Everyone has a subject on which they get boring and prone to pinning people in corners at parties and droning on at them. Mine – one of mine – is the sheer bloody brilliance of the Human League.
We picked up a copy of their 'very best of' DVD when we were on holiday and it was a real nostalgia blast to see their 1981 Top of the Pops appearances: Phil Oakey and Ian Burden looking all cool and New Wave, Jo Callis looking like he'd been kidnapped from another, distinctly rougher, band, Philip Adrian Wright looking rather camp and faintly amused while doing as little as possible, and Suzanne and Joanne looking exactly like what they were: a couple of teenagers scooped up from a Sheffield nightclub and stuck on stage. Ruddy marvellous.
But they were more than just the band of 1981 – they did hit a rough patch of not-very-good songs for a while but the 2001 album Secrets was a classic. Unfortunately, it had no promotion from the record company and bombed. They did a tour, though, and
Well, this December they're touring again… here are the dates. You should go, if you're in England. Yes, you should. *nods*
DECEMBER
Mon 1st Nottingham – Rock City
Tue 2nd Wolverhampton – Civic Hall
Wed 3rd Basingstoke – The Anvil
Fri 5th Liverpool – Academy
Sat 6th Grimsby – Auditorium
Sun 7th Glasgow – Barrowlands
Tue 9th Sheffield – City Hall
Wed 10th Norwich – UEA
Thur 11th Cambridge – Corn Exchange
Fri 12th Croydon – Fairfield Hall
Sun 14th Bristol – Carling Academy
Mon 15th Watford – Colosseum
Wed 17th Manchester – Apollo
Thur 18th London – Shepards Bush Empire
Fri 19th Brighton – Dome