 'Director of Visuals', and his slide shows quickly became a key component of their performances".
(Jason Ankeny, All-Music Guide)

“'We grew up with the sound of machinery', synth player Martyn Ware remember in the notes to this compilation of songs recoreded as early as 1977, when The Human League pompously called themselves The Future. Growing up in Sheffield, England, a depressed steel town, turned them into technology-obsessed synth tweakers, Ware suggests. Scorning rock instruments ('There are no guitars or drums played on this record'), their early material features ramshackle assemblages of bleeps, zaps, television sound bites and dispassionate vocal blurts. On the excellent Dance Like A Star and a disturbing instrumental of the Four Tops I’ll Be There, pulsing disco grids uplift the electronic noodling. 'We’re the Human League, and we’re much cleverer than you', singer Phil Oakey announces. Not so fast, synth boy".
(Jonah Weiner, Blender Magazine)

ENJOY


Dance Like a Star