Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.

Find out how to listen to other BBC stations

Episode details

Radio Ulster,01 Nov 2026,57 mins

The Human League - Dare

Long Player with Steven Rainey

Available for 29 days

When the rest of the UK was inspired by punk to pick up a guitar and learn a few chords, bands in Sheffield were plugging in their synths and looking to the future. Amidst a thriving scene of electronic pioneers, The Human League emerged as innovators, coming up with ideas that had the critics raving about them, but unable to make a dent upon the pop charts. And when Gary Numan went to number 1 with 'Are 'Friends' Electric?' in 1979, The Human League thought they'd missed their moment, and were on the verge of splitting. But by 1981, they'd transformed themselves, reborn as a shiny, sleek, electric monster, and duly conquered the charts on both sides of the Atlantic with their classic 3rd album, Dare.

Programme Website
More episodes