The Lebanon - The Human League - 80sneverend

Expectations and politics

The Human League – The Lebanon

Early 1984 was a fairly heavy period for the Human League. They had been very successful with their two previous albums, with songs like “Don’t you want me” and “Fascination”, and expectations on them had grown a lot. To work on this new album, “Hysteria”, they had rented a thousand-pound-a-day recording studios, and had been there for a year, disputing and arguing over every single note, on every single arrangement.

For the debut of the new album they chose a committed song, which wanted to cover delicate topics, stemming from the invasion of Israel in the heights of Lebanon, which took place about a couple of years before, the days Sabra and Chatila.

Perhaps this choice was already an element of quarrel: while some members were firmly stating that the text, written by Phil Oakey, really had a reference and a value of political charge, others, including the wonderful Susan Sulley, opted for a less committed path, while still acknowledging the inspiration in the events of Lebanon.

From a political point of view, this move did not bring much success, and in general they were accused of being trivial and superficial; critics acknowledged, however, that it was a great song, which in fact had good success, although less than their previous masterpieces.

The videoclip is peculiar: apparently is the footage of a concert, but it’s actually a set, non a real concert. Some dancers in the front rows, actors behind. And when the camera sees the whole theatre, we actually have a doubt that the background of the theatre is completely empty!

Overall, this was a period of transition for the Human League, before finding great success again in a couple of years.

Probably the very high expectations had really taken away some serenity from the group!

#quotefromthe80s
But now he finds he is at war
"Weren't we supposed to keep the peace"
And who will have won
When the soldiers have gone
From the Lebanon
#HumanLeague #TheLebanon

The Human League on Wikipedia

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