Photo + Words: Alex Brown
Opening the night was synth-pop star Blancmange (Neil Arthur) and admitted an act I had never heard of, but that wasn’t to say it was going to be a bad start to the night as he was greeted with a loud cheer from the Lincolnshire crowd which pulled sing-a-longs throughout his short lived set. A very fun start to a night which got the fans warmed up the right way in anticipation for The Human League.
But before we can get to the main event, we had the joys of having Thompson Twins’ very own Tom Bailey and his band. From the moment they walked on stage you could feel the energy shift, the band were full of smiles having a good time and the crowd was having just as much fun as they powered through their set. Although not my scene, they are a super fun live act and they got everybody dancing and singing which is what you want from your support band, even adding in a cover of Talking Heads ‘Psycho Killer‘.
Would happily head down to a show to catch these again as the vibes were just there and you couldn’t help but enjoy yourself and watching the fans enjoying themselves made it even better.
Now the reason we are here, The Human League. One of Sheffield’s finest and one of the most iconic bands from that era of new-wave/synth-pop. Opening with an extended version of ‘Sound of The Crowd‘ the screams from the crowd were almost deafening. Having only seen these last year at Tramlines, I knew what to expect from the night and I have to say they were so much better than that day.
Playful interactions with the crowd and hit after hit as we enjoyed ‘Mirror Man‘, ‘Open Your Heart‘ and ‘Fascination‘. The band really are just full of crowd pleasers, and it’s easy to see why they are so beloved by their own fans and just music lovers alike. To still have the passion and love for what you do since the end of the 70’s it takes a strong bond between band members to keep that love there.
If you’re ever unsure whether to go see these or not I highly recommend it. With the sun finally setting over the castle and cathedral we were treated with possibly their biggest hit ‘Electric Dreams’ which had everyone up and singing at the top of their lungs. A wonderful end, to a fun night.
Taped Magazine 