The Human League were one of the headline acts in the line-up at Spillers Wharf on 30 May 2009, in the Newcastle/Gateshead Evolution festival, and were one of the headline bands for Dubai's first music festival, the 'Dubai Sound City' festival, between 5 and 7 November 2009. Finally in May 1984, the band released the politically charged single " The Lebanon" about the Lebanese Civil War. The single peaked at No.11 in the UK. This was followed shortly thereafter by the album Hysteria, so called because of the difficult and tense recording process. It entered the UK album chart at No.3; however, it climbed no further and critics and fans were divided by the new direction the band had taken. The second single was " Life on Your Own" in mid-1984. The single peaked at No.16. His mother bought him a synthesiser / Got the Human League in to advise her / Now he's making lots of noise / Playing along with the art school boys" [13] In 1992, Virgin abruptly cancelled their recording contract. Damaged by the failure of the album, their rejection by Virgin, harsh criticism in the media and facing financial ruin, the emotional well-being of Oakey and Sulley deteriorated badly. At the end of 2012, the band undertook the 'XXXV Tour' across Europe and the UK to celebrate 35 years in existence. The shows were critically acclaimed. The UK's Daily Telegraph said "as good a night's entertainment as you are likely to find anywhere on the planet". [41]

With a new line-up, sound, and vocalist, Ware decided that the band needed a new name. It would also allow them to approach record companies again from a different angle. Ware suggested "The Human League", after a group in the science-fiction board game StarForce: Alpha Centauri. In the game, the Human League arose in 2415 A.D. and were a frontier-oriented society that desired more independence from Earth. Oakey and Marsh agreed on the new name, and in early 1978 The Future became The Human League. [7] [ unreliable source?] The original Human League in July 1980. From left to right: Oakey, Wright, Marsh, Ware. At the end of 2005, together with EMI, the band released a compilation album of remixes. Called The Human League Original Remixes and Rarities, it was aimed at the DJ/Dance market in the US and UK. The sleeve repurposes a photo, "Sunset Silhouettes Trapper and Dogs Crossing Saganagons Lake, Ontario", which featured in a 1962 edition of the National Geographic magazine.A 12" single remix of " Things That Dreams Are Made Of" (originally from the Dare! album) was released in the UK in January 2008, by Hooj Choons. It peaked at No.2 on the UK Dance chart. Travelogue entered the UK album chart at #16, which was also its peak, and remained on the chart for nine weeks in 1980 – a vast improvement on their debut album, Reproduction, which failed to chart at all the year before. However, that did not prevent the departure of founding members Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, who went on to form Heaven 17. Remaining members Phil Oakey and Adrian Wright moved The Human League in a new direction with a new lineup. When they began to make a commercial impact the following year, Travelogue re-entered the chart in August 1981 for a further 33 weeks, and was certified Gold by the BPI in May 1982. Capitalising on the success of the album and their recent No.1 hit single, " Being Boiled" was re-released and became a Top 10 hit in early 1982. The band toured for the first time together internationally. Concurrently, Dare (later renamed Dare!) was released in the US by A&M Records and "Don't You Want Me" also reached No.1 there in the summer of 1982. A remix album of Dare entitled Love and Dancing was released under the group name " The League Unlimited Orchestra" (a tribute to Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra), reaching No.3 on the UK album chart. In August 1978 the band recorded a session for John Peel, including a re-worked version of "Being Boiled." [10] The final result of the sessions was the Crash album. The album featured much material written by the Jam and Lewis team, and showcased their Yamaha DX7-led sound. It had a US No.1 single, " Human" (No.8 in the UK), but other singles performed relatively poorly. The album, while making the Top 10 in the UK, was not as popular as previous releases. Disheartened by being sidelined in Minneapolis and with the direction the band had taken, Adrian Wright left the band to work in film. Crash was generally more popular in the US and internationally than in the UK. The band toured in the UK and internationally in 1986 and 1987 to capitalise on their high-profile at this time.

By this time, the band's commercial success and higher profile had caused their first two albums to start selling again. Reproduction charted for the first time in August 1981, eventually peaking at No.34, and Travelogue also recharted and returned to the Top 30 for several weeks. Both albums would eventually achieve Gold status. In October 1981, Virgin released a brand new single, " Open Your Heart", which gave the band another Top 10 hit. The band's new album, Dare, was also released in October 1981 and reached No.1 in the UK. It spent a total of four weeks at the top spot over the 1981/82 period, remaining in the chart for 77 weeks and eventually going triple platinum. a b c d e f g h i j k l Turner, Sean. "Complete guide to The Human League 1977–1980". Blindyouth.co.uk . Retrieved 30 January 2014. The band has been the subject of, and appeared in, various TV documentaries and features, including Channel 4's Made in Sheffield and the BBC's Young Guns: The Bands of the Early 1980s. In June 2007, Sulley and Catherall presented a documentary on Sheffield's pop music history entitled The Nation's Music Cities for VH1. A change in management at EastWest in 1998 saw the cancellation of the band's contract once again. Afterward, the band co-headlined with Culture Club and Howard Jones on VH1's 1980s "Big Rewind" nostalgia tour [29] and made other concert and public appearances throughout 1997–2000. One of the best sounding early 80s electronic albums you can buy that doesn't sound out of date and cheesy.

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In May 1980, the band toured the UK. Philip Adrian Wright was now playing incidental keyboards in addition to his visuals role. It was the last time all four members performed together live. Also in May, the band released their second studio album Travelogue. More commercial-sounding than Reproduction, it peaked at No.16 in the UK, giving the band their first real success. As a result, "Empire State Human" was re-released and the band made their second appearance on Top of the Pops, even though it only reached No.62 in the singles chart. Their renewed success prompted the band to tour again for the first time since 1987, and they conducted a tour of the US and UK in 1995. Subsequent singles " Filling Up with Heaven" and the non-album single " Stay with Me Tonight" also reached the UK Top 40, and a new remix of "Don't You Want Me" was released to capitalise on the band's revitalised profile. This was in the run up to a new "greatest hits" compilation in 1996, but which proved less successful than their first "Greatest Hits" album from 1988.