Joanne Catherall - Sheffield 1980 and "The Crazy Daisy" Story

Sheffield 1980 and "The Crazy Daisy" Story

In Sheffield in mid 1980, Catherall was school friends with the slightly younger Susan Ann Sulley. Both girls were 17 years old and were socially unpopular in their school, Sheffield's Frecheville Comprehensive School, for their non-conformist attitude and eclectic dress sense. In an era of British youth culture that was only just leaving the Punk phase, where rock and Ska/twotone were the dominating youth subcultures, Catherall and Sulley stood out as they dressed in a newer style (which later became known as "Numanoid" after the style of electronic pop artist Gary Numan). One Wednesday night in late October, like many others, Catherall (who had just turned 18) and Sulley went out together to the futurist Crazy Daisy Nightclub in Sheffield city centre to dance and socialize.

Philip Oakey, the lead singer of the alternative, but relatively unknown electronic band The Human League, was also out in Sheffield that night. The Human League had recently split acrimoniously over creative differences, leaving only two of the original four members, Oakey and Adrian Wright, to continue. Crucially, The Human League was contracted to a European tour starting within a week. Already in debt to Virgin Records, Oakey had to recruit new band members in a matter of days for the tour or be sued by the tour's promoters, face bankruptcy and the end of the band. Oakey had the idea to go into Sheffield that evening to recruit a single female backing singer for the tour, needed to replace the original high backing vocals of the now departed Martyn Ware.

Later that evening by pure chance Oakey ended up in the Crazy Daisy Nightclub on York Street, Sheffield. He immediately noticed Catherall and Sulley dancing together, and now states that they stood out from all the other girls in the club due to their unique dress sense, immaculate make-up and idiosyncratic but sophisticated dance moves. Without preamble Oakey asked both girls to join the tour as dancers and incidental vocalists.

Catherall now states that she knew immediately it was a genuine offer, as Oakey was well known in Sheffield; she and Sulley already had tickets to see The Human League on the Sheffield leg of their tour. Catherall and Sulley agreed to the offer immediately, despite having absolutely no singing or professional dancing experience.

However, with the girls being 17/18 years old, the final decision about their going on the tour lay with their respective parents. Both the girls' parents were unhappy with the idea and initially refused to give their consent. This was overturned reluctantly when Oakey, complete with his then trademark lop-sided haircut, red lipstick and high heeled shoes visited both sets of parents to convince them that the girls would come to no harm and that "he wasn't going to sell them abroad". Catherall and Sulley's school also agreed to the absence as it was thought visiting Europe would be educational for the girls.

The first European tour of The Human League got underway with the two young recruits assigned to dancing and incidental vocal duties. The girls at this stage were just guests in the group on a salary of £30 a week. Although the tour was a success the crowds were largely hostile to Catherall and Sulley, as fans had bought tickets for the original all male line up. Catherall recalls dodging several beer cans thrown at her during the tour and was often heckled. During the tour Oakey had experimented with the girls singing on a number of the original tracks and was impressed with the results; he was also impressed with the girls' professionalism and determination during the tour.

On return to Sheffield in December 1980 both girls were made full-time members of The Human League.