ISLE OF WIGHT 2008 REVIEWS

 

http://festivals.musicomh.com September 2008

Jenna Cole & Emma Hughes

..The back-to-the-'80s fun continues with The Human League, equally excellent, shiny and crowd-pleasing even though they dare to throw in a few new songs alongside the golden oldies...

 

The Telegraph September 2008

Bernadette McNulty

..The Human League and Hot Chip dressed up for the occasion and the synth groups played their most upbeat, almost frantic beats to keep spirits high, but at some sacrifice to the sensitivity that both bands do better...

 

The Guardian September 2008

Daniel Martin

Who: Sheffield's most charismatic pop musicians. And yes, Pulp and Arctic Monkeys, we mean that.

 

Dress code: Former neuromantic Phil Oakey is going with the suited-and-booted dignity. Happily, Susan and Jo are keeping it real with full-on lace and basque-ness.

 

Who's watching: A small hardcore of devotees, people who missed Grace Jones, and people who are waiting for The Winehouse.

 

In a nutshell: I've seen the Human League roughly once a year for the past seven. The first time was at one of those depressing Here and Now 80s tours, but a strange thing has happened since then. They keep playing bigger and better stages, and what you might once have dismissed as a novelty act turns out to be among the weekend's biggest draws. The set is truncated due to all the special guests, but maybe that's good. Because they left all us novelty sea creatures wanting more.

 

Bestival: Together in Electric Dreams. Absolutely and completely. Actually, the fact that the League's defining moment isn't even really their own song only adds to the brilliant pathos with which it was intended.

 

Worstival: Nah, changed our minds. The bloody brevity of the whole thing. The Winehouse hoo-ha might just have gone too far by the fact that they didn't get to play One Man in My Heart or Human

 

Daily Star September 2008

Sarah-Louise James

...All credit to 80s legends the Human League, though.

Their timeless classic Don’t You Want Me, and vocalist Phil Oakey’s poptastic solo Together In Electric Dreams easily bagged the best fest singalong vote as their aged electro-disco tunes suddenly took on a refreshing new life...