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.
Marianne
The Human League Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It leaves me breathless
I see your dream's come true
You're not so restless
Or light, or bright
Marianne
One day I might not care
Your lack of sympathy Fails to disturb me
I've got a life of my own
I remember the day
I thought we couldn't lose
Running round the garden In your mother's shoes
Playing silly sisters
And drinking green tea
On a cold autumn day
Someone's car had broken down
The best of summer ends
When you give a celebration
We can leave but we can't really go on
It would spoil the celebration
Anita, all that's left is us facing a life
That goes on as before
One day I might not care
What happens to me
Your lack of sympathy
Fails to disturb me
I've got a life of my own
Anita, all that's left is us facing a life
That goes on as before
Marianne
Anita, all that's left is us facing a life
That goes on as before
Marianne
Anita, all that's left is us facing a life
That goes on as before
Marianne
Anita, all that's left is us facing a life
At the end of the world
Marianne
The Human League's song Marianne seems to be about a failed relationship where one person, the singer, has moved on while the other, Marianne, is still stuck. The lyrics suggest that the singer is relieved to see Marianne settle down and no longer be "restless," but also has a sense of detachment from her. He notes that her lack of sympathy doesn't disturb him and that he has a life of his own. The memories of their friendship in the past, like playing around as "silly sisters" and drinking green tea, seem to be tinged with a sense of nostalgia but also sadness, as they can 'leave but can't really go on' together. The repeated lines "Anita, all that's left is us facing a life that goes on as before" and "Marianne" could be interpreted as indicating that the story is about a love triangle, but it's not clear what the relationship was between Anita, Marianne, and the singer. The song ends on a somewhat bleak note, with "all that's left" being a life that goes on, even at the end of the world.
Line by Line Meaning
I take one look at you
Seeing you causes a feeling of admiration or awe within me
It leaves me breathless
This admiration is intense and takes my breath away
I see your dream's come true
I notice that you've achieved something you've always wanted and it's visible in your attitude and behavior
You're not so restless
I can sense that you're calmer now, having fulfilled your dream
Or light, or bright
You're not shining with happiness or energy like I might have expected
Marianne
This is the name of the person being addressed
One day I might not care
At some point in the future, I may no longer be affected or bothered by things
What happens to me
I won't be concerned about my own fate or wellbeing
Your lack of sympathy
You not showing concern or understanding for my feelings or situation
Fails to disturb me
I'm not upset or moved by this lack of sympathy
I've got a life of my own
I have my own goals and purposes in life that aren't dependent on anyone else's approval or support
I remember the day
There's a specific day or event that stands out in my memory
I thought we couldn't lose
There was a sense of invincibility or confidence in our relationship or partnership
Running round the garden
We were carefree and playful, enjoying each other's company
In your mother's shoes
We were playing dress-up or pretending to be someone else
Playing silly sisters
Our roleplaying was like that of sisters, not something serious or romantic
And drinking green tea
We were taking time to enjoy a simple pleasure together
On a cold autumn day
The weather was chilly and probably not very comfortable, but we were having fun anyway
Someone's car had broken down
There was a minor obstacle or inconvenience happening around us
The best of summer ends
A time of joy and happiness has come to a close
When you give a celebration
There's a time for rejoicing or coming together with others to mark an occasion
We can leave but we can't really go on
Although we can physically separate or move on from each other, things will never be the same as they were before
It would spoil the celebration
Ending our relationship would put a damper on everyone's mood and ruin the happiness of the occasion
Anita, all that's left is us facing a life
The artist is addressing someone else, whose name is Anita, and indicating that the two of them are the only ones left to deal with the situation they're in
That goes on as before
Life will continue on without much change or upheaval
At the end of the world
There's a sense of gloom or pessimism about the future, as though everything is falling apart and all hope is lost
Marianne
The song returns to addressing Marianne specifically, perhaps indicating that she was the focus of the singer's nostalgia and reminiscence
Anita, all that's left is us facing a life
This line is repeated, reinforcing the sense of isolation and hopelessness that the artist feels
That goes on as before
This is also repeated, underscoring the lack of change or progress in the artist's life
Marianne
The song ends as it began, addressing Marianne one last time before fading out
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
AlfieNoakesOhHo
I take one look at you
It leaves me breathless
I see your dreams come true
You're not so restless
Or light, or bright, Marianne
One day I might not care
What happens to me
Your lack of sympathy fails to disturb me
I've got a life of my own
I remember the day I thought we couldn't lose
Running round the garden in your mother's shoes
Playing with your sisters
I didn't see you were a grown up girl
And bringing me tea
But is it life in a grown up world
On a cold autumn day
Is it life, someone's wife
When the car had broken down
The best of my girls
I didn't see you were a grown up girl
Oh how I hate the celebration
But you give it all away leaving me on my own
But is it life in a grown up world
I can't wait for the end of the celebration
Is it life, someone's wife
Add it up, all that's left is a space in a life
That goes on as before
One day I might not care
What happens to me
Your lack of sympathy fails to disturb me
I've got a life of my own
Add it up, All that's left is a space in a life
That goes on as before, Marianne
Add it up, all that's left is a space in a life
At the end of the world, Marianne
drzozzy
Love it: the analogue squelchy synth sounds, all the different machines trying to keep time with each other without midi, and WTF is that squeak at 0:54? Some king of tape glitch? Changing from play to record while the tape is still moving? Much kudos for leaving it in the mix. GENIUS!!! One of the finest Human League songs ever
2112jonr
Tony nailed it. Gate timing pre-dated MIDI by a couple of decades and is WAY more accurate, with zero latency, unlike MIDI. Both Buchla and Moog were making non-MIDI step sequencers in 1964 and ARP introduced theirs in 1970. Chris Franke of Tangerine Dream was using non-MIDI sequencers back in the early 1970s on albums such as Phaedra (1973), and in live shows, including the one at Coventry Cathedral in 1975. So, plenty of timing sync' pre-MIDI.
MIDI didn't appear until 1983.
Tony Fish
Keeping time without midi ... Easy they used CV gate this had micro second accuracy. I couldn't believe how sloppy MIDI was when I first used it. I dare say the squelch at 54 seconds is the good old system 100
Burnell1963
I searched for the Holiday 80 EP throughout Sheffield, and finally found it in a discount shop next to the fish market!
MrMogwali1
Was that in Castle Market? If so, I remember the discount shop you refer to.
DrJupiter8
Probably my favourite Human League song. I am still listening to this regularly over 30 years after first hearing it.
ralucagymnast
The HL did this song on the "Dare" tour; I saw them in Liverpool in 1981, just incredible. This is, in my opinion, one of the best songs by the HL and one of my favourites of alltime. I love "Dancevision" which follows it too.
messageobliquespe100
My fav - Martyn’s too
Phil Alderson
Same here
telly head
I had a ticket for the original Human League, in Liverpool, but both gigs were cancelled and I've bemoaned the fact that I never got to see one of my favourite bands in their pomp.