In 1994, EastWest Records (a subsidiary of Time Warner) showed interest in the band's demos and the material rejected by Virgin. They signed the band and paired them with producer Ian Stanley (formerly of Tears for Fears). EastWest financed expensive music videos and heavily promoted their releases. The first release was on Boxing Day 1994 and was the single " Tell Me When", which gave the band their first Top 10 hit since 1986's "Human". It also topped the UK airplay charts for several weeks. The accompanying album, Octopus, returned the band to the UK Top 10 and later achieved a gold disc. Oakey has stated that upon discovering the girls were only teenagers and also best friends, he invited them both so they could look after each other on the tour for safety. He has also said that he thought having two women as vocalists and dancers would also add glamour to the band. Because of the girls' ages, Oakey and Wright later had to visit Sulley and Catherall's respective parents to obtain permission for the girls to go on the tour. Their parents let them join the band under the provision that Oakey would keep them safe. Sulley also reported that both her father and Catherall's went to the girls' school and convinced them that the experience of touring could be highly educational because of the travelling involved. [16] Heaven 17's Martyn Ware Talks 'Electronically Yours' Podcast and 'Penthouse and Pavement' 40th Anniversary". Forbes.

Using Future material, the Human League released a demo tape to record companies under their new name. The tape contained versions of "Being Boiled", "Toyota City" and "Circus of Death". Ware's friend Paul Bower of Sheffield new-wave band "2.3", who had just recorded a single for Bob Last's Edinburgh-based independent label Fast Product, took their demo to Last and he signed the band. Ankeny, Jason. "The Human League Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved 24 January 2017. Synth pop's first international superstars, the Human League were among the earliest and most innovative bands to break into the pop mainstream on a wave of synthesizers and electronic rhythms, their marriage of infectious melodies and state-of-the-art technology proving enormously influential on countless acts following in their wake.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. One of the best sounding early 80s electronic albums you can buy that doesn't sound out of date and cheesy. Whereas Reproduction was more or less the same, travelogue plays itself with the same instrumental sets and patch notes used on reproduction, but with more of a focus on commercial accessibility than their debut ever maintained. While this is true it is still far more different from what mainstream listeners would experience with the new lineup's next album, which by comparison doesn't sound as good or doesn't hold up as well.

The Human League / A Very British Synthesizer Group: four-disc anthology". superdeluxeedition.com. 14 September 2016 . Retrieved 22 November 2016. 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]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. In addition to Sulley and Catherall, Oakey employed professional musician Ian Burden from Sheffield synth band Graph as a session keyboard player for the tour to cover for the keyboards of the now departed Ware and Marsh. [ citation needed]

In 2016, the band performed their 'A Very British Synthesizer Group' European and UK tour to accompany the release of the multi-disc anthology of the same name. [43] In winter 2018, they undertook an extensive 'Red Tour' in Europe and the UK.

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In 2003, a second single from Secrets, " Love Me Madly?", was released independently as a private venture by Nukove, a small independent label especially set up to release Human League material, but it did not have funds for promotion and the single did not chart. [33] Also in 2003, Virgin records released The Very Best of The Human League, a DVD of most of their previously recorded music videos. The DVD sold well in the UK and US and was accompanied by a compilation album of the same name. Although the subject of retirement is often brought up in interviews, Oakey, Sulley and Catherall have all stated that they still enjoy performing and intend to carry on for "as long as they are filling concerts and people want to see them". Sulley has joked that she "has to carry on because she doesn't know how to do anything else". [39] 2010s: Credo and further tours [ edit ] At Paradiso, Netherlands, in April 2011. From left to right: Joanne Catherall, Phil Oakey and Neil Sutton. In November 1982, the Motown influenced electropop single " Mirror Man" reached No.2 in the UK chart, just missing another Christmas No.1, which was taken by a novelty record by Renée and Renato. [18] For Travelogue, the band worked with a new coproducer, Richard Manwaring, who went on to produce OMD's platinum-selling Architecture & Morality the following year.