The Human League
Treating us to not one, but two sets at this year's Bestival are original electro-pop pioneers The Human League.
Set one sees them playing their critically acclaimed, classic album Dare! in its entirety in the Big Top before the band move over to the main stage for a storming, nostalgia filled greatest hits set.
Forming in 1977, after a couple of name and line-up changes, The Human League emerged from the industrial bleakness of 70's Sheffield with a sound that would shake the country's pop industry to it's foundations. Originally made up of former computer operators Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware with enigmatic singer Phil Oakey joining soon after the band spent the late 70's releasing 2 albums and numerous singles to varied critical and commercial response.
November 1980 saw the departure of both Marsh and Ware from the band and with a tour booked Phil Oakey realised that he needed to find some talent to bolster the line up and quick.
That talent duly arrived in the form of 17 year old Susan Sulley and 18 year old Joanne Catherall who Oakey spotted dancing at the local Crazy Daisy Disco and after getting permission from parents and schools, the girls join the band for that tour, initially as singers and dancers but also bringing some much needed glamour to proceedings.
It was 1981 when things started to go very, very right for the band. After scoring their first top ten hits with the singles 'Love Action' and 'Open Your Heart' the band released the album Dare!. It became an instant classic as did the next single 'Don't You Want Me' with both releases shooting to number one all over the world and staying there.
This success catapulted the band onto a succession of sold out world tours before returning in 1984 with the equally impressive 'Hysteria' album with Phil Oakey also finding success through his collaboration with electro legend Georgia Moroder on the Electric Dreams soundtrack.
Throughout the rest of the eighties and much of the nineties The Human League continued to produce music and the band have never stopped touring and playing sold out shows around the world to a staunchly devoted audience.
Recent years have seen the band's profile rise once more due to the resurgence in interest in all thing eighties and we're positive that both of these shows will go down in legend as truly magical highlights of Bestival 2008.
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