Travelogue

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Just like the last album, there's a mix of pop songs and more experimental / instrumental songs which compliment each other nicely, and then there's in-betweens like 'Dreams of Leaving' and 'Crow and a Baby' which mix both experimental and popular rhythym styles. I'm 100% certain that the drum patterns for 'Crow and a Baby' are well used in modern Electronic Dance Music, which makes this album rather prophetic for certain styles of music which would emerge.

Ankeny, Jason. "The Human League Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved 24 January 2017. Synth pop's first international superstars, the Human League were among the earliest and most innovative bands to break into the pop mainstream on a wave of synthesizers and electronic rhythms, their marriage of infectious melodies and state-of-the-art technology proving enormously influential on countless acts following in their wake. Because the imposed style had not worked, Virgin permitted the band to return to their original style and the band recorded and released their first full studio album Reproduction in August 1979. The album and the single " Empire State Human" failed to make an impact on the charts. After these flops, Virgin cancelled the band's December 1979 tour. By this time, the Human League's role as UK electronic pioneers was usurped by Gary Numan, when his single " Are 'Friends' Electric?" became a huge hit in the UK in mid-1979. [7] [ unreliable source?]In 1992, Virgin abruptly cancelled their recording contract. Damaged by the failure of the album, their rejection by Virgin, harsh criticism in the media and facing financial ruin, the emotional well-being of Oakey and Sulley deteriorated badly. The band has been the subject of, and appeared in, various TV documentaries and features, including Channel 4's Made in Sheffield and the BBC's Young Guns: The Bands of the Early 1980s. In June 2007, Sulley and Catherall presented a documentary on Sheffield's pop music history entitled The Nation's Music Cities for VH1. In 2023, they were one of the headliners at the Cruel World Festival in Pasadena, California however they had to cut short their performance due to storms. [45] Legacy and influence [ edit ] Retaining the Human League name came at a heavy price for Oakey. As the band's sole remaining member, he was responsible for all Human League debts and commitments. Furthermore, the terms of the Virgin contract required him to pay Ware and Marsh one per cent of royalties of the next Human League album. The split also jeopardized the band's upcoming tour. With the first performance only ten days away and the music media reporting that the Human League was finished now that "the talented people had left", promoters started threatening to sue Oakey if the concerts were not completed as contracted.

The band's first single under Virgin Records was the disco influenced " I Don't Depend on You", released in July 1979 under the pseudonym " The Men". The single did not chart and had very little in common with the previous work of the Human League. It did, however, feature female vocals by guests Lisa (Liza) Strike and Katie Kissoon, sounding like the yet-to-be-formed future Human League of 1981. [12] a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19thed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p.262. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. Throughout the following years, the band has continued to tour frequently, enjoying success and popularity as a live act. In 2004, they released The Human League Live at the Dome, a DVD of a live show filmed at the Brighton Dome, complete with a compilation CD called Live at the Dome. Reynolds, Simon. Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984. Faber and Faber, 2005. ISBN 978-0571215706In May 1980, the band toured the UK. Philip Adrian Wright was now playing incidental keyboards in addition to his visuals role. It was the last time all four members performed together live. Also in May, the band released their second studio album Travelogue. More commercial-sounding than Reproduction, it peaked at No.16 in the UK, giving the band their first real success. As a result, "Empire State Human" was re-released and the band made their second appearance on Top of the Pops, even though it only reached No.62 in the singles chart.

The Human League were one of the headline acts in the line-up at Spillers Wharf on 30 May 2009, in the Newcastle/Gateshead Evolution festival, and were one of the headline bands for Dubai's first music festival, the 'Dubai Sound City' festival, between 5 and 7 November 2009. Along with its amazing cover art, the interesting side to "Travelogue" is in its "acoustic" approach and pleasant experimental/cinematic touches the group kept throughout the album; "Dreams Of Leaving" is a stunning example in reconciling experimental and pop tendencies within a song, and as such would have been the perfect opener to an album. "Toyota City" is a beautiful soothing piece of night music, ideal for wandering through the quiet city streets wrapped in neon glow. One of the best sounding early 80s electronic albums you can buy that doesn't sound out of date and cheesy.Heaven 17's Martyn Ware Talks 'Electronically Yours' Podcast and 'Penthouse and Pavement' 40th Anniversary". Forbes. Susan Sulley said that the rejection of Secrets was "the lowest the band had been since 1992 and, after putting in so much time and effort in to an album that then failed, nearly causing them to call it a day." [31]

Yellow Magic Orchestra Versus Human League, The – YMO Versus The Human League (CD) at Discogs". discogs. 21 April 1993 . Retrieved 30 January 2014. In 2003, a second single from Secrets, " Love Me Madly?", was released independently as a private venture by Nukove, a small independent label especially set up to release Human League material, but it did not have funds for promotion and the single did not chart. [33] Also in 2003, Virgin records released The Very Best of The Human League, a DVD of most of their previously recorded music videos. The DVD sold well in the UK and US and was accompanied by a compilation album of the same name.Their renewed success prompted the band to tour again for the first time since 1987, and they conducted a tour of the US and UK in 1995. Subsequent singles " Filling Up with Heaven" and the non-album single " Stay with Me Tonight" also reached the UK Top 40, and a new remix of "Don't You Want Me" was released to capitalise on the band's revitalised profile. This was in the run up to a new "greatest hits" compilation in 1996, but which proved less successful than their first "Greatest Hits" album from 1988.