The Human League: Dare (Virgin V2192)
Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1982
LAST YEAR'S fracturing of the Human League into two camps held more promise than the usual band breakup. For two albums the original League displayed considerable vision, but suffered from conflicting impulses that allowed simpler-minded "new romantics" to profit from their groundbreaking efforts. Ian Marsh and Martyn Ware subsequently deserted to form Heaven 17, a provocative brew of electronic funk and pointed social commentary. Philip Oakey and Philip Wright kept the band name and added musicians and singers; Dare, their first LP since the rift, was an enormous commercial success in the UK.
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