12 July 2023

Band: THE HUMAN LEAGUE
Album: REPRODUCTION – debut
Released: October 1979

AllMusic said: “The trio of Ian Craig Marsh, Martyn Ware, and Philip Oakey all handled
vocals and synthesizers to create a set of grim, rigid tracks that revealed a greater lack
of humanity than even Kraftwerk. It’s a surprise that the Human League hit the British charts at all (with the single “Empire State Human”), since this could well be the most detached synth pop record ever released.” Score: 3/5.

Single

Artwork: The cover shows the feet of a man and two women seemingly standing above a number of naked babies. This was at the instruction of the band, but band member Martyn Ware described how the band’s brief was misinterpreted by the record company’s art department.

“We said we wanted an image of a glass dancefloor in a discotheque which people were dancing on and beneath this, a lit room full of babies. It was meant to look like a still from a film – like some kind of dystopian vision of the future – but it just looks like they’re treading on babies. We were quite upset but at that time, it was too late to change it.”

Album

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Back sleeve

THE HUMAN LEAGUE: Bio – Discography – Instagram