The Human League are an English synth-pop [ 1 ] band formed in Sheffield in Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album Dare in after restructuring their lineup. The only constant band member since has been lead singer and songwriter Philip Oakey. The Human League then evolved into a commercially successful new pop band, [ 2 ] with the line-up comprising Oakey, Wright, vocalists Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley , bassist and keyboard player Ian Burden and guitarist and keyboard player Jo Callis.
Wright, Burden and Callis all left the band by the end of the s, since which time the band has essentially been a trio of Oakey, Catherall and Sulley with various sidemen. Since , the Human League have released 9 studio albums, a remix album, a live album, 6 EPs , 29 singles and 13 compilation albums.
They have had 6 top 20 albums and 13 top 20 singles in the UK and had sold more than 20 million records worldwide by Before adopting the name the Human League, the band briefly had two previous incarnations. Their musical collaboration combined pop music such as glam rock and Tamla Motown with avant-garde electronic music. With the price of electronic components dropping in the mids, equipment became more affordable for the average consumer; Ware and Marsh purchased a Korg S synthesizer together and learned how to play it.
Their musical reputation spread, and they were invited to play at a friend's 21st birthday party. After a few more low-key, private performances, Ware and Marsh decided to officially form a band.
Joined by their friend Adi Newton and another synthesizer a Roland System , they formed The Future and began to create music in their own rehearsal facility in a disused cutlery workshop in the centre of Sheffield. Although The Future was never signed and did not release material commercially at the time, a collection of demos from this period was released retrospectively on CD in titled The Golden Hour of the Future , mixed by Richard X. Ware at this point decided that he needed a singer rather than another keyboard player.
