Joanne Catherall - 1981 and The Release of "Dare"

1981 and The Release of "Dare"

After the tour, Catherall and Sulley returned to school full-time while Wright and Oakey set about composing and songwriting.

The new Human League of Sulley, Oakey, Catherall and Wright started to gain ground in early 1981 with the release of the single "Boys and Girls". Even though it charted at number 48, it was the most successful single at that point. The girls were not used in the production as the song was written without any female backing and they were busy with school. They later featured on the record sleeve and in promotional photo shoots.

Soon after Boys and Girls came the recruitment of professional musicians Ian Burden and Jo Callis, which sharpened the band's output considerably. Although no one yet knew it, the band had arrived at its most successful evolution. The release of the next single "Sound of the Crowd" was the band's commercial breakthrough. It was also the first single to include both Catherall's and Sulley's full vocals, rather than incidentals and 'adlibs'. Unexpectedly the single raced up the UK singles charts; as a result the band were invited to play on the UK's principal music programme BBC TV's Top of The Pops, with only a few hours notice. The first Catherall knew about her first appearance on UK national TV was when Sulley's mother rushed to collect her and Sulley from school mid-lessons for the rapid drive down to the London studios.

Thus the classic Human League signature sound was born, a sound that has continued for three decades into the 21st Century. Deep synths, electronic drums, Oakey's semi-sung / semi-spoken-word baritone vocals, and Catherall and Sulley's feminine interaction. Sound of the Crowd was a major achievement in the British charts, but was quickly bettered by the next single, "Love Action (I Believe in Love)", going to number three in the UK.

By this time, the music video had started to become highly popular for broadcast TV. Spurred on by pre-filmed promos and live TV appearances, the band started to refine their personal appearance styles for a commercial audience. Catherall adopted striking black Kohl eye make up and bright red lipstick which became her trademark early 1980s style.

In October 1981 The Human League released their next studio album Dare. By now The Human League were in their ascendancy and were becoming extremely popular with the mainstream British public. The cutting edge sound of sequenced synths impressed music fans. Their visual style and presentation also became popular; the mutually contrasting teenage girls (brunette Catherall and blonde Sulley) pulled in male fans, and teenage girls were inspired as the media picked up on the 'Cinderella-esque' story of the girls' recruitment into the band.

In mid November 1981, with the Human League fully in the public eye, and sales of the album Dare soaring, Virgin records decided to pull one more single from Dare. Oakey had always disliked the track "Don't You Want Me". Virgin Records had more faith; they commissioned an expensive and elaborate promo video to accompany the release of "Don't You Want Me". Shot on 35mm film rather than videotape, the promo was filmed in late November 1981 in Slough, Berkshire, UK. The scenario was 'a movie shoot for a murder mystery film' and is lyrically a conflicting duet between Oakey and Sulley with backing vocals from Catherall.

Premiering in December 1981, the video was played on British television frequently. The memorable opening scene of the video has Catherall, in a fur coat standing on a rural road corner. The night is freezing, she is surrounded by swirling mist and accompanied by the deep opening synth chords. The video captured the imagination of the British public. The effects of the music and emotional lyrics, as well as the cinematic production values, helped propel "Don't You Want Me" to the UK number one spot. By the end of 1981, The Human League were household names across the UK.

1981 also saw the start up of Cable TV station MTV in the U.S.; this was a new station dedicated to playing music videos. However, the station was limited in that, as a relatively new media, there were relatively few music videos available. The syndication by Virgin Records of "Don't You Want Me's" promo to MTV, and ensuing airplay, brought The Human League to U.S. audiences. The subsequent (and admittedly) unexpected interest prompted Virgin Records to release Dare in the U.S. as "Don't You Want Me" flew up the U.S. charts to number one, aided by the effective promo video.

In late 1981 Catherall and Oakey commenced a long-term relationship that lasted until the end of the decade. At the height of the Human League’s success they were feted as a celebrity couple, but were also pursued by tabloid journalists after a sensationalist story. At one time the British media erroneously reported that they had married; a story which is occasionally repeated today. Catherall and Oakey split amicably in 1990, remaining friends and colleagues; today the subject is rarely raised. Catherall subsequently married in 1995.