Digital Campfire presents ‘Big Boost Mondays’ – Martyn Ware – Reproduction & Travelogue
Martyn Ware, Founder of Heaven 17 & The Human League joined us for a very special Big Boost Mondays – our first ever Digital Campfire! Martyn shared fascinating stories from his illustrious career, informing us with invaluable industry insight – joined by an online audience of over 200 electronic synth music fans. During the live talk, Martyn guided us through 5 tracks from The Human League’s ‘Reproduction’ and ‘Travelogue’ albums as we delved through the photography and video archives.
Don’t worry if you missed it, we’ve put together all the material and content from the discussion, along with real audience responses and questions. Explore this page to follow the journey of one of the U.K’s most prominent figures in synth music!
'Being Boiled' - The Human League
Being Boiled is a song written and recorded by The Human League. It was released as the group’s first single on the Fast Product label in 1978. The song was re-recorded in early 1980 and included on the Travelogue album and Holiday ’80 EP.
'Circus of Death' - The Human League
Circus of Death is a song written by Oakey/Marsh/Ware and recorded by The Human League. It was originally released as their first 7″ single together with Being Boiled on the Fast Product label in 1978.
'Black hit of space' - The Human League
The Black Hit of Space is a song written by The Human League and included as the opening track on their 1980 album Travelogue. It was recorded at Monumental Studios, Sheffield and produced and engineered by The Human League and Richard Manwaring.
'Empire State Human' - The Human League
Empire State Human is a song written by Oakey/Marsh/Ware and recorded by The Human League. It was released as a single in 1979, re-issued in 1980 and was included on the group’s debut album Reproduction.
'Rock 'N' Roll / Night Clubbing' - The Human League
Rock ‘N’ Roll / Night Clubbing was written in 1980. The Human League performed this track live on Top of the Pops in 1980.
SUPPORTING WEBSITES
For more ‘The Human League’, ‘Heaven 17’ and Martyn Ware content, please check out the links below. From fan pages to dedicated band sites, join the growing online communities celebrating electronic synth music.
Audience comments:
Campfire // Martyn Ware Podcast
Listen to Radio ditto’s Part 1 of ‘Campfire // Martyn Ware’ podcast. In this episode, had an honest chat with Martyn about his journey from humble beginnings in Sheffield, dropping out of school to help support his family, and how his downtime between working night shifts gave him the opportunity to experiment with electronic music – creating the track ‘Being Boiled’ which sold 5000 copies by word of mouth and gained airtime from John Peel, attracting the attention of Virgin Records and EMI. We asked how Martyn dealt with the transition of art to business and what happens to creativity when commercials come into play. Martyn also shares how he wrote, recorded and produced The Human League’s first two albums ‘Travelogue’ and ‘Reproduction’, along with tensions that arise within a creative enterprise, and how to bounce back with vigour.
Martyn Ware
