STOCKHOLM 2007 REVIEWS

 

www.svd.se December 2007

Stefan Thungren

String of hits from Human League

To celebrate The Human League's 30 years anniversary, the electro pop pioneers Philip Oakey, Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley has embarked on a tour where they perform their classic 1981 album Dare from beginning to end. Which is a brilliant idea, as Dare without a doubt is one af the last century most important albums. Dare revolutionised the whole electronic genre and was a blueprint for the british synthpop and new romantics movement that was waiting just around the corner to dominate the eigthies. It was also a big inspiration for the techno and housemusic architects of Detroit and Chicago some years later. The first track of the album, The Things That Dreams Are Made Of, was the obvious opening track at Berns. The girls looked, at least from a distance, almost frightenly well preserved, while Phil Oakey hat gone from a fringe to cool dandy. Wearing sunglasses and waddling his head he moved almost like he was blind. The follow up with Open Your Heart and The Sound Of The Crowd makes instant impact and the latter generates the nights first round of ecstatic applause.

 

They've never really been accepted in the finer electronic circles after the feminised the elctronic genre, which used to be a rather serious business for men. One of the reasons was of course the melodic hit single Don't You Want Me, which, not unexpectedly, was the crowdpleaser of the night. Which is a bit of a shame, since it overshadowed everythning else they've done. But who else than a reviewer thins about these things when love Action takes over from Seconds, two of the finest tracks.

After Dare has ended they served a string of other hits, amongst other the powerful The Lebanon and the ballad Human. They then embark on some, for the late eigthies typical, Style Council-house or white mans stereotyped funk. The ending was unexpected as they blast out the Giorgio Moroder's track from the Electric Dreams soundtrack from 1984, a real goodie for the Human League connaisseur.