Wednesday, March 30, 2011

The Human League Hysteria


Hysteria
After the huge success of their third album, the Human League enjoyed huge international success on both sides of the Atlantic. They soon went on to record new material. The band spent many months agonizing as they tried to make a successor to Dare, and as things became ever more stressful, producer Martin Rushent left the project and the album was finished by producer Hugh Padgham. Three years had passed since Dare and the album met with relatively lacklustre success in comparison to its multi-platinum predecessor. Three singles from the album made the top-twenty of the UK singles chart but first single "The Lebanon" was the only song to chart in the U.S.


Moroder & Oakey
Outside of  The Human League, Oakey teamed up with one of his idols, synth pioneer Giorgio Moroder and they had a massive hit with a single "Together In Electric Dreams”. The track was taken from the film soundtrack to 'Electric Dreams'. Following the big international success, Oakey and Moroder then recorded an album together for Virgin, Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder, but this met with rather less success and the following two singles failed to make the UK Top 40. However, the success of the original Oakey and Moroder track encouraged Virgin to release one final single from Hysteria in November, 1984, the ballad "Louise" was released and reached #13 in the UK.


The “Human” League
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 Human League up with cutting-edge American R&B producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis who had just scored a huge worldwide hit earlier that year with Janet Jackson's ‘Control’. 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 a smaller chart impact. In November 1988, a greatest hits compilation album was released which reached number 3 in UK.


90's
During the 90’s The Human League released two albums. Romantic? was the last album the Human League recorded for Virgin Records in 1990. The album did not re-capture the group's huge commercial success of 1981 and Virgin chose not to renew their recording contract with little warning causing great animosity between the company and the band that lasts to this day. The Human League returned in 1995, now signed to EastWest, with the single "Tell Me When" giving them their first major hit since 1986's "Human", and the accompanying album Octopus going silver. On the album credits, cover artwork and in videos, the group was now presented simply as a trio of Oakey/Catherall/Sulley.


The Human League Credo
After more than 30 years of existence and many successful singles and album releases, the Human League remains as one of the most influential bands of all time which shaped the late 70’s electronic and early 80’s synth-pop music scene. Even in the 80’s music revival today, they continue to produce their unique music style. 2011 sees their big comeback in ten years with their new album Credo already in shops creating the new Human League-o-mania.

Source (Wikipedia Edit)


Sunday, March 27, 2011

Short Circuit Presents Mute

Short Circuit Electronic Music Festival returns with two days hosted by the influential label Mute. In a celebration of Mute's unique culture this event will include performances from artists past, present and future including DJ sets by Martin L. Gore, Daniel Miller, Moby and Andy Fletcher as well as special performances by Erasure, Alison Moyet, Recoil and many many more.The festival begins on May 13, 2011 with an evening hosted by German label Raster-Noton, featuring the world premiere of a new collaborative piece by Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto.



Saturday, March 26, 2011

Instant Hit: Lustt- Pillow Talk

"Pillow Talk" is a fantastic example from the golden age of Italo Disco and it was released both as 7" and 12" single backed with Instrumental Dub version. BMC records from Belgium gave birth to this single by releasing it in 1983. Sadly it remained the only output by this producer, group or act called Lustt.

Lustt- Pillow Talk


Friday, March 25, 2011

Depeche Mode- Remixes 81-11

On June 6, 2011, Depeche Mode will release Remixes 2: 81-11 on Mute. An inspiring collection of new and classic mixes of material covering their entire career, the album includes remixes of tracks from their 1981 debut 'Speak And Spell', through to 2009's 'Sounds Of The Universe', and is the follow-up to 2004's million-plus selling Remixes 81-04. These remixes reinforce Depeche Mode's standing as one of the world's most influential and innovative acts.

http://www.depechemode.com/news


Thursday, March 24, 2011

80's Duets: Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder- "Good-Bye Bad Times"

In 1985 Philip Oakey took a break from the Human League and teamed up with Giorogio Moroder to record a collaborative album. The album is most notable for containing the song "Together in Electric Dreams", which was the title track for the movie Electric Dreams and a major hit single. "Good-Bye Bad Times" was released during the same year, never reached the success of the first single, but the video for the song was quite a high budget production filmed in black and white, directed by Steve Barron set in 19th century London.


 

A Flock of Seagulls Reissued

Cherry Red Records have reissued two albums by A Flock of Seagulls. Their self tiitled and debut which was originally released in 1982 and peaked at number 32 in the UK album charts is reissued for the third time. This version is a 15 track CD which features the 11 original tracks of the album plus 4 bonus tracks. The record contains timeless singles:"Telecommunication","I Ran" and "Space Age Love Song".
Their fourth studio album 'Dream Come True' dating from 1986 is reissued for the second time. This 14 track CD features the nine original tracks of the album plus five essential bonus tracks including the 7" & 12" single versions of "Who's That Girl (She's Got It)" and "Heartbeat Like A Drum". Both albums were originally released by Jive records between 1982 and 1986.

For track listings and more information go to this site.



(All images are copyrighted by their respective copyright owners)

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Duran Duran Sound, David Lynch Vision

First Installment of Unstaged 2011 will feature Duran Duran's performance coinciding with the release of the band’s 13th studio album and their first official tour since 2008. Duran Duran are also excited to confirm special guests Mark Ronson and Kelis at the American Express UNSTAGED Event on March 23rd (today) live from LA. Award-winning filmmaker David Lynch has been enlisted to capture the performance, providing fans with a visually stunning home viewing experience.



Peter Murphy- New Single, Album, Tour

Former Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy will release his ninth album 'Ninth' on June 7, 2011 making his debut on Nettwerk Music Group. "I Spit Roses" is the first single to be taken form the album is out, available on itunes or as a stream via Soundcloud. Peter is also touring, check out his page for tour dates and ticket info.


Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Kate Bush- Director's Cut

Kate Bush will release a compilation album 'Director's Cut' which features some of her classic songs from her albums 'The Sensual World' and 'The Red Shoes', re-recorded in new arrangements. The album will be released on May 16, 2011, as a digital album, CD in a case-bound book and a Deluxe version. The first single to be taken from the album is an updated version of her classic "Deeper Understanding" and it is scheduled for release in April.

www.katebush.com


Saturday, March 19, 2011

Alphaville- Song for No One (Official Video)

Alphaville's new single "Song for No One" was released earlier this March. It's the second song taken from the album 'Catching Rays on Giant' and here is the fantastic video that was recorded for this song.

(C) 2011 Marian Gold under exclusive license to Universal Music Domestic Pop, a division of Universal Music GmbH



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