The Human League is an English synthpop band formed in 1977. Originally a m… Read Full Bio ↴The Human League is an English synthpop band formed in 1977. Originally a minimal Post-Punk synthesiser-based group from Sheffield, UK, they became one of the most successful New Wave acts of the 80s. The only consistent band member is vocalist and songwriter Phil Oakey. The band's best known configuration was their 1980-1985 lineup of Phillip Oakey (vocals), Joanne Catherall (vocals), Susanne Sulley (vocals), Phillip Adrian Wright (keyboards), Jo Callis (guitar, keyboards) and Ian Burden (bass).

Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh were both working as computer programmers in 1977, and combined a love of pop music (such as glam rock and Tamla Motown) with avant garde electronic music. They acquired a Roland System 100 synthesizer and began to create music in their own rehearsal facility. Initially they formed a group called The Dead Daughters, which then became The Future with Adi Newton on vocals. Newton was soon dismissed and left to form the outfit Clock DVA. Ware and Marsh searched for a vocalist, but their first choice, Glenn Gregory (who would be the lead singer of their later band, Heaven 17), was unavailable. Ware instead decided to invite Philip Oakey, an old school friend, and a hospital porter at the time to join the band, "apparently by leaving a note stuck to his door". Oakey accepted the invitation, despite never having been in a band before. Shortly after, they decided to call themselves The Human League. A collection of demos from this period was released on CD in 2002, titled The Golden Hour of The Future, compiled by Richard X.

The original lineup of The Human League debuted in 1978 with the single "Being Boiled", a dark synth track that would later become extremely influential on later industrial musicians (namely Trent Reznor of the Nine Inch Nails). This single and it's follow-up "Empire State Human" were modest sucesses, however the group's albums - 1979's "Reproduction" and 1980's "Travelogue" - did not sell. This caused a rift in the band, and in 1980, Ian Marsh and Martyn Ware left the group.

Following the split of the original line-up, Phillip Adrian Wright (their live slide projectionist) fully joined the group and Oakey & himself released another flop single, "Boys and Girls". In order to fulfil their European tour commitments, they recruited bass player Ian Burden, and fronted the band with two singers, Susanne Sulley and Joanne Catherall, schoolgirls whom they had met in a Sheffield nightclub, and managed to complete the tour.

In 1981, Virgin Records paired them with former Stranglers producer Martin Rushent, and the first result was the single "The Sound of the Crowd", which saw them at last achieve success in the singles chart. Guitarist Jo Callis (formerly of The Rezillos) was now recruited to the band, and with Rushent at the helm, The Human League recorded their most successful album to date, "Dare!". It achieved huge success, fuelled by its further hit singles, "Open Your Heart", "Love Action" and most famously "Don't You Want Me", which reached number one in the UK charts during the Christmas of 1981 and was one of the biggest selling singles of that year, and it also charted at number one in the US during the summer of 1982. These three releases were accompanied by striking promo videos ("Love Action" based on the movie The Graduate). During their Dare! phase, the Human League were often associated with the New Romantic movement.

The band also had a number of other hits but their success faded towards the mid-1980s. Arguably, one problem was the length of time the band took to make a record. Dare! was followed by the six-song EP Fascination! (featuring hit singles "Mirror Man" and "Fascination") as a stopgap, and it took three years to release a full-length follow-up album, "Hysteria".

In 1985, outside of the Human League, Oakey scored a huge hit single in collaboration with one of his idols, synth pioneer Giorgio Moroder, with the single "Together in Electric Dreams", taken from the film soundtrack to Electric Dreams. The pair proceeded to record an entire album for Virgin, Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder, but this met with rather less success.

In 1986, the group found themselves in creative stagnation, struggling to record material to follow up on their previous success. Key songwriter Jo Callis departed, replaced by drummer Jim Russell, and Virgin paired the League up with cutting-edge American R&B producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The result was the "Crash" album. The album featured much material written by Jam and Lewis' team, and showcased their distinctive DX7-led sound, making it quite a departure from previous Human League material. It did provide an American number one single, "Human", but other singles made smaller chart impact.

The following tour saw keyboardist Neil Sutton join the line-up and also keyboardist/guitarist Russell Dennett. Since 1990, their resident engineer on and off stage has been David Beevers. Following Dennett's departure in 1996, Nic Burke has been his replacement for live work since 2001.

The Human League released a new album, Credo in March 2011.

Don't You Want Me
The Human League Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You were workin' as a waitress in a cocktail bar
When I met you
I picked you out, I shook you up and turned you around
Turned you into someone new
Now five years later on, you've got the world at your feet
Success has been so easy for you
But don't forget, it's me who put you where you are now
And I can put you back down too

Don't, don't you want me?
You know I can't believe it when I hear that you won't see me
Don't, don't you want me?
You know I don't believe you when you say that you don't need me
It's much too late to find
You think you've changed your mind
You'd better change it back or we will both be sorry

Don't you want me, baby?
Don't you want me? Oh
Don't you want me, baby?
Don't you want me? Oh

I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar
That much is true
But even then, I knew I'd find a much better place
Either with or without you
The five years we have had have been such good times
I still love you
But now, I think it's time I live my life on my own
I guess it's just what I must do

Don't, don't you want me?
You know I can't believe it when I hear that you won't see me
Don't, don't you want me?
You know I don't believe you when you say that you don't need me
It's much too late to find
You think you've changed your mind
You'd better change it back or we will both be sorry

Don't you want me, baby?
Don't you want me? Oh
Don't you want me, baby?
Don't you want me? Oh

Don't you want me, baby?
Don't you want me? Oh
Don't you want me, baby?
Don't you want me? Oh
Don't you want me, baby?
Don't you want me? Oh
Don't you want me, baby?
Don't you want me? Oh
Don't you want me, baby?
Don't you want me? Oh
Don't you want me, baby?

Don't you want me? Oh
Don't you want me, baby?

Overall Meaning

The Human League's song "Don't You Want Me" is a tale of a power struggle in a romantic relationship. The song tells the story of a man who meets a woman while she was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar, and he turns her into someone new. Five years later, the woman has become successful, but the man doesn't want her to forget that he's the one who put her where she is now, and he threatens to take her back down. The woman, however, has found her independence and decides that it's time for her to live her life on her own, even if that means leaving the man behind.

Line by Line Meaning

You were workin' as a waitress in a cocktail bar
You occupied a job as a waitress in a cocktail bar

When I met you
That's the moment when we first crossed paths

I picked you out, I shook you up and turned you around
I helped you take control of your life and turn it around

Turned you into someone new
I contributed to this new version of yourself

Now five years later on, you've got the world at your feet
You're now very successful

Success has been so easy for you
You achieved this success with seemingly little effort

But don't forget, it's me who put you where you are now
You reached this success thanks to my contribution

And I can put you back down too
I also have the power to bring you back down

Don't, don't you want me?
Don't you still have feelings for me?

You know I can't believe it when I hear that you won't see me
I can't imagine that you don't want to see me

You know I don't believe you when you say that you don't need me
I don't buy it when you claim you don't need me

It's much too late to find
It's too far along now to turn back time

You think you've changed your mind
You believe you've made a change in perspective

You'd better change it back or we will both be sorry
You need to reverse that change or we both may regret it

Don't you want me, baby?
Don't you desire me anymore, dear?

I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar
I used to have a job as a waitress in a cocktail bar

That much is true
That's an accurate statement

But even then, I knew I'd find a much better place
At that time, I already knew that a better situation awaited me

Either with or without you
I could achieve that without relying on you

The five years we have had have been such good times
We had a great time together for the past 5 years

I still love you
Even now, I still have feelings for you

But now, I think it's time I live my life on my own
However, it's time for me to start living my life independently

I guess it's just what I must do
I have no choice but to do so

Don't you want me, baby?
Don't you still want to be with me, my love?

Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY, Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: John William Callis, Philip Oakey, Adrian Philip Wright

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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