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On this day, 9 January 1987, synth-pop band Human League played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on the band’s Crash tour. Support was provided by Drum Theatre.
The band was promoting their fifth studio album Crash, released on 8 September 1986 by Virgin Records. The album would provide the band with their second US number-one single, "Human", the same year. It was produced by the American production team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who also wrote several tracks.
The album name was taken from a moment in the studio during the recording. Oakey described it thus:
It's from a crash cymbal, because it's a disco album again with lots of cymbals. One day somebody said "what sorts of cymbals do you want, a ride or a crash?", and we thought, "what a great title!"
The album quickly became an unexpected success. One of Jam and Lewis's compositions, "Human", became the Human League's second number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 and their first UK top 10 single in over three years, peaking at number eight.
Follow-ups "I Need Your Loving" and the 1988 release "Love Is All That Matters" were less successful, failing to reach the UK top 40. The album itself peaked at number seven in the UK (where it has been certified Gold for shipments in excess of 100,000 copies) and number 24 on the US Billboard 200.
Oakey stated his discomfort with the record in 1995, saying: "The Jam and Lewis album [Crash] was just like being a puppet for four months. It was interesting to pick yourself out of the industrial north of England and dump yourself in Minneapolis. Great experience, but it just wasn't our album.
LIVE LINE UP:
Philip Oakey - vocals
Joanne Catherall - vocals
Susan Sulley - vocals
Ian Burden - bass & vocals
Neil Sutton - synthesizer
Russel Dennett - syntesizer, guitar, vocals
Jim Russell - drums
Meyrick - guitar, vocals
David Beevers - technical
SETLIST:
Hard Times
Money
The Things That Dreams Are Made Of
The Real Thing or I Need Your Loving
Do Or Die
Human
The Sound Of The Crowd
Love Action (I Believe In Love)
Jam
Love On The Run
Seconds
The Lebanon
Together In Electric Dreams
Party or I Need Your Loving
Mirror Man
Don't You Want Me
(Keep Feeling) Fascination
Rock'n'Roll
