The Human League: Don't You Want Me at 40

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Gary Davies has the best 1980s music - hits, classics, album tracks, 12" singles and more.

Gary Davies takes you back to the best decade in music, with a diverse mix of classic pop, dance, rock, hip-hop and alternative pop

Gary Davies takes you back to the best decade in music, with a diverse mix of classic pop, dance, rock, hip-hop and alternative pop. Each week, celebs and listeners choose their favourite 80s tracks on My 80s, and a fresh Mastermix is served.

Sounds of the 80s with Gary Davies: The Human League: Don’t You Want Me at 40

Human League: Don’t You Want Me at 40

The Human League: Don’t You Want Me at 40

BBC Radio 2 - Sounds of the 80s with Gary Davies, The Human League: Don’t You Want Me at 40

Gary Davies chats to The Human League on the fortieth anniversary of Don't You Want Me.

Gary Davies chats to The Human League in Sheffield on the fortieth anniversary of their 1981 Christmas No 1 single, Don't You Want Me and the groundbreaking album, Dare.

This year marks the fortieth anniversary of The Human League's Dare album, a game-changer in the pop landscape whose influence continues through the bloodline of pop to the present day. Following two flop albums and a band re-structure, the gradual success of the album saved the band from being dropped and reversed their fortunes dramatically.  More recently it was voted one of the best albums of the 80s by Radio 2 listeners. 

To give the album one last push for the Christmas market, the record label decided to release “Don’t You Want Me” as a single, against the band’s wishes who did everything in their power to stop it. The song would be the Christmas No 1 of 1981, it topped the American charts, sent the parent album to No 1 and remains one of the biggest-selling singles of all-time, with an iconic and groundbreaking video to match.

Gary Davies – who championed them right at the start of their career – pays a trip to Sheffield to speak to Phil Oakey, Joanne Catherall and Susan Sulley about what actually happened 40 years ago.

Still in school, Joanne and Susan recall having to ask for permission from their headteacher so they could travel to London to perform on Top of the Pops. They explain why they didn’t partake in Band Aid, encounters with George Michael, David Bowie, Pet Shop Boys, Queen and memories of filming the “Don’t You Want Me” video on a wet cold night in a muddy field in Slough. Above all, they are grateful that the single was released after all and that it has kept the Human League in business 40 years later.

Fans of 80s pop culture will be enthralled hearing stories of one of the 80s most influential and successful bands as they are reunited with the BBC presenter who helped them get there.

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