Joanne Catherall
Encyclopedia
Joanne Catherall is an English singer; best known as one of the two female vocalists of the veteran English
synthpop
band The Human League
.
Born and raised in Sheffield
, England
. In October 1980 Catherall was a totally unknown 18 year old school girl when she and her best friend Susan Ann Sulley were discovered in Sheffield's Crazy Daisy Nightclub
by Philip Oakey
, the lead singer and a founder member of The Human League.
At very short notice she and Sulley were invited to join the band's European tour that was in crisis after the original group had split. The pair then joined Oakey in forming a new and commercially successful line-up of The Human League, in turn making an international pop star of Catherall.
Catherall has remained in the band ever since, working constantly over the previous 30 years. Today, now in her late forties she is a joint business partner in the band, which continues to record and tour.
In Sheffield
in mid 1980 Catherall was school friends with the slightly younger Susan Ann Sulley. Both girls were 17 years old and were socially unpopular in their school, Sheffield's Frecheville Comprehensive School
, for their non conformist attitude and eclectic dress sense. In an era of British youth culture that was only just leaving the Punk
phase, where rock and Ska
/twotone
were the dominating youth subcultures, Catherall and Sulley stood out as they dressed in a newer style (which would later become known as Numanoid after the style of electronic pop artist Gary Numan
). One Wednesday night in late October, like many others, Catherall (who had just turned 18) and Sulley went out together to the futurist Crazy Daisy Nightclub
in Sheffield city centre to dance and socialize.
Philip Oakey
, the lead singer of the alternative, but relatively unknown electronic band The Human League
, was also out in Sheffield that night. The Human League had recently split acrimoniously over creative differences, leaving only two of the original four members, Oakey and Adrian Wright
, to continue. Crucially, The Human League was contracted to a European tour starting within a week. Already in debt to Virgin Records
, Oakey had to recruit new band members in a matter of days for the tour or be sued by the tour's promoters, face bankruptcy and the end of the band. Oakey had the idea to go into Sheffield that evening to recruit a single female backing singer for the tour, needed to replace the original high backing vocals of the now departed Martyn Ware
.
Later that evening by pure chance Oakey ended up in the Crazy Daisy Nightclub on York Street, Sheffield. He immediately noticed Catherall and Sulley dancing together, and now states that they stood out from all the other girls in the club due to their unique dress sense, immaculate make-up and idiosyncratic but sophisticated dance moves. Without preamble Oakey asked both girls to join the tour as dancers and incidental vocalists.
Catherall now states that she knew immediately it was a genuine offer, as Oakey was well known in Sheffield; she and Sulley already had tickets to see The Human League on the Sheffield leg of their tour. Catherall and Sulley agreed to the offer immediately, despite having absolutely no singing or professional dancing experience.
However, with the girls being 17/18 years old, the final decision about their going on the tour lay with their respective parents. Both the girls' parents were unhappy with the idea and initially refused to give their consent. This was overturned reluctantly when Oakey, complete with his then trademark lop-sided haircut, red lipstick and high heeled shoes visited both sets of parents to convince them that the girls would come to no harm and that "he wasn't going to sell them abroad". Catherall and Sulley's school also agreed to the absence as it was thought visiting Europe would be educational for the girls.
The first European tour of The Human League got underway with the two young recruits assigned to dancing and incidental vocal duties. The girls at this stage were just guests in the group on a salary of £30 a week.
Although the tour was a success the crowds were largely hostile to Catherall and Sulley, as fans had bought tickets for the original all male line up. Catherall recalls dodging several beer cans thrown at her during the tour and was often heckled. During the tour Oakey had experimented with the girls singing on a number of the original tracks and was impressed with the results; he was also impressed with the girls' professionalism and determination during the tour.
On return to Sheffield in December 1980 both girls were made full time members of The Human League.
The new Human League of Sulley, Oakey, Catherall and Wright started to gain ground in early 1981 with the release of the single "Boys and Girls
". Even though it charted at number 48, it was the most successful single at that point. The girls were not used in the production as the song was written without any female backing and they were busy with school. They would later feature on the record sleeve and promotional photo shoots.
Soon after Boys and Girls, came the recruitment of professional musicians Ian Burden
and Jo Callis
, which sharpened the band's output considerably. Although no one yet knew it, the band had arrived at its most successful evolution. The release of the next single "Sound of the Crowd" was the band's commercial breakthrough. It was also the first single to include both Catherall's and Sulley's full vocals, rather than incidentals and 'adlibs'. Unexpectedly the single raced up the UK singles charts, as a result the band were invited to play on the UK's principal music programme BBC TV's Top of The Pops
, with only a few hours notice. The first Catherall would know about her first appearance on UK national TV would be Sulley's mother rushing to collect her and Sulley from school mid-lessons for the rapid drive down to the London studios.
Thus the classic Human League signature sound was born, a sound that would continue for three further decades, well into the 21st Century. Deep synths, electronic drums, Oakey's semi sung/semi spoken word baritone vocals, and Catherall and Sulley's feminine interaction. Sound of the Crowd was a major achievement in the British charts, but was quickly bettered by the next single, "Love Action (I Believe in Love)
", going to number three in the UK.
By this time, music video
had started to become highly popular for broadcast TV. Spurred on by the pre-filmed promos and live TV appearances, the band started to refine their personal appearance styles for a commercial audience.Catherall adopted striking black Kohl eye make up and bright red lipstick which would become her trademark early 1980s style.
In October 1981 The Human League released their next studio album Dare
. By now The Human League were in their ascendancy and were becoming extremely popular with the mainstream British public. The cutting edge sound of sequenced synths impressed music fans, while their visual style and presentation also became popular, particularly the mutually contrasting teenage girls (brunette Catherall and blonde Sulley) pulled in male fans and inspired teenage girls as the media picked up on the 'Cinderella-esque' story of the girls' recruitment into the band.
In mid November 1981, with the Human League fully in the public eye and sales of the album Dare soaring, Virgin records decided to pull one more single from Dare. Oakey had always disliked the track "Don't You Want Me
" Virgin Records had more faith, they commissioned an expensive and elaborate promo video to accompany the release of "Don't You Want Me". Shot on 35mm film rather than videotape, the promo was filmed in late November 1981 in Slough
, Berkshire, UK. The scenario was 'a movie shoot for a murder mystery film' and is lyrically a conflicting duet between Oakey and Sulley with backing vocals from Catherall.
Premiering in December 1981, the video was played on British television frequently. The memorable opening scene of the video has Catherall, in a fur coat standing on a rural road corner. The night is freezing, she is surrounded by swirling mist and accompanied by the deep opening synth chords. The video captured the imagination on the British public. The effects of the music and emotional lyrics, as well as the cinematic production values helped to propel "Don't You Want Me" to the UK number one spot. By the end of 1981, The Human League were household names across the UK.
1981 also saw the start up of Cable TV station MTV
in the U.S. This was a new station dedicated to playing music videos. However, the station was limited in that, as a relatively new media, there were relatively few music videos available. The syndication by Virgin Records
of "Don't You Want Me's" promo to MTV and ensuing airplay brought The Human League to U.S. audiences. The subsequent (and admittedly) unexpected interest prompted Virgin Records to release Dare in the U.S. as "Don't You Want Me" flew up the U.S. charts to number one aided by the effective promo video.
In late 1981 Catherall and Oakey would enter into a long term relationship that would last until the end of the decade. At the height of the Human League’s success they were feted as a celebrity couple, but were also pursued by tabloid journalists after a sensationalist story. At one time the British media erroneously reported that they had married; a story which is occasionally repeated today. Catherall and Oakey would split amicably in 1990 remaining friends and colleagues; today the subject is rarely raised. Catherall would subsequently marry in 1995.
". Aided by a quirky promo video, this single also made number two in the UK and number eight in the U.S.
Following this, however, the recording sessions for their next album became fraught with tension and producer Martin Rushent
departed from the project, as did later producer Chris Thomas. They were replaced by producer Hugh Padgham
and the subsequent album Hysteria
was released in mid-1984, three years after Dare. Although it entered the charts at number three, the album failed to match the success of Dare and quickly dropped out of the charts.
With Oakey working on side projects, rumours the band had split were perpetuated in the press. However, in 1986, Virgin Records paired The Human League with U.S. production team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
. The band decamped to the USA to record. Creative tensions bugged their time out there both in the band and with the production team. Sulley and Catherall, who had fortunately absolved themselves of any creative responsibility in 1981 and were exempted from the bickering, were homesick and unhappy in the U.S. Creatively, the U.S. recordings ended in acrimony but not complete disaster.
The well received single "Human" was released in September 1986. A ballad about separation and infidelity; it would give Catherall her most prominent vocals in any Human League single. The promo video was typical of mid 80's gloss and the single peaked at number one in the U.S. and number eight in the UK. The subsequent album, Crash
, emerged from the Jam and Lewis sessions, and reached number seven in the UK.
, which Catherall contributed vocals for, but the album was not well received, only charting barely and receiving little critical support. By now The Human League consisted solely of Catherall, Philip Oakey and Susan Sulley with supporting musicians.
Then suddenly in 1992, after much acrimony, Virgin Records
cancelled the band's contract. Without a recording contract for the first time in 14 years and with mounting debts following the relative failure of their most recent album, the band began to fall apart. Oakey succumbed to depression after the rejection and sought counselling. More seriously, Catherall's best friend and co-vocalist Susan Sulley had a nervous breakdown. It was during this period that Catherall, often described as the quietest member of the band, was to demonstrate her considerable strength of character. She is credited as being responsible for keeping the band together during their darkest period.
The Human League recovered and were able find a new record label quickly, in the form of EastWest records. Using material rejected by Virgin and new material written by Oakey and Sutton, the band released a new studio album in 1995. Propelled by some very radio friendly singles, Octopus
returned the band to the UK top 10 for the first time since the 1980s. As well as performing on UK TV music shows, various talk shows were keen to interview the band. On one occasion, during an interview of ITV's 'This Morning' host Richard Madeley
made the mistake of telling viewers that the band were making an "80s comeback", prompting an irritated Catherall to firmly put him in his place stating "We've never stopped working, we've never been away!".
Despite the commercial success of Octopus, history would repeat itself when in 1997 EastWest records decided to change creative direction and purged their older signings. The Human League were again let go, and the remainder of the 1990s saw the band refining their live act, playing relatively small venues. In 1997, an offer was made to the band to be part of an 80s nostalgia tour of the US with Culture Club and Howard Jones called 'The Big Rewind'. The tour was then repeated in the UK but with ABC as the opening act instead of Jones. The band who detest being called an "80s" act reluctantly agreed to take part, as Catherall would go on to say "the money was too good to turn down". The decision turned out to be blessing in disguise. This fielded further, albeit nostalgic, interest in the band. Oakey, Catherall and Sulley quickly capitalised on this and refined their set lists to include more nostalgia friendly back catalogue tracks.
On a personal front, in 1997 Joanne Catherall became a mother, the only member of the trio to have children.
was released in 2001 but the album was not a commercial success, not least of all due to Papillon going out of business. The disappointment of the album's failure and criticism that the band were now too old to be taken seriously again brought the band close to calling it a day. However, Catherall put this into perspective when she explained later during a TV interview for GMTV: "It's not as simple as that (disbanding); we are a business, we own studios, and we employ people who depend on us".
Although the Secrets album was not a commercial success, the live tour that accompanied it was. During the following years, The Human League have put all their effort into playing live and touring; both in the UK and worldwide where their live profile has continued to grow steadily. On 23 September 2006 they filled the Hollywood Bowl
in Los Angeles
with 18,000 fans, their most popular concert to date. When asked how long they intend to carry on, Catherall gave a typically blunt answer "for as long as we are filling stadiums and people still want to see us".
.
which is set in 1981, the producers stated that they had based one of the principal characters: WPC Sharon Granger
(Montserrat Lombard
) on the look and style of Catherall in 1981.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
band The Human League
The Human League
The Human League are an English electronic New Wave band formed in Sheffield in 1977. They achieved popularity after a key change in line-up in the early 1980s and have continued recording and performing with moderate commercial success throughout the 1980s up to the present day.The only constant...
.
Born and raised in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. In October 1980 Catherall was a totally unknown 18 year old school girl when she and her best friend Susan Ann Sulley were discovered in Sheffield's Crazy Daisy Nightclub
Crazy Daisy Nightclub
The Crazy Daisy Nightclub was a discotheque/dance club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England in the late 1970s to late 1980s. Located originally on the Corner of , Sheffield S1 1PU. It was known as The Beer Keller in the early to mid 1970s. In 1978 it was taken over by the Tetley company...
by Philip Oakey
Philip Oakey
Philip Oakey is an English composer, singer, songwriter and producer.He is best known as the lead singer, frontman and co-founder of the famous English synthpop band The Human League. He has also had an extensive solo music career and collaborated with numerous other artists and producers...
, the lead singer and a founder member of The Human League.
At very short notice she and Sulley were invited to join the band's European tour that was in crisis after the original group had split. The pair then joined Oakey in forming a new and commercially successful line-up of The Human League, in turn making an international pop star of Catherall.
Catherall has remained in the band ever since, working constantly over the previous 30 years. Today, now in her late forties she is a joint business partner in the band, which continues to record and tour.
Sheffield 1980 and "The Crazy Daisy" story
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
in mid 1980 Catherall was school friends with the slightly younger Susan Ann Sulley. Both girls were 17 years old and were socially unpopular in their school, Sheffield's Frecheville Comprehensive School
Frecheville Comprehensive
Frecheville Comprehensive School was a secondary school located in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It is now a housing estate.-Notable alumni:...
, for their non conformist attitude and eclectic dress sense. In an era of British youth culture that was only just leaving the Punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
phase, where rock and Ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
/twotone
2 Tone
2 Tone is a music genre created in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s by fusing elements of ska, punk rock, rocksteady, reggae, and New Wave. It was called 2 Tone because most of the bands were signed to 2 Tone Records at some point. Other labels associated with the 2 Tone sound were Stiff...
were the dominating youth subcultures, Catherall and Sulley stood out as they dressed in a newer style (which would later become known as Numanoid after the style of electronic pop artist Gary Numan
Gary Numan
Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
). One Wednesday night in late October, like many others, Catherall (who had just turned 18) and Sulley went out together to the futurist Crazy Daisy Nightclub
Crazy Daisy Nightclub
The Crazy Daisy Nightclub was a discotheque/dance club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England in the late 1970s to late 1980s. Located originally on the Corner of , Sheffield S1 1PU. It was known as The Beer Keller in the early to mid 1970s. In 1978 it was taken over by the Tetley company...
in Sheffield city centre to dance and socialize.
Philip Oakey
Philip Oakey
Philip Oakey is an English composer, singer, songwriter and producer.He is best known as the lead singer, frontman and co-founder of the famous English synthpop band The Human League. He has also had an extensive solo music career and collaborated with numerous other artists and producers...
, the lead singer of the alternative, but relatively unknown electronic band The Human League
The Human League
The Human League are an English electronic New Wave band formed in Sheffield in 1977. They achieved popularity after a key change in line-up in the early 1980s and have continued recording and performing with moderate commercial success throughout the 1980s up to the present day.The only constant...
, was also out in Sheffield that night. The Human League had recently split acrimoniously over creative differences, leaving only two of the original four members, Oakey and Adrian Wright
Philip Adrian Wright
Philip Adrian Wright is an English musician, also known as Adrian Wright.Wright had studied film making at Sheffield Art College and was a friend of Philip Oakey. In 1978 he was invited to join the new avant-garde electronic band The Human League which composed of Oakey, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig...
, to continue. Crucially, The Human League was contracted to a European tour starting within a week. Already in debt to Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
, Oakey had to recruit new band members in a matter of days for the tour or be sued by the tour's promoters, face bankruptcy and the end of the band. Oakey had the idea to go into Sheffield that evening to recruit a single female backing singer for the tour, needed to replace the original high backing vocals of the now departed Martyn Ware
Martyn Ware
Martyn "Teddy Bear" Ware is a British musician and music producer. He is the chairman of a local football team: PPA. As a founder member of both The Human League and Heaven 17, he was partly responsible for hit records such as "Being Boiled" and "Temptation"...
.
Later that evening by pure chance Oakey ended up in the Crazy Daisy Nightclub on York Street, Sheffield. He immediately noticed Catherall and Sulley dancing together, and now states that they stood out from all the other girls in the club due to their unique dress sense, immaculate make-up and idiosyncratic but sophisticated dance moves. Without preamble Oakey asked both girls to join the tour as dancers and incidental vocalists.
Catherall now states that she knew immediately it was a genuine offer, as Oakey was well known in Sheffield; she and Sulley already had tickets to see The Human League on the Sheffield leg of their tour. Catherall and Sulley agreed to the offer immediately, despite having absolutely no singing or professional dancing experience.
However, with the girls being 17/18 years old, the final decision about their going on the tour lay with their respective parents. Both the girls' parents were unhappy with the idea and initially refused to give their consent. This was overturned reluctantly when Oakey, complete with his then trademark lop-sided haircut, red lipstick and high heeled shoes visited both sets of parents to convince them that the girls would come to no harm and that "he wasn't going to sell them abroad". Catherall and Sulley's school also agreed to the absence as it was thought visiting Europe would be educational for the girls.
The first European tour of The Human League got underway with the two young recruits assigned to dancing and incidental vocal duties. The girls at this stage were just guests in the group on a salary of £30 a week.
Although the tour was a success the crowds were largely hostile to Catherall and Sulley, as fans had bought tickets for the original all male line up. Catherall recalls dodging several beer cans thrown at her during the tour and was often heckled. During the tour Oakey had experimented with the girls singing on a number of the original tracks and was impressed with the results; he was also impressed with the girls' professionalism and determination during the tour.
On return to Sheffield in December 1980 both girls were made full time members of The Human League.
1981 and the release of "Dare"
After the tour, Catherall and Sulley returned to school full time while Wright and Oakey set about composing and song writing.The new Human League of Sulley, Oakey, Catherall and Wright started to gain ground in early 1981 with the release of the single "Boys and Girls
Boys and Girls (Human League song)
"Boys and Girls" is a song by the British Synthpop group The Human League. It was released as a single in the UK in February 1981 and peaked at number 48 in the UK Singles Charts...
". Even though it charted at number 48, it was the most successful single at that point. The girls were not used in the production as the song was written without any female backing and they were busy with school. They would later feature on the record sleeve and promotional photo shoots.
Soon after Boys and Girls, came the recruitment of professional musicians Ian Burden
Ian Burden
Ian Charles Burden was a keyboard player with the English synthpop band, The Human League, from 1981 up to 1989....
and Jo Callis
Jo Callis
Jo Callis is an English musician and songwriter who played guitar with the Edinburgh based punk rock band, The Rezillos , and post-punk band Boots For Dancing before joining The Human League.-Biography:Callis was educated at the Edinburgh College of Art...
, which sharpened the band's output considerably. Although no one yet knew it, the band had arrived at its most successful evolution. The release of the next single "Sound of the Crowd" was the band's commercial breakthrough. It was also the first single to include both Catherall's and Sulley's full vocals, rather than incidentals and 'adlibs'. Unexpectedly the single raced up the UK singles charts, as a result the band were invited to play on the UK's principal music programme BBC TV's Top of The Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, with only a few hours notice. The first Catherall would know about her first appearance on UK national TV would be Sulley's mother rushing to collect her and Sulley from school mid-lessons for the rapid drive down to the London studios.
Thus the classic Human League signature sound was born, a sound that would continue for three further decades, well into the 21st Century. Deep synths, electronic drums, Oakey's semi sung/semi spoken word baritone vocals, and Catherall and Sulley's feminine interaction. Sound of the Crowd was a major achievement in the British charts, but was quickly bettered by the next single, "Love Action (I Believe in Love)
Love Action (I Believe in Love)
"Love Action " is a song by the British synthpop group The Human League, released as a single in the UK in July 1981. It peaked at number three in the UK Singles Chart, the band's first Top 10 success....
", going to number three in the UK.
By this time, music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
had started to become highly popular for broadcast TV. Spurred on by the pre-filmed promos and live TV appearances, the band started to refine their personal appearance styles for a commercial audience.Catherall adopted striking black Kohl eye make up and bright red lipstick which would become her trademark early 1980s style.
In October 1981 The Human League released their next studio album Dare
Dare (album)
Dare is the third studio album from British synthpop band The Human League.The album was recorded between March and September 1981 and first released in the UK on 20 October 1981, then subsequently in the U.S...
. By now The Human League were in their ascendancy and were becoming extremely popular with the mainstream British public. The cutting edge sound of sequenced synths impressed music fans, while their visual style and presentation also became popular, particularly the mutually contrasting teenage girls (brunette Catherall and blonde Sulley) pulled in male fans and inspired teenage girls as the media picked up on the 'Cinderella-esque' story of the girls' recruitment into the band.
In mid November 1981, with the Human League fully in the public eye and sales of the album Dare soaring, Virgin records decided to pull one more single from Dare. Oakey had always disliked the track "Don't You Want Me
Don't You Want Me
"Don't You Want Me" is a single by British synthpop group Human League, released from their album: Dare on 27 November 1981.It is the band's best known and most commercially successful recording to date, and was the Christmas number one in the UK, in 1981, where it sold over 1,400,000 copies,...
" Virgin Records had more faith, they commissioned an expensive and elaborate promo video to accompany the release of "Don't You Want Me". Shot on 35mm film rather than videotape, the promo was filmed in late November 1981 in Slough
Slough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
, Berkshire, UK. The scenario was 'a movie shoot for a murder mystery film' and is lyrically a conflicting duet between Oakey and Sulley with backing vocals from Catherall.
Premiering in December 1981, the video was played on British television frequently. The memorable opening scene of the video has Catherall, in a fur coat standing on a rural road corner. The night is freezing, she is surrounded by swirling mist and accompanied by the deep opening synth chords. The video captured the imagination on the British public. The effects of the music and emotional lyrics, as well as the cinematic production values helped to propel "Don't You Want Me" to the UK number one spot. By the end of 1981, The Human League were household names across the UK.
1981 also saw the start up of Cable TV station MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
in the U.S. This was a new station dedicated to playing music videos. However, the station was limited in that, as a relatively new media, there were relatively few music videos available. The syndication by Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
of "Don't You Want Me's" promo to MTV and ensuing airplay brought The Human League to U.S. audiences. The subsequent (and admittedly) unexpected interest prompted Virgin Records to release Dare in the U.S. as "Don't You Want Me" flew up the U.S. charts to number one aided by the effective promo video.
In late 1981 Catherall and Oakey would enter into a long term relationship that would last until the end of the decade. At the height of the Human League’s success they were feted as a celebrity couple, but were also pursued by tabloid journalists after a sensationalist story. At one time the British media erroneously reported that they had married; a story which is occasionally repeated today. Catherall and Oakey would split amicably in 1990 remaining friends and colleagues; today the subject is rarely raised. Catherall would subsequently marry in 1995.
The Remaining 1980s
In 1982, riding on the success of Dare, The Human League embarked on an ambitious and well anticipated international tour, consolidating their new position as international superstars. On completion of the tour, the group returned to the recording studios to start on the follow-up to Dare. In November 1982, the Mowtown-inspired "Mirror Man" single hit the UK charts peaking at number two. Six months later, the group released the single, "(Keep Feeling) Fascination(Keep Feeling) Fascination
" Fascination" is a dance song performed by British synthpop group The Human League. It was composed by Jo Callis and Philip Oakey....
". Aided by a quirky promo video, this single also made number two in the UK and number eight in the U.S.
Following this, however, the recording sessions for their next album became fraught with tension and producer Martin Rushent
Martin Rushent
Martin Rushent was an English record producer, best known for his work with The Human League, The Stranglers and The Buzzcocks.- Early life :Rushent was born on 11 July 1948 in Enfield, Middlesex. His father was a car salesman...
departed from the project, as did later producer Chris Thomas. They were replaced by producer Hugh Padgham
Hugh Padgham
Hugh Padgham is a British record producer. He has won many awards, including four Grammys, with Producer of the Year and Engineer of the Year. A 1992 poll in Mix magazine voted him one of the world's Top Ten Most Influential Producers....
and the subsequent album Hysteria
Hysteria (Human League album)
Hysteria is the fourth album by the British synthpop band The Human League, released in May 1984. Following the worldwide success of their 1981 album Dare, the band struggled to make a successful follow-up and the sessions for Hysteria were fraught with problems...
was released in mid-1984, three years after Dare. Although it entered the charts at number three, the album failed to match the success of Dare and quickly dropped out of the charts.
With Oakey working on side projects, rumours the band had split were perpetuated in the press. However, in 1986, Virgin Records paired The Human League with U.S. production team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Steven Lewis are an American R&B and pop-music songwriting and record production team...
. The band decamped to the USA to record. Creative tensions bugged their time out there both in the band and with the production team. Sulley and Catherall, who had fortunately absolved themselves of any creative responsibility in 1981 and were exempted from the bickering, were homesick and unhappy in the U.S. Creatively, the U.S. recordings ended in acrimony but not complete disaster.
The well received single "Human" was released in September 1986. A ballad about separation and infidelity; it would give Catherall her most prominent vocals in any Human League single. The promo video was typical of mid 80's gloss and the single peaked at number one in the U.S. and number eight in the UK. The subsequent album, Crash
Crash (Human League album)
Crash is the fifth full-length studio album released by the British synthpop band The Human League in 1986. Unlike the band’s previous and subsequent albums it is R&B influenced...
, emerged from the Jam and Lewis sessions, and reached number seven in the UK.
1990s
The Human League reconvened for their 1990 album Romantic?Romantic?
Romantic? is the sixth studio album by the English synthpop band The Human League. It was issued by Virgin Records in 1990 and was the band's first album of new material in four years...
, which Catherall contributed vocals for, but the album was not well received, only charting barely and receiving little critical support. By now The Human League consisted solely of Catherall, Philip Oakey and Susan Sulley with supporting musicians.
Then suddenly in 1992, after much acrimony, Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
cancelled the band's contract. Without a recording contract for the first time in 14 years and with mounting debts following the relative failure of their most recent album, the band began to fall apart. Oakey succumbed to depression after the rejection and sought counselling. More seriously, Catherall's best friend and co-vocalist Susan Sulley had a nervous breakdown. It was during this period that Catherall, often described as the quietest member of the band, was to demonstrate her considerable strength of character. She is credited as being responsible for keeping the band together during their darkest period.
The Human League recovered and were able find a new record label quickly, in the form of EastWest records. Using material rejected by Virgin and new material written by Oakey and Sutton, the band released a new studio album in 1995. Propelled by some very radio friendly singles, Octopus
Octopus (Human League album)
Octopus is the seventh full-length studio album recorded by British synthpop band The Human League. It was produced by former Tears for Fears keyboardist Ian Stanley and released by EastWest Records in 1995. It was the first new album from the Human League in five years after the termination of...
returned the band to the UK top 10 for the first time since the 1980s. As well as performing on UK TV music shows, various talk shows were keen to interview the band. On one occasion, during an interview of ITV's 'This Morning' host Richard Madeley
Richard Madeley
Richard Madeley is a British television presenter and columnist. With his wife Judy Finnigan, Madeley has presented This Morning and later the weekday chat show Richard & Judy...
made the mistake of telling viewers that the band were making an "80s comeback", prompting an irritated Catherall to firmly put him in his place stating "We've never stopped working, we've never been away!".
Despite the commercial success of Octopus, history would repeat itself when in 1997 EastWest records decided to change creative direction and purged their older signings. The Human League were again let go, and the remainder of the 1990s saw the band refining their live act, playing relatively small venues. In 1997, an offer was made to the band to be part of an 80s nostalgia tour of the US with Culture Club and Howard Jones called 'The Big Rewind'. The tour was then repeated in the UK but with ABC as the opening act instead of Jones. The band who detest being called an "80s" act reluctantly agreed to take part, as Catherall would go on to say "the money was too good to turn down". The decision turned out to be blessing in disguise. This fielded further, albeit nostalgic, interest in the band. Oakey, Catherall and Sulley quickly capitalised on this and refined their set lists to include more nostalgia friendly back catalogue tracks.
On a personal front, in 1997 Joanne Catherall became a mother, the only member of the trio to have children.
2000s
With renewed interest in the band's back catalogue, they were able to find yet another record label, this time Papillon Records, willing to sign them and facilitate the release of another studio album. SecretsSecrets (Human League album)
Secrets is an album recorded by British synthpop band The Human League. It was issued in 2001 by Papillon Records and was the Human League's first studio album in six years...
was released in 2001 but the album was not a commercial success, not least of all due to Papillon going out of business. The disappointment of the album's failure and criticism that the band were now too old to be taken seriously again brought the band close to calling it a day. However, Catherall put this into perspective when she explained later during a TV interview for GMTV: "It's not as simple as that (disbanding); we are a business, we own studios, and we employ people who depend on us".
Although the Secrets album was not a commercial success, the live tour that accompanied it was. During the following years, The Human League have put all their effort into playing live and touring; both in the UK and worldwide where their live profile has continued to grow steadily. On 23 September 2006 they filled the Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
with 18,000 fans, their most popular concert to date. When asked how long they intend to carry on, Catherall gave a typically blunt answer "for as long as we are filling stadiums and people still want to see us".
Today
Even though Catherall and Sulley are now in their mid 40s they are still almost always referred to as "The Human League Girls" in the media. Catherall continues to record, perform and tour with the band whilst still living in Sheffield with her family. Behind the scenes she is involved in the organisational and financial side of the business. She has also guest presented on Music TV channel VH1VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
.
Influence
For the 2008 British TV drama series Ashes to AshesAshes to Ashes (TV series)
Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars.The series began airing on BBC One in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009...
which is set in 1981, the producers stated that they had based one of the principal characters: WPC Sharon Granger
Sharon Granger
WPC/DC Sharon "Shaz" Granger is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Ashes to Ashes. The character is portrayed by Montserrat Lombard...
(Montserrat Lombard
Montserrat Lombard
Montserrat Lombard is a British actress best known for playing WPC Sharon 'Shaz' Granger in the BBC Drama series Ashes to Ashes.Lombard was born in London. She is half Spanish and half Italian...
) on the look and style of Catherall in 1981.
Film and television
- 1999 "Hunting Venus" (Buffalo Films, D. Martin ClunesMartin ClunesAlexander Martin Clunes is an English actor and comedian. Clunes is perhaps best known for his roles as Gary Strang in Men Behaving Badly, Doctor Martin Ellingham in Doc Martin and the title character in Reggie Perrin....
) - Played Herself - 2007 VH1VH1VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
- Presenter
Awards
- 1982 BRIT AwardsBrit AwardsThe Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
- (as 'The Human League') - 'Best British Breakthrough Act' - 2004 Q Awards - (as 'The Human League') - 'The Q Innovation In Sound Award'
- Nominated for Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in 1982 for Best International Act (as 'The Human League')
Further reading
- Story of a Band Called "The Human League" by Alaska Ross (Proteus July 1982) ISBN 978-0862761035
External links
Joanne Catherall does not currently have a personal website, and as a matter of band policy there is no official Human League Website. One fansite is Officially recognised by the band management for publicity purposes:- http://www.the-black-hit-of-space.dk/menu.htm