Don't You Want Me
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| "Don't You Want Me" | ||
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| Single by The Human League | ||
| from the album Dare! | ||
| Released | 1981 | |
| Format | 7" single, 12" single | |
| Recorded | 1981 | |
| Genre | Synthpop | |
| Label | Virgin | |
| Writer(s) | Philip Oakey Jo Callis Philip Adrian Wright |
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| Producer(s) | Martin Rushent | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| The Human League singles chronology | ||
| "Open Your Heart" (1981) |
Don't You Want Me (1981) |
"Being Boiled" (re-issue) (1982) |
Don’t You Want Me is a single by the British Synthpop group The Human League it has become their most commercially successful recording to date and has sold over 1,400,000 copies making it the 25th most successful single of all time in the UK.
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[edit] Background
The lyrics were originally inspired after front man Philip Oakey read a story in "a trashy tabloid" at a US airport. Originally conceived as a male solo, Oakey was inspired by the Film "A Star Is Born" and decided to turn the song in to a conflicting duet with one of the band’s two female vocalists. Susanne Sulley (now called Susan Gayle) was asked to take on the role. Up until then she and the other female vocalist Joanne Catherall had only been assigned backing vocals. The exact reason for the choice of singer has not been revealed and Sulley says it was luck of the draw. Commentators give two more realistic reasons for her choice, that Sulley was the better singer and/or that Catherall, a much more introverted character shied away from the role. Musicians Jo Callis and Adrian Wright created a synthesizer score to accompany the lyrics which was much harsher than the version that was actually released and reportedly similar to The Things That Dreams Are Made Of from the same Album. Initial versions of the song were recorded but Virgin appointed Producer Martin Rushent was unhappy with this version. He and Callis remixed it giving it a softer, and in Oakeys opinion "Popy" sound. Oakey hated the new version and thought it the weakest track on Dare. Resulting in one of his infamous rows with Rushent. Oakey hated it so much that it was relegated to the last track on the B side of the (Vinyl) Album.
Prior to the release of Dare the group had released two of the tracks as singles in their own right. The Sound of the crowd and Love Action both of which had been hits, with sales of Dare doing well Virgin released Open Your Heart in October 1981 which went to No 6 in the UK. With a hit album and 3 hit singles in a row Virgin's Simon Draper and band manager Bob Last decided to pull one more single from the album before the end of 1981. Their choice of Don’t You Want Me instantly caused a row with Oakey who didn’t want another single released because he was convinced that "the public were now sick of hearing The Human League" and the choice of the "poor quality filler track" would almost certainly be a disasterwrecking the groups popularity. Virgin were adamant that a forth single was going to be released and Oakey finally agreed, on the condition that a Large colour poster was given away with the Single because he felt fans would ‘feel ripped off’ by the substandard single alone. Virgin were also aware that Promotional music video was becoming an important marketing tool, with MTV being launched that year. Because it was agreed that the Video for Open Your Heart had looked cheap and nasty. They commissioned a much more elaborate and expensive promotional Video than before using film maker Steve Baron.
[edit] Sales
Don’t You Want Me was released in the UK on 5th December 1981 and to everyone (and especially Oakey’s) amazement it went almost immediately to Number 1 and remained in the UK charts for 13 weeks. The success was repeated 6 months later with the release of Dare in the US, Don’t You Want Me went to Number 1 on the Billboard 100. The Single has been The Human Leagues most commercially successful to date it has so far sold 1,400,000 copies making it the 25th highest selling single ever in the UK.
[edit] The Song Today
Today the song still sells well and Fans expect the group to play the track whenever they perform live. Oakey still describes the song as over rated but acknowledges he was wrong and says he is proud of the track. Susan Gayle is often irritated that she constantly has to refute the mistaken assumption that the song is a reference to her and Catherall joining the Band. Oakey is also at pains to point out another misconception that it isn’t a love song but "a nasty song about sexual power politics"
[edit] Promotional Video
The music video for the song was filmed in Slough, UK in October 1981 and has the theme of the shooting and editing of a murder-mystery film, featuring the band members as characters and production staff. Due to it being a "making of" video, the crew and camera apparatus used within appear throughout. It was conceived and directed by film maker Steve Baron, and has at its core the interaction between a successful actress played by Susan Gayle walking out on 'Director' Philip Oakey.It is based on the theme of the Film A Star Is Born. Shot on a cold, wet, winter night it was shot on 35mm film instead of the cheaper video tape prevalent at the time. Susan Gayle states now, that Steve Baron was heavily influenced by the cinematography of the promo video for the Ultravox single Vienna and used it as a benchmark when shooting Dont You Want Me. Steve Baron was also inflenced by Francois Truffaud and the clapper board seen in the video bears the inscription "Le League Humaine" as a tribute. The video is credited for making Oakey, Gayle and Catherall universally known visual Icons of the early 1980s 2 It became controversial later for a Scene where Jo Callis appears to Shoot Joanne Catherall with a pistol from a car window. The Scene is edited out of the DVD version.
The video was released in November 1981, just as the music video culture was becoming a standard in music, which was a major contribution to the song's commercial success.
[edit] Notable Covers
- A cover of the song was the last successful single by Liverpool-based pop group The Farm. It was released in late 1991, having been produced by Mark Saunders, who also produced The Cure and Erasure.
- The song was also covered by rock band Texas live at Glastonbury in 1999.
- Swedish group Alcazar's album Casino contained a cover of Don't You Want Me, which also served as the Groups third single in 2002; Which had some success on mainland Europe.
- Indie rock band Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer recorded a cover version of the song for their "Duet All Night Long" split EP with Reel Big Fish.
[edit] Use in Commercials
The Human League as a matter of principle do not permit the use of their music in commercials. However Virgin Records own the rights to the material recorded when the Band were signed to them 1978-1990 and the lack of consent from the band has not been enough to prevent the use of rerecorded versions of this song in commercials.
- The first such use was a parody version by Fiat in a TV Commercial for their female friendly Punto car. Oakey, Gayle and Catherall fought bitterly to prevent the song's use but were ultimately overruled by Virgin. This is another Source of acrimony between the Band and the label who unceremoniously sacked them in 1991. Susan Gayle speaking in 2001 states now that the worst aspect of the whole affair is "now even if we wanted to use the song for a more worthy company, we can't because it will always be associated with cheap cars" 1 Philip Oakey is more resigned about the matter and stated that "You cant be too precious about a song you did 20 years ago" The Band receive no royalties if the song is re-recorded by a third party.
- In 2007 the song was used in a Super Bowl commercial for Cookie brand Chips Ahoy! The commercial featured four, clay-animated talking cookies driving in a red convertible who are each snatched up by a human hand while singing the song. Again the band did not give their consent for the use of the song but this time did not fight Virgin over its use.
[edit] Referances
1 - Susan Gayle/Philip Oakey speaking on GMTV 2001
2 - BBC TV Documentry "Young Guns" 1999
3 - Made In Sheffield Documentry
4 - Guinness Rockopedia - ISBN 0-85112-072-5
