80s synth pop legends The Human League have continued to tour and release records to a massive fanbase and visited Liverpool once more as part of a tour promoting new album 'Credo', Rich Denton went along to rekindle his youth...
Although tonight's headliners Sheffield electronic legends The Human League have continued to release material right up to the present day, the age range of the crowd collected in the theatre bar beforehand was a giveaway to their glorious chart topping past. That said, and with a new single and album due for release on the ubercool Wall of Sound label next year, this was not just a chance to reminisce.
As the curtain dropped to reveal an all white stage set up I thought (as no doubt the band did) that we were going to be in for a long night. Opening with the banging 'Electric Shock' from the new album everyone in the Philharmonic remained in their seats as the beats pounded the foundations of this great hall. Only when the first few bars of 'Mirror Man' filtered through did the crowd come to its feet and everyone was in full song by the third song the classic 'Love Action'. Panic over.
Phil Oakey bedecked in a black hooded jacket covering his face and big lace up boots strutted around the stage with the energy of a champion boxer and supported by long standing band members Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall they proceeded to pick off the big Human League tracks from the past 30 years or so.
With the trademark wedge long gone since departed Oakey revealed his shaven head before performing one of the worst costume changes of all time coming back on stage still buttoning his shirt before professionally just catching the vocal.
The acoustics of this great hall meant that songs such as 'Heart like a wheel' were delivered with a crystal clear quality that the band's production deserves and it was a pleasure to go to a gig and be able to pick out all the elements of the songs without a distorted guitar or an over heavy bass clogging up the ear drums.
New single 'Night People' slapped us around the face - an acid fuelled monster of a track which proves that Oakey is still in tune with the dance floor, this is backed up with a decent remix package and should send smoke signals over to Cream HQ perhaps for a Main Stage performance at Creamfields 2011?
It's easy to forget just how many hits the band had over the years and songs like 'Open Your Heart' gave the crowd a chance to sing the melody as well as the words in the chorus, while 'The Lebanon' written about a civil war that finished 20 years ago still served to remind that all is not right in the world today.
The bands most successful song 'Don't you want me' brought the set to its climax much to the enjoyment of every member of the audience before a three song encore left arms swaying and love filling the hall with night closer Giorgio Moroder's 'Together in Electric Dreams'
It's worth mentioning that we were warmed up from the harsh winter conditions by a more than able (we are) Performance whose dramatic electronic sound had a hint of New Order about it. The 3-piece delivered a set worthy of more than a half filled auditorium and are worth checking out on myspace.
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