The Human League are nearing their 50th anniversary, and inevitably, the passage of time means what was seen as cutting-edge — bringing synth pop to the mainstream — is now colored with nostalgia. The hitmaking UK group now thrives as a legacy act.
That metamorphosis is quite all right with singer Susan Ann Sulley, the voice of the iconic “waitress in a cocktail bar” in The Human League’s breakthrough hit, “Don’t You Want Me.” Chatting before the Radio City stop of the Generations Tour, which also features Soft Cell and Alison Moyet, she quips, “You have to call it something, don’t ya? We’ve had music from many generations.”
Formed in 1977 Sheffield, The Human League had some success with their first two albums but only broke through after the departures of Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh and the joining of a teenage Sulley and her friend Joanne Catherall, who were discovered at a club by vocalist Philip Oakley.
Sulley opened up about her early days in the group, how clothes and videos have played a role in The Human League’s image and the night she recorded her timeless vocals on “Don’t You Want Me.”
What singing experience did you have when Philip spotted you and Joanne?
None. None whatsoever. I’d been in a couple school plays in like junior school when I was like 10 or 11. Joanne and I didn’t have any aspiration to being musicians. We were both doing higher ed at school, we were going to go to university and do something different completely.
Phil was looking for someone that could do the high backing vocals. He was looking for one person. He saw us together in a club dancing and thought we looked good together and he hoped if we could sing we’d agree to go on tour with him. He never asked us to join the band after all these years. He only asked us to go on tour, then he got stuck with us.
You’ve been putting out music for almost 50 years. How do you feel about being called an ‘80s band? The ’80s were just about one-fifth of your career.
You know what, I figure if people have, what’s the word, the niceness to spend their money and they come and have a look and all they want to hear is “Don’t You Want Me,” that’s OK as well. … They just have to wait until the end of the show. I hope they go, wow, that was really good and I didn’t realize that they had so many songs that I recognize.
We’re all stretched with money these days and there’s a lot of horrible things going on in the world and people being nice enough to go out and see us play. We want to do the best show that we can.
Why haven’t you split up? Did you ever come close?
Yes, there were many, many times where we were threatened with bankruptcy from managers and we got dropped from our record company, all the usual things that happen to groups that have longevity. There was never a point where the three of us wanted to split up. There was always one person saying no, no, no. We’re like a cat with nine lives and there’s always been someone saying we have another life or five more lives or something.
We sort of get on like brother and sister. We know each other sort of inside out. We know what makes each of us tick. We don’t tend to see each other very much when we’re at home not working. We have quite separate lives. I speak to Joanne every week on the telephone. I rarely see Phillip. We love the job. We love the music, we love performing, so I don’t know that any of us would know what [else] to do for a living.
The visuals — like the way you dress on stage and your music videos — have been an important part of The Human League. How do you feel about that?
I have to say the videos were never really any of our ideas, they call came from the director. So the way the songs were portrayed in a video never came from us.
I suppose because we’re a little old-fashioned, we like shows, you like to see people making an effort, you like to see costume changes, you like to see the lights changing. We’ve tried to become more physical. We run around, especially Phillip, he runs around the stage a lot. In the original group he used to just stand there, really. We just try to put on a show.
I think how you look can sometimes be too important, especially the criticism that some people get for pushing the boundaries. I’m really, really sad that people have criticized Madonna when she did the Coachella set with Sabrina Carpenter. There are always some horrible people that say she shouldn’t be dressing like that now. Shut up. Why not? She’s a wonderful, original longevity artist who can do what the hell she wants.
I think people should not be too critical of the costumes. Maybe it’s not what one would wear to go down the store in the daytime. They are work costumes. No one criticizes actors when they’re old and they’re in the new Marvel film in a Lycra skin-tight suit. She’s 67, a wonderful, amazing pop star and she gets criticized.
What do you remember about recording “Don’t You Want Me?”
We did the vocals really, really late at night at Genetic Studios. I think Madness was recording days, so it was like two shifts, sleeping all day and going to work at night. Martin [Rushent, the producer] gave me the lyrics and said you’ve got to sing now, and I just went and did it. Yay!
People think it’s about the group, but it’s got nothing to do with the group. It’s to do with the Judy Garland and James Mason film “A Star Is Born.” But my favorite is the Barbara Streisand-Kris Kristofferson version.
Are there plans for the band to record new music?
I don’t know. I don’t write. Joanne or I have never written. Don’t ask me why that is. It was just how things fell into place at first. Phillip, I can’t speak for him, but I know he’s really enjoying life at the moment. He’s just living, which he spent a long time sitting in his house too much and now he’s living life. I don’t think he wants to sit in a studio.
New music is great and there are so many doors it opens for you and stuff, but there’s also nothing wrong with just being able to sing the songs that we like singing and you all like hearing. Look at “Les Misérables.” It’s the greatest musical of all time and it keeps selling out.
The Generations Tour, featuring The Human League, Soft Cell and Alison Moyet. Radio City Music Hall (1260 6th Avenue, New York, NY). Friday, June 26, 8 p.m. Tickets and info here.
Photo by Perou
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