Tonight is a celebration of all things 80’s and all things electronic at a packed out Astor Theatre that hosts Human League’s last two sold out nights of their almost completely sold out 2024 Dare Australian Tour. We are of course a couple of years late to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the album that put them on top of the world, but no one in the room appears to care about that as the unusually old crowd reminds you of how early and influential the Human League were to electronic music. It’s a night of nostalgia and sheer fun.
Tickets tonight are gold and with both nights sold out its easy to see the appeal of the Sheffield synth-pop hitmakers as the instantly recognisable trio of Philip Oakey, Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley walk onto the stage after a hit and miss rave-heavy support act have I guess given us a hint of one of the directions Human League’s stylish synth-pop took us.
Sonically Human League were always a complex cocktail of influences from the dark and brooding Industrial, almost Gothic, glory of the early days like ‘Being Boiled’ from their second album ‘Travelogue’ which takes pride of place in tonight’s encores to the sheer pop of their biggest hit ‘Don’t You Want Me’ that propelled the band to the Top of the world globally.
The fact that by and large their music remains fresh today relies on both their pioneering use of synth to translate their influences and in turn how influential they became to the development of electronic Pop especially in the early to mid 80’s. To be able to lead with the caliber of a song like ‘Mirror Man’. their Motown homage just whets the appetite for the evening. And when you at to that the feast of retro graphics that appear behind the live band on stage it’s an evening that positively drips nostalgia.
It’s also a set that turns expectations on the head leading with a collection of ‘Greatest Hits’ to get the crowd dancing and singing from the off with the aforementioned ‘Mirror Man’ leading the charge before ”Tell Me When’ ; ‘(Keep Feeling) Fascination’ and ‘Heart like a Wheel’ raise the temperature. It’s the rather charged and sadly topical ‘The Lebanon’ though that maybe gets the biggest reaction with it’s hypnotic beat and simple and effective lyric. ‘The Lebanon’ of course comes from their 1984 release ‘Hysteria’, which ironically was soon to be the title of another Sheffield band’s biggest album three years later when Def Leppard hit the top with a rather different kind of Sheffield steel.
The first part of the set sees an always wonderfully attired Oakey (he and the girls go through a number of costume changes throughout the set) lead us out with a jump forwards in time to ‘One Man in My Heart’ from 1995’s Octopus’ album and then a step back to 1986’s classic ‘Human’ from the ‘Crash’ album.
The meat of the set comes with a track by track run through of the ‘Dare’ album which for some was one of the most important records of the 80’s and by the sound of the roar as we hear ‘The Things that Dreams Are Made of’ quite a few of those are here tonight. Many bands of course attempt to play their classic albums in order but few work as well as this as the sequencing always seems to see the hits played early. ‘Dare’ is almost teh antithesis in that the biggest song ‘Don’t You Want Me’ actually closes the record and the four huge singles that open and close the record are set amongst some understated gems like ‘Do or Die’ and ‘I Am the Law’. It’s an iconic record that takes in a lot of Pop culture from the day from the iconic ‘Get Carter’ movie to Judge Dredd!
There’s so much music to pack in tonight, but also some touching moments where the band thank the audience in their still distinctive Yorkshire accents – Susan’s speech is particularly touching. There have of course been ups and downs for the band over the years but based on the love in the room tonight you wouldn’t have thought it “this is why we are still doing this, and why we are able to do this decades later.” she tells us and amidst the roar of approval the fans sing and dance and relive their youth.
It’s been a long and hugely successful tour and whilst Oakey and Susan seem on point tonight, you do feel that Joanne is holding back a little, maybe the wear and tear of the tour. Sonically though it matters not a jot really as the touring band is on point and the flow of the set allows Oakey to change into some wonderful outfits no more so than the stunning long coat and black flared trousers he emerges in for the encore.
The encore is wonderful in that it not only tips the hat to the band’s first real breakthrough ‘Being Boiled’ as a raging sun flares on the big screen. It also closes with a cover that even though only ever credited to Phil seems like the perfect nostalgia moment to close an evening like this: ‘Together in Electric Dreams’ written of course by that other huge name in electronic Pop – Giorgio Moroder.
The perfect night, in the perfect company of hundreds of like-minded people: and I’m sure for many by far the show of the year.
