Sometime in the very early 1980s....
For some time I'd been visiting
Blackpool every year for a weekend break with my mum, she was the secretary for
a charity and each year around late September/October the charity would book into the same
seafront hotel. This particular year I was a very young teenager in the
exciting early 80s, for the first time the hotel had a table top Space Invaders
video game, I was beginning to notice girls in an adult sense and my interest in
music was growing by the day - I was an opening bud of adolescence.
I lay in my hotel bunk bed that
night, images of Space Invaders in my head and fantasies about girls I'd been
flirting hopelessly in the hotel bar earlier I began finally to drift off to
sleep. I was sharing a room with a guy I regarded as a brother (a long story)
and a few other older teenage lads who had headed off into Blackpool's illuminated
night for revelry and drinks. Suddenly I was awoken, the light came on and
voices sang 'Don't you want me baby..?'. The older lads sang and swayed, I
rubbed my eyes and peered over the sheets, again they sang the same chorus as
they sported stupid 'kiss me quick' hats. It was at that moment in time I was
first introduced to the Human League, I've been a huge fan ever since.
Without any doubt, I am a product of my time. I'm not going
to lie, I revere the 1980s as a decade, it's a period of so many memories
(mostly happy) and of era of great music, so when I heard the Human League,
Heaven 17 and Marc Almond were playing locally I just had to go.
It was a sunny solstice evening, sporadic marshmallow clouds
drifting slowly by as Heaven 17 hit the stage. They may be bald and sporting ludicrously
white teeth these days but they still sound awesome. Glen Gregory and Martyn
Ware (the latter being an early Human League member) begin to belt out hits
from their most popular two albums Penthouse and Pavement and The Luxury Gap.
They've done other stuff over the years but those two albums are their most
popular and iconic ones. I begin to drift into a warm fuzzy state of 80s
nostalgia as I recite the lyrics to the songs. Heaven 17 produce a great set
with slight modern tweaking to some of their material that make it more
contemporary but it works all the same. Their songs resonate well and have
stood the test of time, they may not have a wealth of material but that isn't
always a bad thing, do what you do and do it well is my thinking here.
After a brief pause the almost non-existent compère
announces Marc Almond.
The last time I saw Mr Almond was walking like a peacock
through Soho, the epitome of effete dandyism though that was a good few years
ago, I'm not sure what to expect from his act. He begins by producing a couple
of his 80s gems, 'Bedsitter' being one out of the bag getting the crowd
immediately onside. Personally I don't have a lot of his stuff on dvd,
something I need to rectify but I once worked with a gay guy that played a lot
of his stuff and kept me informed willing or unwilling of his stuff. My mind
wanders what happened to him, the last I recall his partner set fire to himself
and burned to death, momentarily I shudder and close the thoughts off as my
mind concentrates back on the excellent music Marc is delivering. My friend
concludes he still looks young, so I produce my monocular mini telescope and
take a look. This reveals contrary evidence as I pass it to her, we both agree
he's looking his age but isn't looking bad either. To the disappointment of
some of the crowd (I saw a group in front of me moaning) he diverges into some
of his other material, a track from his new album The Dancing Marquis. Shortly
after we get his collaboration track with the late great Gene Pitney 'Something's
got a hold of my heart'. I stand there thinking Mr Almond is perhaps one of the
most underrated musicians this country has produced, his back catalogue is
diverse transcending the 80s stuff people identify him with, his voice is still
amazing, fuck ... he should have sang a James Bond theme. Not all the audience
really get him, well that's my impression anyway but the important thing is
that I get him and I bloody well like it.
After the very excellent Marc Almond set there's a pause,
people rush off to the toilets or to gorge on burgers, the group of middle aged
'ladies behaving badly' in front of us requisition yet more beer as the
anticipation builds for Human League.
I'm not going to deny I was excited, I've got nearly almost
everything they've ever done, including the darker synth/avant-garde stuff they
did before they hit mainstream success. They enter the stage opening with 'Love
Action' before delving into their deep back catalogue of hits. I try to take
some photos on my phone which has a half decent camera but the zoom is sadly
lacking. As I have fairly good view in the crowd I stay put, fighting the urge
to move forward, though the temptation of League singer Joanne Catherall is
hard to fight as she shimmies and sways to deep synth riffs. The music returns
my mind to a good place, listening to vinyl in my bedroom and the buzz of
buying their new releases, my first forays into pubs and bars and a period in which
though naive I was content.
The thing I admire about the Human League is their tenacity
and ability to move with the times, sure their later albums haven't matched
their earlier success but despite periodic contention, almost breaking up and
recording knock backs the Human League are still here, still gigging and still
producing great music, you can't fault their ambition and dedication to fans.
As their set comes to a close they play 'Being Boiled' to my delight and encore
their fine set with 'Together in Electric Dreams'. Oakey, Catherall and Sully
remain rooted in British pop culture and I still love their music, perhaps more
now than I once did, my appreciation steadily growing over the years. Not
wanting to sound too sycophantic about them, I don't like everything they've
ever done, 'Fascination' and 'Louise' are two tracks I've never been keen on
but that's about it.
The amps fall silent and gates open to let quick access out,
I bid farewell to my friend and cross the bridge to one of my favourite pubs on
the other side. How do I feel? I'll use a Human League track to describe
it - Empire State Human!
In closing I just want to say (and on listening to other
opinions) that perhaps the Newark Festival isn't what it once was in some
respects, which was a free festival for people of the locale. Many think it's
turned into an outsourced corporate affair and are disgruntled that local
people have to pay to get into something that's intended to be for their
benefit. Ok, so I would have paid to see these bands regardless and such great
acts don't come free but I really think the council should introduce a scheme
in which if you can prove you have a local post code then you receive a
considerable discount. Granted if its free nowadays you may be inviting
trouble, people that don't give a damn about the bands turning up and causing
mayhem but I don't see why a discount scheme for locals could be implemented.
Many coming to the festival were fans of the above bands and had probably
travelled in from different places (definitely judging by the different accents
I heard) so by all means charge them the full amount but spare a thought for
the local people who you are holding the festival (allegedly) for.
Heaven 17
Marc Almond (zoom in shot, sorry about quality)
Marc Almond
Human League
Human League
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