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| Probably
the first overtly commercial track released under the Human
League name, this song has a decidedly nursery rhyme feel about
it. |
| The
nonsensical lyrics tell of a bizarre longing to be "as
big as a wall", while the rhythm thumps along somewhere
between a military march and the Glitter rock to which the group
would often refer in their 1980 releases. |
|
The album/single version features heavily-treated backing vocals
which lend an extra sci-fi element to the proceedings, though
these were not present on the group's original demo version.
This was a rather more raw-sounding affair, with Philip sounding
breathless on lead vocals and drowned out by Martyn's few backing
vocals at the end of the track. Also, the demo's synthesizer
solo is a lot less noisy than the later version. |
| Useless
trivia: an amusing tape of the group's May 1980 show at Birmingham
University captured Philip's temporarily revised second verse
of Empire State Human, following an minor accident that
night: "With concentration... I just hit myself in the
eye... and I can't see a f---ing thing... at least." |
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Ex-Rental
remixed the song for Virgin Records in December 2002, though
it's not yet known whether this remix will be commercially released.
The remix
replaces the original 3:4 marching beat with a more dance-oriented
4:4 rhythm, and also features alternate lead vocals on certain
lines and some headphone 'leakage' from the original master
tapes - note the differences in the lyrics page for this song. |
| Chamber
have also remixed the song, opting to remain quite faithful
to the original arrangement in their extended version which
retains the 3:4 rhythm. The song was also covered by Optiganally
Yours for the March Records album of League covers, Reproductions,
in 2000, and by Marsheaux in 2007. |
| Lyrics |
| Demo
version unreleased |
| Album/single
version released on Empire
State Human, Reproduction
and The Very Best Of - see Compilations
(part two) |
| Mile
high mix by Ex-Rental currently unreleased |
| Chamber's
Reproduced mix released on double CD edition of The Very
Best Of - see Compilations (part two) |
| Promotional
video released on VHS Greatest Hits (1995 edition only)
and The Very Best Of DVD - see Compilations (part two) |
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This
four-minute dialogue between the League and manager Bob Last
was originally released on a 7" flexidisc, given away with
The Dignity Of Labour .
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| The
disc is mostly filled by discussions of what should be included
on the flexi disc (!). This is followed by a short statement
from Philip on what The Dignity Of Labour and its sleeve
are meant to represent. |
| Transcription |
| Released
with The
Dignity Of Labour and on Reproduction
(CD only) |
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| A
curious Human League instrumental. It's not clear whether the
recording was actually a completed track as it consists of little
more than a few riffs, all played using the same synthesizer
sound, over a simple fluttering dance beat faintly reminiscent
of Dance Like A Star.
It sounds as though this might have formed the basis for a more
elaborate recording, but it seems the piece never evolved beyond
this arrangement. |
| Released
on The
Golden Hour Of The Future |
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| A
doom-laden instrumental by The Future, mainly consisting of
a synthetic medieval-style drone, with various electronic clanging
sounds seemingly appearing at random. |
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Perhaps not surprisingly, this track was not scheduled
for release on the cancelled compilation album, The
Future Tapes - it's fairly unremarkable. |
| Released
on The
Golden Hour Of The Future |
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| See Once
Upon A Time In The West [Funeral March] (N
- O). |
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| Originally
recorded as an instrumental demo by Martyn and Ian prior to
the League's formation, a second demo was produced when Philip
joined them. Set to a pounding dance rhythm, the League's breezy
demo featured some intriguing electronic percussion, reminiscent
of certain African instruments. |
| However,
it's unsurprising that the group decided to re-record the song
as a medley with Austerity
for their debut album, as their Girl One demo lacked
a proper introduction and ended rather abruptly. The medley
overcame this problem, by using elements of Austerity
at both ends of Girl One. |
| Lyrics |
| Demo
versions unreleased |
| Medley
with Austerity released on Reproduction |
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| An
instrumental written by Jeff Wayne for a TV commercial advertising
Gordon's Gin, which the League recorded three times. The two
demos, recorded with a vaguely disco-influenced arrangement,
formed the basis of the version played at many of the original
group's live shows. The first demo was subtitled Inept
(probably because it included a number of mistakes!) and was
followed by a more sophisticated version, known simply as Gordon's
Gin 2. |
|
In 1980, the track was re-recorded for the Travelogue
album, this time replacing the disco traces with a slightly
harder, more urgent approach. |
| Demo
versions unreleased |
| 1980
version released on Travelogue |
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