Human League – The Virgin Years 5LP Box Set Coloured Vinyl

The Human League – The Virgin Years 

Between 1981 and 1990, The Human League released four studio albums and one extended EP on Virgin Records. Those albums and that extended play have been collected in a special limited edition coloured vinyl box set. In addition, the remix album ‘Love And Dancing’, initially released in 1982, was recently reissued on white vinyl for Record Store Day.

The Human League ‘Mark Two’, as they have been described, arose from the ashes of the band’s first incarnation and became one of the most influential and commercially successful groups of the early 1980s. The Virgin Years box set opens with ‘DARE’, which is simply one of the greatest albums ever made. It launched the band to superstardom across the globe and despite being over 40 years old still sounds as thrilling and powerful as ever.

In the Spring of 1983, the group released the six-track EP ‘FASCINATION’, which brought together the singles ‘(Keep Feeling) Fascination’ in its extended forms, ‘Mirror Man’ along with the classic b-sides ‘You Remind Me Of Gold’ and ‘Hard Times’ along with a new track ‘I Love You Too Much’.

The group re-recorded the latter track for the ‘HYSTERIA’ album, which appeared in May 1984. The LP contained three hit singles ‘The Lebanon’, ‘Life On Your Own’ & ‘Louise’. Whilst not a multi-million seller like its predecessor, the album showed the band progressing artistically.

Two years later, the band would experiment even further by mostly recording the album ‘CRASH’ with the production team of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. The gamble paid off, and it returned The Human League to the top of the US charts with the song ‘Human’.

After a break in 1988 for a multi-platinum selling greatest hits album, the group returned with ‘ROMANTIC?’ which was yet another move forward with their sound, the hit single ‘Heart Like A Wheel’ saw the band reunite with ‘DARE’ producer Martin Rushent. However, after a dozen years with the label, it was to be their last album for Virgin. The band continue to record, have hits and tour the world to this day……but that’s a story for another boxset.

Tracklist:

DARE – BLUE VINYL

Side 1
1. The Things That Dreams Are Made Of
2. Open Your Heart
3. The Sound Of The Crowd
4. Darkness
5. Do Or Die

Side 2
1. Get Carter
2. I Am The Law
3. Seconds
4. Love Actions (I Believe In Love)
5. Don’t You Want Me

FASCINATION – GREEN VINYL

Side 1
1. (Keep Feeling) Fascination
2. Mirror Man
3. Hard Times

Side 2
1. I Love You Too Much
2. You Remind Me Of Gold
3. (Keep Feeling) Fascination (Improvisation)

HYSTERIA – YELLOW VINYL

Side 1
1. I’m Coming Back
2. I Love You Too Much
3. Rock Me Again And Again And Again And Again And Again And Again (Six Times)
4. Louise
5. The Lebanon

Side 2
1. Betrayed
2. The Sign
3. So Hurt
4. Life On Your Own
5. Don’t You Know I Want You

CRASH – RED VINYL

Side 1
1. Money
2. Swang
3. Human
4. Jam
5. Are You Ever Coming Back?

Side 2
1. I Need Your Loving
2. Party
3. Love On The Run
4. The Real Thing
5. Love Is All Matters

ROMANTIC – CLEAR VINYL

Side 1
1. Kiss The Futur
2. A Doorway?
3. Heart Like A Wheel
4. Men Are Dreamers
5. Mister Moon And Mister Sun

Side 2
1. Soundtrack To Generation
2. Rebound
3. The Stars Are Going Out
4. Let’s Get Together Again
5. Get Is Right This Time 

Label: UMC
Released: 2022