Category: The Human League

May 5, 2017

The Men A.K.A. The Human League – I Don’t Depend On You (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1979

“I Don’t Depend on You” is a disco-influenced song by the British synthpop group The Human League released under the pseudonym The Men. It was released as a single in the UK in February 1979, but failed to chart. It was written by Philip Oakey, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh; was produced by Colin Thurston and featured guest backing vocalists Katie Kissoon and Lisa Strike (who later worked with Pink Floyd ).

After hastily signing the Human League in 1978 it became apparent to Virgin Records that the band were not very profitable, with none of their releases under Fast Records making any impact on the charts. Virgin began putting pressure on the group to justify their large advance signing fee. Pressure was put on Ware, Oakey and Marsh to abandon their no traditional instruments rule and use conventional instruments in an attempt to be more commercial and sell more records. Ware reluctantly agreed but insisted that any material recorded this way should be released under a pseudonym to ensure that it wasn’t confused with the pure electronic sound of The Human League. “I Don’t Depend on You” was the only product of this compromise with Virgin. It was recorded with the addition of session musicians and was released under the name The Men. The song also features the synth riff from debut single Being Boiled towards the end of the track. Afterwards the band were able to record tracks in their original style for Virgin. Before any further conventional style records could be recorded, the original Human League had split; Oakey then took the new reformed band down a different commercial and pop route.

Later, it would be commented on that in recording “I Don’t Depend on You” – two years prior to the arrival of schoolgirl vocalists Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall – Oakey, Ware and Marsh had already produced a Human League Mk 2-style track complete with commercial pop sound: Oakey’s vocal with female backing (with Katie Kissoon and Lisa Strike providing the backing vocals).

The B-side, titled “Cruel”, is simply a remix of “I Don’t Depend on You” without Oakey’s vocals. “I Don’t Depend on You” received little promotion or airplay and did not chart. Re-releases on albums now credit the track as The Human League aka ‘The Men’.

SIDE A:
I Don’t Depend On You 4:31

SIDE B:
Cruel (Instrumental) 4:41

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Virgin – VS 26912
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1979
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Style: Synth-pop, Disco, Funk

CREDITS:
Management – Tunenoise Ltd*
Photography By – Mackertich*
Producer – Colin Thurston, The Men
Written-By – Marsh*, Ware*, Oakey*

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

March 27, 2017

The Human League – (Keep Feeling) Fascination (Greece 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

“(Keep Feeling) Fascination” is a 1983 song by the British synthpop group The Human League. It was composed by Jo Callis and Philip Oakey, and produced by Martin Rushent (which would be the last song he produced for the band for seven years).

The song features vocals from four of the band members, including lead singer Philip Oakey, female co-vocalists Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall, and a rare vocal role from keyboardist and guitarist Jo Callis.

The single was designated ‘Red’ on the Human League’s short-lived, self-imposed labeling system of ‘Blue’ for pop songs and ‘Red’ for dance tracks.

The single was released in the UK on 11 April 1983 as a non-album single, and went to number 2 in the UK Singles Chart. It was incorporated into the band’s EP Fascination!. Released in the US a month after the UK release, the single reached number 1 on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart (their first single to do so) and number 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100 that summer.

This Greece 12″ contains a unique picture sleeve and is the only 12″ to contain the instrumental b-side track “Total Panic”, which only appears on 7″ in other countries.

SIDE A:
(Keep Feeling) Fascination (Extended Version) 4:59
Remix – Chris Thomas

SIDE B:
(Keep Feeling) Fascination (Improvisation) 6:13
Total Panic 3:28

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1983	(Keep Feeling) Fascination	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#8
1983	(Keep Feeling) Fascination	U.S. Billboard Black Singles	#56
1983	(Keep Feeling) Fascination	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	#1
1983	(Keep Feeling) Fascination	U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	#14

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Virgin ‎– VG2000Z, Virgin ‎– 062-VG2000Z
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: Greece
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer – The Human League, Martin Rushent
Written-By – Callis*, Oakey*

NOTES:
Made in Greece

B-side listed as “(Keep Feeling) Total Panic” on sleeve.

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

March 13, 2015

The Human League – Heart Like A Wheel (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1990

2015 Re-Rip!
Meticulously Remastered!
First Time In 24 Bit Flac!

Originally posted May 25, 2011

“Heart Like a Wheel” is a song by the British synthpop group The Human League. It is taken from their 1990 album Romantic?.

“Heart Like a Wheel” was the first single to be taken from the Human League’s sixth studio albumRomantic? It was written by former band member Jo Callis with Eugene Reynolds (of The Rezillos) and features vocals by Philip Oakey, Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley; with the synthesizer skills of Neil Sutton. It was recorded at Genetic Sound Studios during 1990 and produced by Martin Rushent who was reconciled with the band after an eight-year gap.

The song is a return to the overtly political lyrics that the Human League sometimes do, but dressed up to a poppy hook that makes it palatable to the public. Whereas “The Lebanon” of 1984 was the Human League’s view of the Israeli Invasion of Southern Lebanon and subsequent civil war, “Heart Like a Wheel” is supposedly a commentary on U.S. military imperialism. Callis’s lyrics are suitably vague using references such as “sell your soul to a holy war”. At a time when Jihad was all but unheard of in the West, it went over the heads of most of the song’s listeners. 11 years after its release, the events of ‘9/11, followed by the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, would make the song seem written for that epoch. Although it is rarely something the band dwell on allowing people to read what they want into the lyrics.

Released in the UK in August 1990, “Heart Like a Wheel” reached number 29 in the UK and number 32 in the US. A decade after the release, the record is still popular, featuring in a number of third party remixes including some by William Orbit. Also the band frequently play the song live, as it is a very live-friendly track and although not one of their greatest hits, it is still very popular with audiences. Oakey also now often explains the political message to the audiences usually describing it “an anti-war song”.

SIDE A:
Heart Like A Wheel (Extended Mix) 6:51
Remix – Mark Saunders

SIDE B:
Heart Like A Wheel (LP Version) 4:28

Heart Like A Wheel (7″ Remix) 4:37
Remix – William Orbit

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Cover: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1990	Heart Like A Wheel	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#32
1990	Heart Like A Wheel	U.S. Billboard Hot Alternative Songs	#17

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: A&M Records – 75021 2336 1
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1990
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer, Mixed By – Martin Rushent
Written-By – Eugene Reynolds, Jo Callis

NOTES:
From the album, cassette & compact disc “romantic?”

Find the 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removeal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

2015 Re-Rip! Meticulously Remastered! First Time In 24 Bit Flac!

2015 Re-Rip!
Meticulously Remastered!
First Time In 24 Bit Flac!