Red Sky At Rochester: The Human League
It was the 6th of July, and what better reason to leave work early on a Wednesday than to be doing so to see a gig. The gig in question was the first of four nights at Kent’s Rochester Castle, a series of gigs we’d already written about twice in anticipation. This first night featured local band Theatre Royal, Altered Images, Blancmange and was headlined by The Human League.
Apparently I had not left work early enough to catch Theatre Royal, or the entirety of the band that followed. Getting off the train at Rochester, I could already hear the sound of Altered Images wowing the crowd from across the high-street and a busy A2. This isn’t to say it was deafening when we got to the arena – quite the opposite. The sound would be crisp and clear all evening, and the place was already full of people enjoying themselves in intervals of sunshine.
Theatre Royal. Image Credit: Mark Thompson - mstmusic.co.uk
Altered Images, fronted by Clare Grogan, were playing what Clare called ‘an old punk song’. ‘Insects’ was taken from their debut album ‘Happy Birthday’, released in 1981. The five-piece band, featuring a cast of newer faces, would play a mixture of classic material as well as brand-new songs from their forthcoming album ‘mascara streakz’.
‘I wrote that in Bernard’s kitchen over a cup of tea! That’s how rock and roll we are!’ – Clare Grogan
Due to be released in August, the new songs included ‘Colour Of My Dreams’, and ‘Glitter Ball’, co-written with Suede’s Bernard Butler. ‘Beautiful Thing’ is the band’s latest single, having been released on July 1st. The set also included their debut single ‘Dead Pop Stars’, tracks from their 1983 album ‘Bite’, a cover of The Ting Ting’s ‘That’s Not My Name’ and closed with their Number 2 single ‘Happy Birthday’.
‘I’ve got a whole sea of smiling faces, I love it!’
Altered Images. Image Credit: Peter Willson - petetakesphotos.com
Despite the inevitable need for changing up the stage, the music didn’t cease for a moment on this Wednesday evening. A DJ continued to spin tracks between sets, hyping the crowd with songs by Eurythmics, Soft Cell, Depeche Mode and more. It was right on the money and ensured the continued enjoyment of the audience.
Neil Arthur of Blancmange. Image Credit: Mark Thompson - mstmusic.co.uk
The duo of Blancmange were up next, fronted by vocalist Neil Arthur. The sun would come out during their set, an equal split of 80’s material and newer music spread across several albums. They opened with 2021’s ‘Commercial Break’ and later played ‘What’s The Time?’ from 2017’s ‘Unfurnished Rooms’ and ‘Last Night (I Dreamt I Had A Job)’ of their 2016 album ‘Commuter 23’. The sound of Blancmange was louder and harsher than their predecessors as their set proceeded without pause, each song break interspersed with bursts of white noise.
Blancmange are an act that works continuously to write new material. Their set included a snippet of their forthcoming album ‘Private View’ in a single called ‘Some Times These’, released back in May. The full record is due at the end of September, with further touring from the band expected later in 2022.
Blancmange. Image Credit: Peter Willson - petetakesphotos.com
Their time on stage of course also featured top-twenty singles from their albums ‘Happy Families’ and ‘Mange Tout’. This included an early showing of the latter’s ‘Game Above My Head’, ‘Don’t Tell Me’ and several from the band’s debut album. Blancmange’s performance of their top-ten single ‘Living On The Ceiling’ was flawless, much like the rest of their twelve-song set. Reflecting the week’s current events, Neil Arthur prophetically ad-libbed two words during their concluding song, 1983’s ‘Blind Vision’:
‘Goodbye Boris.’
The stage was cleared once more, the chart hits of the DJ ceasing too, giving way to a drum machine and synthesizer combo that rolled on, preparing for the arrival of The Human League. Drummer Rob Barton entered the stage and took over the beat, which got everyone to their feet. This was ‘The Sound Of The Crowd’ from 1981’s Dare.
The band walked out one by one, first Nick Banks, followed by Ben Smith, both of whom were armed with keytars. After an extended introduction, the fronting trio of Philip Oakey, Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley joined the other three musicians. The band just last year embarked on a 40th anniversary tour of their Number 1 album, with this evening seeing a great showing of that particular tracklist.
The Human League. Image Credit: Mark Thompson - mstmusic.co.uk
Another song played on this previous tour was ‘Mirror Man’, a Number 2 single that was later collected on their 1983 EP ‘Fascination!’. For this track, both Nick and Ben shifted to synths either side of Rob Barton at the back of the stage. Barton’s kit was built entirely of electronic pads with no live drums on stage at all.
‘Thank you very much, it’s nice to see you, nice to be down in historic Kent! We were in Hampton Court the other day, but this is twice as old isn’t it? Lovely to be in Kent, lovely to be in Rochester, we’re The Human League.’ – Philip Oakey
‘Heart Like A Wheel’ was the next track, from their 1990 album ‘Romantic?’ Since the band never broke up, their recording career continued beyond the 1980’s, releasing albums into the new millennium. Though a new record is a long time coming, with their last album ‘Credo’ having been released in 2011.
‘Thank you very much, here’s a song from Dare!’
‘Open Your Heart’ was a top-ten single in 1981 co-written by Oakey and Jo Callis. The guitarist and keyboard player would join The Human League that year, but would exit the band again by 1985. Nick Banks was back on keytar for this one and the sun had gone down enough to streak the sky with a dazzling red.
Nick Banks. Image Credit: Mark Thompson - mstmusic.co.uk
The thread of Dare continued with ‘Seconds’, another co-write with Jo Callis, but also Philip Adrian Wright who would co-author several of the songs on the album, including ‘Don’t You Want Me’. The stage was lit deeply reflecting the colour of the sky. Nick Banks was back behind his synths for this song, but he wouldn’t stay put for long.
Without pause, the band went straight into their next number, with Banks switching to guitar for the first time that evening. This was ‘The Lebanon’, from 1984’s ‘Hysteria’. It was here I noted how energetic Phil Oakey was, the band would be fully engaged for their entire set at Rochester Castle that night.
‘Hello Rochester! It’s nice to be here, it’s so lovely. Just wanted to say, we can’t do this without you! And that’s not just us, but Altered Images and Blancmange and every group that plays live can only do it because of the fans. And so from the bottom of all our hearts, thank you for supporting us and live music. Thank you very, very much. We really appreciate it, thank you.’ – Susan Ann Sulley
Sulley also noted the Castle was due to light up soon, but no such thing happened. The next song began unannounced. ‘One Man In My Heart’ was largely performed solo by Susan Ann Sulley with Phil Oakey having vacated the stage for a costume change. This song was from their 1995 album ‘Octopus’, which saw The Human League return to the top ten. This wouldn’t be the only song they’d play from that record this evening.
Joanne Catherall. Image Credit: Mark Thompson - mstmusic.co.uk
Oakey returned for the more soulful ‘Human’, taken from their 1986 album ‘Crash’. Joanne Catherall took a moment in the spotlight to perform the song’s monologue. It was fascinating to watch Rob Barton’s drumming here. Seeing all the programmed sounding drums live without missing a beat, if you were to close your eyes, the groove was indistinguishable from its studio counterpart. During this song, the band continued playing while the core trio left the stage.
‘Who do you love?’
Rob, Nick and Ben began the next song and I recognised the chord progression. What was that? Then the lyric began and I realised it was ‘Behind The Mask’ by Eric Clapton. Or at least that’s the version I knew, I would soon be put right on the authorship of the original. Nick Banks returned to keytar for this one, and the women had changed into sparkling dresses, reflecting the light brilliantly across the stage.
Philip Oakey. Image Credit: Peter Willson - petetakesphotos.com
‘Thank you very much indeed, that was a song that was written by the Yellow Magic Orchestra. And we did a version of the vocal of that that was released in Japan, but the reason that we play it is because we like horrible synth noises. Here’s some more horrible synth noises.’ – Phil Oakey
What began was a stereo intro of ‘Love Action (I Believe In Love)’, jumping backwards and forwards between each set of hanging speakers. This really got the audience going - a top-five song for The Human League in 1981. Ben Smith performed backing vocals during the chorus from behind his bank of synthesizers. It seemed no coincidence that during this song, the video screens displayed shots of the Cathedral just across the road from Rochester Castle, lit up in the Ukrainian flag colours.
The second track from Octopus was ‘Tell Me When’, the single that saw The Human League return to the top-ten in 1995. This was followed by another hit, the 1983 single ‘(Keep Feeling) Fascination’. The band shared the vocals as they did on the original, with Ben Smith taking the other male lead vocal, leaning into Joanne’s mic to sing. For this song, both Nick and Ben were back on keytars. Oakey introduced the band, then he, Susan and Joanne left the stage as the musicians continued to play.
Ben Smith. Image Credit: Mark Thompson - mstmusic.co.uk
The hits would keep coming as the remaining talent went into The Human League’s Number 1 hit from Dare, ‘Don’t You Want Me’. The band extended the intro, playing the first verse and chorus with the audience doing a fine job of performing lead vocals. Then the trio returned and started the song from the beginning. Phil, wearing an entirely new suit, took the track back to the first verse, doing an excellent job in replicating the sound of a song more than forty years old. With the music still playing, Phil thanked the crowd again before the entire band left the stage to universal audience praise.
But the crowd didn’t have long to wait for the backing musicians to return, hitting a crushing synth chord before a familiar drumbeat kicked in. This was ‘Being Boiled’, The Human League’s first single from 1978, which was later re-recorded for their second album, ‘Travelogue’, released in 1980. Since the band’s widespread fame wouldn’t arrive until their third album, Being Boiled would finally hit the top-ten in 1982. The darker, haunting texture of this single really encapsulates the pre-Dare era of the band.
Susan Ann Sulley. Image Credit: Mark Thompson - mstmusic.co.uk
‘Thank you very much, I’m properly dressed now! I’ve got my tie on, I ran into a bit of bother earlier. Here’s a song by Giorgio Moroder.’ – Philip Oakey
The last song of the evening wasn’t strictly by The Human League, but a collaboration between Philip Oakey and superstar Italian producer Giorgio Moroder. The pair released the single in 1984, with a full album the following year. Nick Banks was back out front to perform the trademark guitar part. The audience were singing and dancing along for the final time this evening, the good vibes reaching all corners of the Rochester Castle Gardens, and echoing all the way back to the train station from whence I came.
‘Thank you so much, goodnight!’
The Human League. Image Credit: Mark Thompson - mstmusic.co.uk
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For more information about the Rochester Castle Concerts, visit their official website.
Keep up to date about the Castle Concerts on Facebook @rochestercastleconcerts.
Follow Theatre Royal on Facebook @wearetheatreroyal, and on Instagram @theatre_royal_.
Follow Altered Images on Instagram @alteredimages2022, on Facebook @ImagesAltered and on Twitter @AlteredImages5.
Follow Blancmange on Facebook @BlancmangeMusic, on Instagram @blancmange_music, and on Twitter @_blancmange_.
Follow The Human League on Instagram and Twitter @humanleaguehq and on Facebook @thehumanleague.
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