Fresh off the news that Dead Or Alive are cramming their career’s work into 19 CDs and DVDs next month, along comes another retrospective box set from a beacon of the 1980s’ electronic pop heyday.
This time around, it’s from English hit makers The Human League, and, for better or worse, things are much more concise.
The pop group, known for hits like “Don’t You Want Me” and “Human”, will release A Very British Synthesizer Group on November 18. It’s available for pre-order here.
The collection has five different formats, including one option that will span three compact discs. All formats are said to include “all the hits as well previously unreleased demos and edits”, according to a press release, via Diffuser, and one DVD of a significant amount of videos and live clips ranging from 1979 to 1995.
Diffuser also notes that those who purchase the physical box set will receive a hardcover book from writer David Buckley, which includes rare photos.
“We don’t fit in. There are three of us, two of whom have never written a song and are pretty average singers, plus we’ve got a lead singer who doesn’t consider himself a singer at all and can’t play any instruments very well,” says singer Susan Ann Sulley. “And yet we still think of ourselves as a pop group. If a market research group got hold of us, they’d change absolutely everything. We shouldn’t have gone on as long as we have — we should have ‘gone rock’ by now, like Depeche Mode, Simple Minds, and U2 did. But we’re still a pop group.”
That’s some pretty sweet shade right there. Watch the A Very British Synthesizer Group teaser trailer, and scope the full track list and album artwork down below.
Human League, A Very British Synthesizer Group track list:
CD1
‘Being Boiled’
‘The Dignity of Labour (Part 3)’
‘Empire State Human’
‘Only After Dark (Single Edit)’
‘Nightclubbing’
‘Boys And Girls’
‘The Sound Of The Crowd (Instrumental Version)’
‘Hard Times’
‘Love Action (I Believe In Love)’
‘Open Your Heart’
‘Don’t You Want Me’
‘Mirror Man’
‘You Remind Me Of Gold’
‘(Keep Feeling) Fascination (Extended Version)’
‘The Lebanon (Single Version)’
‘Louise (DJ Edit)’
CD2
‘Life On Your Own (DJ Edit)’
‘Human (Extended Version)’
‘I Need Your Loving (DJ Edit)’
‘Love Is All That Matters (DJ Edit)’
‘Heart Like A Wheel (William Orbit Remix)’
‘Soundtrack To A Generation (Edit)’
‘Tell Me When (Radio Edit)’
‘One Man In My Heart’
‘Filling Up With Heaven’
‘Stay With Me Tonight (Single Version)’
‘All I Ever Wanted (Radio Edit)’
‘Night People (Radio Edit)’
‘Never Let Me Go (Album Version)’
‘Sky (Radio Edit)’
CD3
‘The Path Of Least Resistance’ [Early Version]
‘No Time’ [‘The Word Before Last’ – Early Version]
‘Being Boiled (State Of The Art Mix 1)’
‘Stylopops You Broke My Heart’ [‘Marianne’ – Early Version]
‘I Am The Law’ [Early Version]
‘Darkness’ [Early Version]
‘Louise’ [Early Version]
‘The Real Thing’ [Early Version]
‘Love On The Run’ [Early Version]
‘A Doorway’ [Early Version]
‘FM’ [‘Soundtrack To A Generation’ – Early version]
‘Happening Woman’ [‘Filling Up With Heaven’ – Early Version]
‘Give It Back’ [‘Houseful Of Nothing’ – Early Version]
‘New Start’ [‘All I Ever Wanted’ – Early Version]
‘SH5’ [‘Liar’ – Early version]
‘Biller 10’ [‘Single Minded’ – Early Version]
‘Jupiter 4c’ [‘Sky’ – Early Version]
DVD
The videos:
‘Circus Of Death’
‘Empire State Human’
‘Love Action (I Believe In Love)’
‘Open Your Heart’
‘Don’t You Want Me’
‘Mirror Man’
‘(Keep Feeling) Fascination’
‘The Lebanon’
‘Life On Your Own’
‘Louise’
‘Human’
‘I Need Your Loving’
‘Love Is All That Matters’
‘Heart Like A Wheel’
‘Soundtrack To A Generation’
‘Tell Me When’
‘One Man In My Heart’
‘Filling Up With Heaven’ [Previously Unreleased]
‘All I Ever Wanted’
‘Night People’ [Previously Unreleased]
‘Never Let Me Go’ [Previously Unreleased]
Live At The BBC:
‘The Path of Least Resistance’ (Mainstream, 6 November 1979) [Previously Unreleased]
‘Rock’n’Roll’ (Top Of The Pops, 8 May 1980) [Previously Unreleased]
‘The Sound Of The Crowd’ (Top Of The Pops, 30 April 1981)
‘The Sound Of The Crowd’ (Top Of The Pops, 21 May 1981) [Previously Unreleased]
‘Love Action (I Believe In Love)’ (Top Of The Pops, 6 August 1981)
‘Open Your Heart’ (Top Of The Pops, 8 October 1981)
‘Don’t You Want Me’ (Top Of The Pops, 24 December 1981)
‘Love Action (I Believe In Love)’ (Christmas Top Of The Pops, 25 December 1981) [Previously Unreleased]
‘Love Action (I Believe In Love)’ (Multi Coloured Music Show, 30 May 1982) [Previously Unreleased]
‘Mirror Man’ (Top Of The Pops, 18 November 1982) [Previously Unreleased]
‘(Keep Feeling) Fascination’ (Top Of The Pops, 5 May 1983) [Previously Unreleased]
‘The Lebanon’ (Top Of The Pops, 3 May 1984) [Previously Unreleased]
‘Life On Your Own’ (Top Of The Pops, 28 June 1984) [Previously Unreleased]
‘I’m Coming Back’ (On The Road, 25 August 1984) [Previously Unreleased]
‘Rock Me Again And Again And Again And Again’ (On The Road, 25 August 1984) [Previously Unreleased]
‘Human’ (Wogan, 13 August 1986) [Previously Unreleased]
‘Human’ (Top Of The Pops, 28 August 1986) [Previously Unreleased]
‘Heart Like A Wheel’ (Wogan, 13 August 1990) [Previously Unreleased]
‘Heart Like A Wheel’ (Top Of The Pops, 23 August 1990) [Previously Unreleased]
‘Tell Me When’ (Top Of The Pops, 22 December 1994) [Previously Unreleased]
‘Tell Me When’ (Top Of The Pops, 5 January 1995) [Previously Unreleased]
‘One Man In My Heart’ (Top Of The Pops, 16 March 1995) [Previously Unreleased]
‘The Stars Are Going Out’ (Later… With Jools Holland, 25 November 1995)
‘The Sound Of The Crowd’ (Later… With Jools Holland, 25 November 1995)
