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Bristol Evening Post November
2007
John Packwood
SONGS THAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF
...
ON the second date of an intensive English and European tour, The Human
League appeared at this smaller venue in front of an enthusiastic and packed
audience.
For the first time ever, they presented the whole of their clasic 1980s
album Dare. Highly commercial but never crass, and glowing with joyful
melodies and upbeat lyrics, it remains one of the band's greatest
achievements.
Starting with the poignant Things That Dreams Are Made Of, Phil Oakey, the
lead singer, followed with two slower numbers - the moody Open Your Heart
and the sombre Darkness.
Two rockers - The Sound of the Crowd and the catchy Do Or Die - preceded the
clever I Am The Law, with its pithy words.
The two greatest hits on this album were the thundering Love Action (I
Believe In Love) and the perennial favourite chart-topper Don't You Want Me.
Having given his all in the first half, Phil, and the hardworking backing
duo Joanne Catherall and Susanne Sulley, exited for a short but well-earned
break while the instrumental group performed Hard Times.
Returning resplendently dressed in glittering costumes, the girls joined
Phil for four more songs, including Human, an outstanding song of betrayal
and regret, and The Lebanon, a strong anti-war number.
After their 1996 hit, the stormy Tell Me When, the main part of the set
ended with the lively Mirror Man.
The crowd were loath to let them go and the band returned for two encores -
the politically pointed Being Boiled and, finally, the nostalgic Electric
Dreams.
The stamina of Phil was truly amazing and, with excellent support from the
two girls and the rest of the band, he never flagged throughout the
90-minute set.
The support act, One Two, was of a higher standard than usual. They included
Paul Humphries, from Orchestral Manoueuvres in the Dark, and German vocalist
Claudia Brucken, previously with Propaganda. They presented a few pleasant
songs, including Duel, which Claudia sang in her native language.
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