One Man in My Heart
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| “One Man In My Heart” | |||||
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| Single by The Human League from the album Octopus |
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| Released | 1995 | ||||
| Format | CD single | ||||
| Recorded | 1994 | ||||
| Genre | Synthpop | ||||
| Length | 3:45 | ||||
| Label | East West Records | ||||
| The Human League singles chronology | |||||
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"One Man in My Heart" is a song recorded by British synthpop band The Human League. It was released as the second single from the band's album Octopus. A ballad, the song differs from all previous Human League tracks as the lead vocal is performed by a female member of the band, Susan Ann Sulley, with spoken word refrains from Philip Oakey and contrasting backing from the third Human League member Joanne Catherall. Released in March 1995 in the UK only, the song received positive reviews from music critics and eventually peaked at number thirteen in the UK Singles Chart, eventually spending 8 weeks in the charts. In 2001 in The Guardian Newspaper it was called one of the best love songs of the 1990s [1]
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[edit] Background
The song was written by Neil Sutton and Philip Oakey to give Sulley who was seeking a higher profile on the album, an opportunity to expand her repertoire. But also to contrast with the accepted Human League sound of Oakey’s lead and Sulley and Catherall’s backing which dominated the album. It was devised purely as an album track and the band never intended it to be released as a single.[2]
After the unexpected commercial success of the first single from Octopus, Tell Me When, EastWest Records wanted another commercial, radio friendly song to follow up with. They selected 'One Man in My Heart' much to the surprise of the band. Oakey was said to be happy with the choice, but the only person in the band who wasn’t was Sulley herself. To have a single with her on lead vocals with Oakey barely contributing four lines was something never done before; it was an enormous creative and commercial risk. Sulley's vocal ability had been harshly criticized in the past and she expected to be mauled badly by the music critics. If the single bombed it would make it difficult to release a third single from the album. Sulley feared that she personally would be blamed for any failure by the media.[3]
In the event the single was a success and generally well received by the critics. Ironically criticism of Sulley's vocals would be that she was too technically proficient making her sound "bland"; with one critic declaring that he missed "The rough edges of the girl plucked from the Sheffield dance floor"[4]
[edit] Promotional Video
The music video for One Man in My Heart has a similar cinematography style to the video for the previous single Tell Me When and had the same director, Andy Morahan. It is set in a Parisian cafe and principally features (for this song) lead vocalist Susan Ann Sulley sat on her own having a coffee while singing to herself; whilst watching the other customers. Fellow band members Philip Oakey and Joanne Catherall are seated elsewhere in the cafe and the camera pans to them for their backing vocals, and Oakey's incidental spoken words.[5]
Known in the media for her regular dramatic style changes Sulley had the look of an elegant business woman for the video. Sulley always insists that she "doesn’t dress up for music videos" and the style seen on screen is how you would find her in her daily life. She would change her style again before the next music video later that year. The video received considerable play on VH1 but it also played on MTV. It would be cruelly caricatured at the time as a Starbucks commercial by some critics.
[edit] Versions
The Song has the following official versions, all mixed by Joachim Björklund & Sören Elonsson credited as T.O.E.C
- One Man In My Heart (T.O.E.C. Radio Edit) 3:46
- One Man In My Heart (T.O.E.C. Nasty Sue Radio Edit) 4:28
- One Man In My Heart (T.O.E.C. Unplugged) 4:16
- One Man In My Heart (T.O.E.C. Extended) 8:30
[edit] References
- ^ The Guardian, Culture Supplement April 2001
- ^ Interview Journalist Mark Blackham - Susan Ann Sulley March 1995, Unpublished (Avail Mark Blackham Website)
- ^ Interview Journalist Mark Blackham - Susan Ann Sulley March 1995, Unpublished (Avail Mark Blackham Website)
- ^ Music Week Magazine March 1995
- ^ mvdbase.com - the Human League - "One man in my heart"
[edit] External links
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