Phil Oakey is a post-Iggy crooner of romantic agony who possesses a tough streak of intellectual scepticism. ‘Dare!’ is the second intoxicating intervention to be produced out of the great split, and already it’s the first Human League greatest hits collection. It is the first coherent projection of persecuted lover Oakey’s staggeringly twisted personality – I mean that in the queasiest possible way. The Human League, presumably because Phil Oakey and Bobby Last took charge of the proceedings, have begun to deal seriously with the themes and issues of popular fi ction, song, film and soap opera – love, an intensity of desire, an examination of comfort, beauty and jealousy. Fundamentally, there’s been an artful redefinition of the quite devious potentials of middle of the road music. As the League theory no doubt had it they are Abba locked into Ramones, Iggy, Can, Zappa, Kraftwerk. A confection energised by intimate refl ection. The use of electronics becomes all but irrelevant. The Human League just produce their music to interfere with the daily details of the ’80s family. The Human League signify that deliciously serious, sincerely disposable MOR music can possess style, quality and sophistication. I like the idea of the Human League selling hundreds of thousands of copies of their product. So does Bob Last. I like the idea of The Human League knocking Genesis off the Number One place in the LP charts. Why? Choice and change, lust and longing. The Human League could be the first pop group broken in by punk and who are in touch with the deeper elements of art rituals, pop skills, political illusion and love codes who have burst into the mainstream.Surprise! ‘Dare!’ is some kind of revenge, and in many ways it challenges the very conventions of pop music and the essence of innovation. What is it all for? I think that ‘Dare!’ is one of the great popular music LPs. It’s both ‘pleasant’ and it’s a ‘challenge’. I’ll keep it forever: truth and lie combined I’ll always hold dear.--Paul Morley
mp3: The Human League - Don't You Want Me
mp3: The Human League - The Sound of the Crowd