20 Landmark Songs Of The 80s

16. The Human League - Don't You Want Me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPudE8nDog0 On the back of the innovations of the electronic music of the 70€™s, a whole swathe of synthesiser groups would emerge in the early 80€™s, tapping into the DIY ethos of punk but forgoing traditional instruments and musicians, instead creating music through the use of looped sounds and drum machines. The Human League weren€™t the first to do this, but they were one of the most successful and with €˜Don€™t you want me€™ they told a very traditional pop story in a very different way. Building on the sound and success of €˜Love action€™, which coupled the sound of Kraftwerk with a joyous pop tune at its heart, it took the band away from their earlier experimental music and firmly onto the dance floor and most importantly to the top of the charts. Whilst video may have killed the radio star, it certainly didn€™t do The Human League any harm, and here they had the foresight to see the power that video would have. So for €˜Don€™t you want me€™ a groundbreakingly expensive video was shot, which would not just pay off in the UK but also the hitherto-impregnable US chart, where thanks to heavy rotation on MTV the song went to number one, prompting talk of a new invasion of British acts that for a short time actually came to fruition. The video itself is an ingenious film within a film, featuring the band as actors, crew members and directors all telling a story of fame and rejection. €˜Don€™t you want me€™ showed a very 80€™s way to make a hit record. And listen again, there€™s not a single guitar in sight. It also features one of the greatest throwaway lines in pop history in €œI was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar€€ Which as a start to a story takes some beating.