Background
In 1985 the recording sessions for the Human League's fifth album were not going well; and the band did not like the results which was causing internal conflict. Virgin Records executives, worried by the lack of progress from their at-the-time most-profitable signing, suggested the band accept an offer to work with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis who already had material to work with; and had expressed an interest in the band from their U.S. releases. Jam and Lewis had recently emerged as in-demand talent due to their success with Janet Jackson and her Control album.
Of the ten songs on Crash, Jam and Lewis wrote three, "Human" being one of them. It is a mid-tempo ballad which lyrically is an exchange between a man and a woman in a relationship who have reunited after a separation. In the first two verses Philip Oakey is apologizing to his partner for being unfaithful during her absence, and in the song's breakdown Joanne Catherall's spoken-word confession reveals that she too was unfaithful. On the other hand, that may not be her meaning. She does not explicitly confess to being unfaithful and the words she does say seem to convey some sarcasm. The song's title is derived from the chorus, in which both parties in the relationship explain that they are "only human" and "born to make mistakes".
"Human" became the second million-selling number-one single for The Human League on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (after "Don't You Want Me") and their second chart-topper on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart (after "(Keep Feeling) Fascination"). Jam and Lewis' R&B-based production was also popular on American urban radio, bringing the Human League into the top ten of the U.S. R&B chart for the first time. In the UK, where R&B was less popular "Human" peaked at number eight in the UK singles chart. However, it did hit #1 in 76 other countries making the single one of the biggest worldwide hits of the 1980s.
It was a welcome success for the Human League, who were starting to suffer from creative stagnation and a slight decline in fortunes after a hugely successful start to the 1980s.
"Human" has had some positive retrospective reviews, with Allmusic journalist Dave Thompson describing it as a "lovely romantic ballad. The lyrics make much of human mistakes and the need for human forgiveness in a thoroughly romantic context".
Read more about this topic: Human (The Human League Song)
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