Human League - Path of Least Resistance (live BBCtv 1979)

[grayaj23]

Oh Emm Eff GEE

OK for a long time I've thought that Human League was one of the few "true voices" in 80's or "BIG BEAT" sound. This video totally fucking ends the discussion. This is awesome.

They took the big beat sound, made it experimental, and sold it 100%.

My background is in alt 70's rock and punk. The 80's always seemed so phony to me. But this video is ultra not phony. This **IS** the 80's sound condensed into one video.

My hat is off to you, sirs and ladies of THL.

[Lizday1334]

That sneer is delicious.

[Petard001]

Only synths....

[DuranFan09]

Is that Patrick Troughton at the very end, dressed in period costume? Lol

[DuranFan09]

The drums on this live version are better than on the actual recording IMHO. They seem to have more swing.

[fuckamericanidiot]

@DuranFan09 i love the fat crack on the studio version :)

[apofkapsokefopaskfeo]

the ORIGINAL Human League!

[eff901]

Comfort Kills............

[mukaikof]

great song! thanks for upload! i love it. love you human league!

[banyera]

Love this song from 1st Album , saw it live ....!!! , at Hammersmith Palais , London 79/80 .........THX for uploading..........banyera.

[Dronemful]

One of the best HL songs

[brightphoebus]

Waaaaaaaay cool!!

[jrmetmoi]

I just saw the Blakes 7

[bakulaw63]

thanks for this.great!!!

[Animateme3D]

I'm on the path of most persistence! The Human League new song is called Night People, from their upcoming album Credo. It's produced by Sheffield wizards known as i-Monster!

[the13er]

Looks like some wannabe deep art school band.

[Lemure333]

Does anyone know what kind of synth he is playing? Great track!_!

[lordoid]

@Lemure333 The big one: Roland System 100 with Extension. /watch?v=WdjtAIMZXTs

And the other...Hmmm Korg 700s and MS20 maybee.

[bondbug73]

@lordoid Martyn Ware is on a Roland Jupiter 4. I've noticed that the System 100 complete set up in Martyn home as seen on TV recently.

[vinto34]

Phil's scissors must have got blunt before he could finish cutting his hair lol.....great times the late 70s and 80s were.

[tasimana]

love the blake 7 flash back at the start (villa)

[tastofuckindaddy]

dark and funky

[ElaineML]

Thanks for posting - I've never seen this video before.

[MrWitchtrials]

The REAL Human League,arty as f#@k. According to the magnificent 'Rip it up and start again', Oakey was disillusioned by their lack of sales and the mainstream breakthrough of similar but inferior acts. Hence the ensuing seismic pop shift of the League. Much prefer this,Marianne & Dance Vision though. Wait for the synth-rush from 1:30 on this.Peerless back then!

[geniusmarketing08]

wow, how retro is this? Nice early new wave sounds

[closertofiftythanyew]

Adrian was a cracker on the slides, made an introspective pop group live performance nectar as an atmospheric event. Where is the photo library botherer these days?

The only thing I have seen in britland since that has come close for 'family photos' is this, from Brightons Katsen, yootoob search,

watch?v=bgcDqiIbwOI

[spacehopper70]

@closertofiftythanyew If you saw the Heaven 17 documentary on BBC2 the other week, it had a scene where Martyn Ware and Glen Gregory were talking about using a slideshow backdrop onstage while performing the Penthouse and Pavement album. Glen thinks it's like having someone watching the telly while he's singing.

[closertofiftythanyew]

@spacehopper70 The backdrop was a bit lame for that live event. Nothing for Glenn to worry about to upstage him.

Looked a re-mash from H17s Before After album cover. Funny for a photographer he would have been finiky over that! Maybe a slide of Osama might not have gone down too well with the Daily Telegraphtimes!

[HighFrequencyMedia]

best fucking video ever

[lambie22]

This song is so fucking amazing

[spectro52]

Great to see this! Many people are unaware of this line-up

[cosmeticcarrepair]

great post, thanks.

[amberrosejade]

synth britania was great. this song is amazing.......

[eff901]

Science fiction..

Scienc FACT!!

[indigo419]

Phil looks like he's in a trance.

[RetroElectroville]

Vince Clark asked THEM how they got their drum sounds on the first album.

[cullyvan]

Wow. Love it . Still think that line sounds like 'and never find the sauce' , HP problems for Phil.

[jakejasmine]

love the whole Reproduction album that this is taken from and it is still my favourite album of all time.

[OwenJ1971]

Futurism makes me all nostalgic...

[OwenJ1971]

'I believed her chaste' ha ha. The Blake's 7 bit fits as well.

[dstdvl]

actually i got to sing "don't you want me" in two bands. the first was just a top 40 cover band, but that song was so big, we all agreed we should do it. i remember the first time i heard it at a house party. first top 40 hit (u.s.) to use a sequencer instead of a high hat. i was mesmerized.

[dstdvl]

OMG. i've seen photos of phil with this hair, but never seen it in motion before! lol. he's so earnest! i was in a new wave cover band in the 80s and got to sing "the things that dreams are made of" and of course the obligatory "don't you want me." fuckin fun. wow. life is so short! path of least resistance indeed! love the big slide!

[Noragirlie63]

This earlier stuff was the best stuff before the two girls joined after they split.... Heaven 17 did not make up for it in any way, shape or form....IMHO

[apofkapsokefopaskfeo]

this is so electronically cold!

love their early gears.

[pestilence597]

awesome league at they're best takes me back to the '80's an reminds me of all the other classic bands like duran duran,depeche mode,kraftwerk,a-ha and simple minds to name a few,thanks for posting

[Animateme3D]

Human League just signed to UK recording label Wall of Sound! New material (songs, videos, album) expected in 2010!!!!

[NathanielBurke]

I fell in love with song the moment he said:

"The truth is comfort kills, and you don't need that car."

[Noragirlie63]

Yes, totally.

[tompom89]

Fantastic song :) My fave from their debut album along with Almost Medieval, Blind Youth and Zero As A Limit. This band are pioneers. Reproduction was the first synthpop album to come out of Britain in 1979. It should be considered as one of the greatest albums of all time.

[heatdeb]

The league at their peak.

[Dracopol]

"We're a real avant-garde synth band, all-machine, but we're not famous enough, we're missing something. What could it be? I know! GIRLS!"

The opening riff sounds a bit like Depeche Mode's "Tora!  Tora! Tora!"

[ajittffcure]

You are right. Depeche Mode's first album was hugely influenced by early Human League.

[garagerockermadrid]

love the haircut!

[frankmunoz27]

THANK YOU ever so much for posting this! I LOVE HUMAN LEAGUE!!!

[fstop77]

Thanks for posting!!!! This is some great rare shit!!

[Scotsman707]

wait what the hell was that in the end?

3:13

[Scotsman707]

Extremely difficult to find a Human League video before Dare. Thanks for posting!!

[spacehopper70]

If anyone saw "Synth Britannia" on BBC4 last week, it used archive footage of the four-piece line up, shot on film, including them on stage doing "Blind Youth". I was like one of Pavlov's dogs - where was it from, and how do I find it?

[tompom89]

Yeah I saw Synth Britannia :) It was wondeful, and of course a stunning tribute to all the groups who created synth-pop, specially HL! That old footage was taken from a 1980 Austrian TV documentary about the band. If you search Human League 1980 Austria you will find it, the whole thing is already on Youtube. The live performances on that TV show were Blind Youth, Crow and a Baby, Dreams of Leaving, Perfect Day and 2 others I cant recall.

[fuckamericanidiot]

i don't think i could like this

[MrPhiloakey]

best darkness

[eddie23a]

this gives me a boner, the early League at their dark and surreal best, awsome !

[ajittffcure]

Not just the music but even the image was ahead of its time.

[ieatorbs]

First goth/emo haircut ever.

[psychodamned]

NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Check out siouxsie and the Banshees for that :D

[polarsequence]

Blimey, how rare is that footage! Thanks for the upload, brilliant stuff :)

[braincras]

just wow, the videos is very nice.

[brismike65]

I have no issues with the new Human League seen them 3 times and love them. This, however, is pure electronic brillance and stands up in 2009 fresh as.

[stilln68la]

love this song.that was blakes 7 at the beginning.the earlier stuff was undoubtebly the best.

[diddleboxdigital]

vedddyvedddyveddddy interseting. Always wondered about the roots of the human league always been a fan

[Sashthecat]

Great!

Numa.66.

[FrankietheMute]

is that a young James woods there at the beginning?

[heatdeb]

human league at the very peak of their powers

[bpoag]

You can practically hear the drop forges..

[waheex]

classic

[banger181]

Roland Sytsm 100 with two expander modules

[CrossCuntryFranco]

This is related to the bookends at the end of the video. Was the "I believed her chaste" from "The Six Wives of Henry the VIII"?

[spacehopper70]

With Patrick Troughton and Keith Michell? Yes. The "Sounds of the Seventies" programme had all manner of clips from BBC shows of that decade between the songs, and I was in a hurrry with crude editing software so quite a lot was left in.

[themachman19691]

this still sounds superb...not into all the dare thing and after.love all the early stuff..thanks for posting

[dimebucker2]

name those synths!

[ApolloBoy]

Ian's using a Roland System 100 and Korg 770, and Martyn's using a Roland Jupiter-4.

[prlad85]

Great song! Sounds great live as well aparrently!

A++++++++

Very nice job! Keep up the great work thanks for posting!

Have a great night, a great day tommorrow, a great night tommorrow, a great week, a great month and a great summer! Puerto Rican Love from New York City!

[RolandMC4]

I have always admired Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh for their innovative and technical approach to making music, using nothing but electronics. Their sounds had that 'raw' and 'machine' quality that was far superior to the post Marsh/ Ware era. It's a shame the original line-up failed to accomplish their chart success, so we could hear the fruits of their creative genius.

[wgaule]

... but then we would never have had (Keep Feeling) Fascination or Love Action; what you gain on the swings ...

[RolandMC4]

I grately admire these Sheffield lads for having the balls to try something different and start the British electronic music revolution that has influenced so many acts since-True pioneers of electronic pop!

[bpoag]

FUCK. YEAH.

[kmfdm10392]

They had to split, they'd have never been able to carry on like this. Brilliant.

[grauoliv]

Oh, this is so! ironic! The early Human League on show mainstream!!! Thanx 4 posting this! Very interesting live version of this evergreen!

[filtermadg]

REALLY PRETENTIOUS!

awesome

[MmeDesgranges]

Listen to this and then listen to Devo "Ton O' Love" from _Freedom of Choice_

[calaverasgrande]

way better than their later stuff

[haikousei]

ROLAND ANALOGUE SYNTHESIZER!!! "SH" series!!! WOW!!

[themachman19691]

human league at their best!this live version sounds so much better than the studio.thanks for posting..

[MarcusArak]

The band looks very cool, a bit into Kraftwerk but Martin Wares`s beard and chappy moves behind his synth -- OMG .P

[jaymiles81]

Sounds a bit like Joy Division.  More than I expected.

I like it.

[WolYou]

Lovely. Nice monophonic moog on the left side :)

[Maverick747uk]

definately their best stuff was from this era. travelogue and reproduction albums were pure genius

[rongravy]

Geez, Phil is scary looking, but the song is damn fine. Check out my Human League vid, or my other 80s vids, on my page. All B welcome, and I love to share, trade, reminisce...

[wildenfree]

79-82 were golden years for the new romantic / new wave movement. We wont see its like again, its just corporate bullshit now.

[stefancev]

So true. The end of this last golden age of music came 1983, when the US Music industry took back the power from Europe.

Since then, American rubbish dominates the charts. I can't believe how European kids listens to the products of those crap-generating music factories. Usher. Brrr.

[MunkyBo11ecks]

You guys are speaking my heart here. Bring the industry down... ah well, you live and hope eh!

[BambiXmas]

Yes thats so right, the era of the late seventies and early eighties where the only time intelligent music was recognised comically,

I like to use my brain when listening to music, thats why I dont fit into this place, when I put on a Japan or early Human League album, it reminds me that there once was a time when people cared about something more then just filling the pockets of the record companies, for the mindless drivel they churn out.

[wildenfree]

So true

[sparkye444]

Totally agree with this comment - it will always be a great loss that the original 'League' never quite realised that they were on the verge of musical legend. We will never know what heights would have been reached by the 'original four'

[1969EBM]

I agree!

[PsychedOut17]

Fuck yeah

[italioot]

@wildenfree

Yeah, this were the years, but don;t forget 1983.

There still much to disvover

[ashingtoon]

The Proper Human League, the way they were meant to be!! The D's B's of clips this!!!

[cneyislandyaby332333]

he looks like the guy from the apple commercials

[125or200px]

thanks for posting this,i have been wanting this for years.

It was a track on the Dare album,and this track along with Being Boiled and Circus Of Death are my faves.

[pomomatthew]

This song still sounds like the first time every time.

[Hurricane1A]

love this song. they were the dogs bollocks back then

[Alan147]

Wow! Great footage. Thanks for uploading.

[yellowstag1966]

the best band to come out of the late 70's early 80's the human league still rulez also takes me back to nights at romeo and julietts in sheffield

[canegang]

bloody hell where has the time gone, saw them at the brighton centre on the 5th December 2008 it was a bloody good night.

[UberSynth]

Super!

[iancurtis51880]

I love this video and song. Takes me back to a great time in my life.

[brismike65]

I don't agree that post Ware the Human League have not been brillant, even One Man in My heart is fine, but this is brillant beyond words and 30 years on sounds as fresh and as good as the Severed Heads, Chemical Brothers or Kraftwerk do now. This music will be played like Mozart in centuries to come I say. And the message in the song about not getting drunk - more relevent than any moralising modern drinking campaigns do. Thanks for posting.

[vanquishSman]

Fantastic. Music of my youth. Anything after Reproduction or Travelogue just couldn't match this sound. Trust me, i know, i was there. End Of.

Are there any bands out there making this kind of sound today?

[banyera]

Totally agree , saw them 3 times as old line up , and was at the 1st EVER gig as New line up (Hammersmith Odeon - Opened with such a loud sound it made your Ribs Crack )- Girls were Awful then , But a Lot of Improvement..........First 4 rows of seats still got trashed though , ...........LOL

[jimski377]

An era that is surely missed :(

[CrikeySpiders]

Great upload. Thanks.

[jrmetmoi]

I love his lop-sided wedge hair!

[Helderhugo]

This is hawsome.

[CHABBO]

I actually prefer this version than to the studio album version!

This one is raw! Love it.

[ralucagymnast]

This is why I like Ladytron: they really do their damndest to sound like the early League. I think Seventeen by Ladytron is the closest thing to early stuff like this by far. But this is the original and best. I love the Human League in all its various combinations:)

[spacehopper70]

Well, it's what Ladytron started off sounding like - they've moved on. Still a top band, and I'm a bit narked at missing them at the Oran Mor the other month.

[DingKong]

This song is total class. Brilliant! And somehow the Blakes 7 clip cut into it sort of suits the song! Awesome posting

[WolfgangAmadeusF]

Damn its good.I have "The best of"Cd of them but it doesnt have all their greatest tracks

[tomkaulitz18]

I want lots and lots of reel-to-reel tape machines!!! Its the first thing I noticed when the camera widened on Philip!!

[cuprarosa]

so do i, but they run at £500 at least :(

[lesnouveauxpauvre]

"The truth is comfort kills, and you dont need that car"...yeah, lyrics in songs, like this show how much corporate influence and the mentality has changed so much, this sounds so much more advanced than anything today, we have gone backwards, and the fascist youth of today doesnt even realize what happened...

[ajittffcure]

Yes, you are right. Even to this day, this music sounds very futuristic.

[bellapauldegi]

thank you -well said .

[kdw712]

great vid the early league stuff was the best

[FetidToecheese]

Blakes' Seven!!! hahaar

[Dreamland68]

Tora Tora Tora von DM klingt ein wenig ähnlich, kann das sein?

[spacehopper70]

Just a bit of a likeness, traumland achtundsechzig. But remember who did it first!

[ctspf]

Das kann sein. Meiner Meinung nach hatte die Human League einen großen Einfluß auf die erste Platte von Depeche Mode (nur muss man "Being boiled" und "Ice machine" vergleichen, sie sind ziemlich ähnlich).

[HappiWho]

Awesome!

[FLORENT2222]

Phil, not your best haircut !!!

[CHABBO]

DAMN I had this on vhs back home. So good to see it again! thanks for uploading this

[elmaloglou]

Does anyone have their performance of "Empire State Human" from the same TV show? Only the audio has been put up on YouTube thus far.

[duerdenn]

Up to&including Dare the HumanLeague were on par withCabaretVoltaire,GaryNuman,­FadGadget,JohnFoxx,OMD&Throbbi­ngGristle as British electro-pioneers.

After that electro-pop mediocrity-Erasure were far better at that strain of Electro-music.

This clip remains awesome though-vintage analog synths,tape reels!!!-one of the best on YouTube!!!

Thanks for posting!!!

[pfishy69]

I prefer to remember the"REAL HUMAN LEAGUE" as an English Kraftwerk the tragedy is most people only remember the later "League" with those two talentless bimbos, singing sloppy pop balads..to me it was acutely embarrasing and such a sell out, but to be fair it made them a fortune pandering to the Chavs and i cant argue with that(even "heaven 17" started to make pop songs to jump on the cashwagon)listen to EMPIRE STATE HUMAN and A CROW AND A BABY .Hey !! "some day all music will sound this way"

[duerdenn]

Yep-totally agree with you there...I was lucky as only 12yrs old in 79 but had 2 elder brothers who had eclectic music tastes-Travelogue was one of my favs-it reminds me of industrial Sheffield(as was)

Sad to see Phil&co jumping on the nostalgia bandwagon lately touring-I doubt they play this though!!!

[carrollkrc]

This is what synth music was meant to be?

Raw and meaningless

fUckingreat

[FLORENT2222]

Phil, not your best haircut !!

[cuzanq]

his BEST haircut!

[Scorpie]

Not gonna lie, been debating doin' this myself.

[Scorpie]

Agreed. His best.

[Wehategod]

I prefer this to there later stuff.

[marcvanderloo]

Martin Ware always looked like a 70s pimp with that beard.

[futuristfood]

example.. the first two U2 albums..boy and october..are real breathtaking emotional suites...

so...agreed!

[jretrodude]

Why does no one have the song rock me again and again (6 times)? Can't find that anywhere?

[pdw2309]

its on the hysteria cd

[Shropshire67]

Or Louise

[TWENTYTHREEAD]

this is just fantastic. really compelling. Does anyone have a clip of them playing 'Only After Dark performed on Bio's Bahnhof, 3sat (Germany), 31st July 1980'? It's the only thing I haven't seen,

[Rakete64]

...cool, didn`t know this, "Only After Dark" was my first Human League-Single and I still love this "young" electronic sound, thanks for posting!!

[matthew11222]

ultimate proof that the best human league was an all-male affair... unless you count phil's hair...but seriously, this is seminal.

[alexhogan]

As long as Phil Oakey is in, I'm there!

[lovesGenet]

Wow . Where did this come from . the synths sounds so difficult programming n tose days. these guys could always write good POP songs. Seconds,sound of crowd,do or die. I dont care their commercial stuff is great. Kraftwerk should not be compared. Different aims .

[0x51d]

Wow, excellent quality of the clip as well!

[macca157]

This is brilliant !!!!!! good old electro :)

[bonifaciomusso]

Dance vision and Marian - great tracks - can someone upload them ASAP - this is not the best portait of a good band - DANCE VISION ?

[Sayles4b]

vocals suck, C- band

[KRISPYKWENT29]

Yes, this was The Human League before they went really bad and I really did try to like their later material, I really did....

[WolYou]

Absolutely right. As soon as they started getting commercial they lost the musical part of their art.

[LittleBrucie]

This is THEE Human League before Oakey went all wishy-washy and brought them two daft girls in.

Ohh The League, Tubeway Army, Ultravox with Foxx and OMD....The ice blue light in my room it was futurama...it was wonderful!

Seen this line up @ the mayfair Newcastle in 1980 before the split and I was spellbound...I'd love to see these guys reform.

[youset1983]

maybe better than Kraftwerk.

long live the League!

[suiteconcrete]

Superb...

[NYNYRaider]

Both the Reproduction ad Travelogue albums (79 & 80) had those dark cult-like themes which were only slightly there on DARE and their later works. But being Human League's biggest U.S. fan, all their stuff is great!!!

[colin5765]

thanks, brill this !!

LEAGUE r ace , ahead of time

[yangpu6]

Thanks Human League!

[deanpook]

Been waiting to see this again, thanks for posting!

I love the sound of Reproduction era Human League. Pioneering audio-visual concept.

[simondabom]

darn good it's about time we heard the league again

[NewWaver80014]

Wow. They manage to out-Kraft Kraftwerk. So cold, and clinical. And I mean that as a compliment.

Phil hadn't quite conquered the frizzies yet though. :-)

I remember buying the "Reproduction" LP - I must have irritated the heck out of my grandparents, playing it as much as I did.

[iancurtis51880]

The very best Human League track. Waaaay better than their later stuff from Dare! and beyond.

[iancurtis51880]

The best Human League tune. It's brilliant. This was back when they were really good, prior to Dare!.

[areyoureceivingme]

music simply doesn't get any better than this. most bands today really shouldn't bother!!! synth rules!!!