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