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Joanne
Catherall
My biggest and best achievement has been becoming a mum to my five-year-old
son Elliot. He's the love of my life and I wouldn't be surprised if he ends
up being in the pop industry as he's grown up in recording studios - he's a
bit of a show off.
When he was a baby he
came on an American tour with us and slept on our tour bus. It's normal for
him to go to soundchecks and be on a stage.
Now he's older and at
school I refuse to go away for long periods because I'd miss him too much.
We did a three-week tour last year and that was tough.
Phil Oakey, Human
League's frontman, is fantastic with him and they really love each other. He
is like an honorary uncle.
I met my husband,
Peter, 13 years ago. He works in computers and created the official Sex
Pistols site. He was in a band when I met him at a friend's party.
I'd hate to be part of
the celebrity circuit that goes on now. It was never like that when we were
big, and I couldn't live life like that. I'm a very private person.
I never moved away
from
Sheffield and I live in a nice area in a three-bedroom semi. We made a lot
of money over the years, but we now run our own studio and that's costing us
a lot.
One of my greatest
memories is when we went to No 1 in 1981 with Don't You Want Me. Susan and I
were still at school, and Susan's mum had to come to the classroom to take
us to the Top Of The Pops, it was very exciting.
We really haven't
changed that much on stage. We have full make-up, hair spiked out and lots
of cleavage. People probably think. "My God! Why is she dressing like that
at nearly 40?"
Still, I don't care if
I'm not as slim as a teenager - I think that's what the fans want to see.
Susan Ann Gayle
I've always been a pretty impulsive person, which probably explains why I
married my husband, Mark, just two months after meeting him in a Sheffield
nightclub. We didn't even tell our parents, and went off to a registry
office to get married in secret in July 2000.
The only person I told was Joanne Catherall. I rang her the night before and
she just said, "I always knew you would do something like is."
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We went to a registry office and got two people we didn't know to be our
witnesses. I wore a long black Ghost dress, and held a couple of lilies.
Afterwards, we went into my local bar and Harold, the guy who runs it, said,
"You haven't?" And I replied, "We have!" so he opened a bottle of champagne
and slowly word got round and our friends started turning up.
My mum and dad went absolutely ballistic. My mum couldn't understand it, but
it would have been impossible to have a small wedding in Sheffield. I think
when some people get married they want their 15 minutes of fame and
attention, but I didn't need it - I'd had that for years.
Sadly, we're not together anymore. It was lovely whiles it lasted but we
split up after 10 months. I was heartbroken at the time, but I'm over it now
and we're still good friends.
It was good to have work after Mark and I split up. Human League never
stopped working, but I found it difficult when we weren't the big band
anymore. It took a bit of getting used to.
Even so, I'm proud we're still going. We've been close to bankruptcy several
times but we're still here.
We've often tried to change our style, but as soon as we add daft vocals it
becomes a Human League album again. We couldn't change that sound, even if
we wanted too.
Still, I would never go back to 1980s clothes again. Not only am I too old -
I'm 39 now- but I'd feel so silly in those things that I wore then.
Joanne and I were only 17 and still at school when Phil Oakey spotted us in
a nightclub and asked us to join the Human League. We had no money to go to
designer stores. Back then there weren't any stylists, so we did it all
ourselves. We used to buy stuff from Oxfam and rehash it and customise it
for live performances.
The make-up in the 1980s was pretty full on. I'd just have a line for
blusher, lots of pink eyeshadow and blue lips.
I'm even slimmer now than I was then. I think we got away with such
outrageous outfits because we were so young, but the record company should
have taken us aside sometimes because we made some big mistakes.
Still, I've got some outfits in my wardrobe that Sophie Ellis Bextor would
die for.' |