Human League Go Back to The Future: 25 Years On

"I thought we were a punk band, to be honest, and The Human League couldn't have existed without punk. Until punk came along, people used to believe that you had to study an instrument for years before being allowed in a band and punk warped all that; it was inspiring. "

25 years after The Human League first started making revolutionary synthesizer music, Phil Oakey is set to return to the era to discuss a new album of those recordings "The Golden Hour Of The Future". Featuring the fellow sonic contributions of Heaven 17's Ian Craig Marsh and Wartyn Ware plus Clock DVA's Adi Newton, the CD is a surprisingly good collective of experimental electronica, with lots of relevance for today's electroclash scene.

"I like electroclash, though I don't think it has had the big hitters yet that it needs," Phil told Skrufff's Benedetta Ferraro this week.

"There isn't an Abba or The Beatles in the genre yet, but they'll come, I'm sure. I love Miss Kittin, Adult, Dot Alison, they're fantastic."


Skrufff (Benedetta Ferraro): Why have you decided to release this retro compilation CD now-

Phil Oakey: "The decision really has nothing to do with me. I think that it's been down to someone else's decision, since the time for us is very much right. People are talking about us again and all we ever get is requests for clearing up samples and cover versions. We are, in a strange way, trendy again, which is quite handy but totally down to coincidence."

Skrufff: Did you ever think back then that there would have been a time in the future, when you could have put out these tracks-

Phil Oakey: "I thought for a long time that the tracks should have been made available and finally they have been put together in quite an amusing form. I'm certainly enjoying listening to them."

Skrufff: Have they stood the test of time, in your opinion-

Phil Oakey: "I am really enjoying them, though some of those I sing on, I do find a bit embarrassing, but I love those tracks written before the Human League. I've always found them great, obviously, and that's why I wanted to be involved with the group. To me they recall a time when things were very atmospheric. I love what Martyn (Ware) and Ian (Craig Marsh) were doing in the studio back then."

Skrufff: Are you still in touch with them-

Phil Oakey: "We do see them, but we're not exactly in touch. We used see quite a lot of Ian, since a couple of years ago he was setting up a studio here in Sheffield. Then I think that Heaven 17 got a fair amount of work and he's been stuck in London ever since. I think he even let the studio go. We occasionally play various 'nostalgia' shows with them, since we're always trying to earn money, and it's nice to hook up in those occasions."

Skrufff: Martyn recruited you in the band because you looked like a pop star, did this hurt you-

Phil Oakey: "Martyn did, really- Well, those were the times; it was very much a brave new world. I think we were quite unusual, as nobody within the band had any roles, we didn't even have a drummer or a bass player or a guitarist, since we had an instrument that was producing all the sounds. More or less, we didn't even have a singer. I ended up singing because I was less good than the others at playing the keyboards. Martyn did a lot of the singing initially, and anyone of us could do pretty much everything, like turning up with riffs, bass lines or lyrics. It was fun. Less like a group and more like… a theatre group, or a little performance art ensemble. It was like having a hobby."

Skrufff: Did you use to view students as 'cool'-

Phil Oakey: "Well, to be honest none of us went to university and I didn't even finish my A Levels, as I needed to work and earn money. Being in the group was our chance to be arty, which included taking care of all the aspects relating to a group, from the music to the image, the clothes, the posters and so on. After I joined, Adrian Write did too, and of course, he was an art student Tags

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