The Human League | Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey
The Piece Hall, Halifax
Friday 11th July 2025
The Human League are now one of the stalwarts of the hugely popular 80s revival circuit, but it’s worth remembering that back in the day, they were a band that pretty much invented British electronica, and then took it to the top of the charts.
Their first record, Being Boiled, melded Sheffield’s industrial power with the best of European synth acts like Kraftwerk to create a ground-breaking homegrown sound played on mail order synths, and their landmark album Dare was the soundtrack to most of this sell out crowd’s adolescence.
As this was an ’80s pop crowd, it was appropriate that Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey warmed the crowd up, and it was a shock to remember just how many hits they had. Dressed in a natty white suit, Bailey remarked he was born in Halifax before a punchy You Take Me Up got the hands up in the air, and Hold Me Now’s insidious hook had the crowd singing along. Tom Bailey delivered the hits as required, although his cover of Psycho Killer should have meant a trip to the nearby magistrates’ court.
As the roadies pulled back the covers on The Human League’s stark white set, and two of the band wandered on with keytars picking out the opening chords of The Sound Of The Crowd from Dare, it heralded a masterclass in synth pop. Shaven headed Phil Oakey strode in, wearing a space age black suit and shades, and although he is heading toward his seventh decade, his baritone has lost none of its power. It has always been a voice made for the future via the fiery steel mills of his hometown.
After the multi-platinum success of Dare, which is their Citizen Kane, the band rightly decided to morph into a top class synth pop band, and on Mirror Man, the knowing harmonies of singers Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall in their red dresses played off Oakey’s still resonant voice. As the drummer bashed away his electronic drum kit, the looping synths of Open Your Heart was a moment where the hairs on the back of your neck sprang, recalling just how glorious it was the first time round.
Louise, complete with a keytar solo, had two middle-aged couples dancing like they were right back at the school disco, and it’s always tricky when you have a bagful of hits to play less familiar material. So playing the decent Soundtrack To a Generation, the record sparked an exodus to the bogs. The pulsing Seconds as Oakey wandered the stage in a leather mac got the crowd revved up again.
The Lebanon was their foray into global politics like so many bands in the 80s, and although it was slated at the time by some critics, it remained a sincere attempt to tackle a civil war in the Middle East through the medium of synth pop. Over the years, Sulley and Catherall, whom Oakey discovered as teenagers dancing in a Sheffield nightclub, have become so much more than backing vocalists, so it was good to see they had their moment singing One Man On My Heart.
Oakey was back on lead vocals for Love Action (I Believe In Love) as two strangers who were probably grandads hugged each other and danced wildly, transported right back to a time when everything seemed simpler. And then it was time for the song everyone had been waiting for as the synth players marched to the front with their keytars, and picked out the timeless refrain to Don’t You Want Me. The crowd joyfully sang back the words as one before Oakey in a powder blue suit returned to once again tell the story of a waitress in a cocktail bar duetting with Sulley. Everybody of a certain age in this historic venue brought that single when it became the Christmas number one in 1981, and as the crowd bellowed the chorus, they made a clear case that it was arguably the best pop single of that decade.
As a nod to their trailblazing past, Oakey did a solo version of Being Boiled, which is so otherworldly that it still felt like it had been sent back in time from 2050. Imagine how it sounded when it was first released at the height of punk in 1978; still utterly mind blowing. Oakey was rejoined by his longtime musical partners for a joyous cover of Together In Electric Dreams, which they recorded with legendary disco producer Giorgio Moroder.
Sure, there’s a whiff of nostalgia about The Human League these days, but they were so far ahead of their time that much of this set still felt futuristic.
~
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Words by Paul Clarke, you can see his author profile here.
Photos by Frank Ralph, you can find Frank at his website | Instagram| and Facebook
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