"Don't You Want Me" is a song by British synth-pop group the Human League (credited on the cover as the Human League 100). It was released on 27 November 1981 as the fourth single from their third studio album, Dare (1981). The band's best known and most commercially successful song, it was the best selling UK single of 1981,[5] that year's Christmas number one, and has since sold over 1,560,000 copies in the UK, making it the 23rd-most successful single in UK Singles Chart history.[6] It topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the US on 3 July 1982, where it stayed for three weeks.
In November 1983, Rolling Stone named it the "breakthrough song" of the Second British Invasion of the US.[7] In 2015, the song was voted by the British public as the nation's seventh-favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.[8] And in 2022, Rolling Stone ranked it as one of the "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time".[9]
The lyrics were inspired after lead singer Philip Oakey read a photo-story in a teen-girl's magazine. Though the song had been conceived and recorded in the studio as a male solo, Oakey was inspired by the film A Star Is Born and decided to turn the song into a conflicting duet with one of the band's two teenage female vocalists. Susan Ann Sulley was then asked to take on the role. Until then, she and the other female vocalist, Joanne Catherall, had only been assigned backing vocals; Sulley says she was chosen only through "luck of the draw".[10]
Musicians Jo Callis and Philip Adrian Wright created a synthesizer score to accompany the lyrics that was much harsher than the version that was actually released. Initial versions of the song were recorded but Virgin Records-appointed producer Martin Rushent was unhappy with them. He and Callis remixed the track, giving it a softer, and in Oakey's opinion, "poppy" sound. Oakey hated the new version and thought it would be the weakest track on Dare, resulting in one of his infamous rows with Rushent.[11] Oakey disliked it so much that it was relegated to the last track on side two of the album.
Before the release of Dare, three of its tracks—"The Sound of the Crowd", "Love Action (I Believe in Love)", and "Open Your Heart"—had already been released as successful singles. With a hit album and three hit singles in a row, Virgin's chief executive Simon Draper decided to release one more single from the album before the end of 1981. His choice, "Don't You Want Me", instantly caused a row with Oakey, who did not want another single to be released because he was convinced that "the public were now sick of hearing" the band and the choice of the "poor quality filler track" would almost certainly be a disaster, wrecking the group's new-found popularity. The band felt the track was "our sort of Des O'Connor song."[12] Virgin were adamant that a fourth single would be released and Oakey finally agreed on the condition that a large colour poster accompany the 7" single, because he felt fans would "feel ripped off" by the 'substandard' single alone.[13]
The Human League often added cryptic references to their productions and the record sleeve of "Don't You Want Me" featured the suffix of "100". This was a reference to The 100 Club, a restaurant/bar in Sheffield.[14]
In a contemporary review, Record World praised its "throbbing synthesized beat and sharp hook."[15]
Today, the song is widely considered a classic of its era. In a retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, senior editor for AllMusic, described the song as "a devastating chronicle of a frayed romance wrapped in the greatest pop hooks and production of its year."[16] Fellow new wave musician Graham Parker praised the song, saying, "I just love that catchy chorus."[17] Oakey still describes it as overrated, but acknowledges his initial dismissal was misguided and claims pride in the track.[citation needed] Oakey has also pointed out another misconception: that it is not a love song, but "a nasty song about sexual power politics."[18][better source needed]
"Don't You Want Me" was released in the UK on 27 November 1981. The B-side was "Seconds", another track lifted straight from the Dare album. As with previous singles, a 12" version was also issued featuring the original version of "Don't You Want Me" and "Seconds" on the A-side and an "extended dance mix" lasting seven and a half minutes on the B-side. This mix is also featured on the Love and Dancing album that was released under the name of the League Unlimited Orchestra in 1982.
To the amazement of the band (and especially Oakey),[19] the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number nine and rose to number one the following week, remaining there over the Christmas period for five weeks. It ultimately became the biggest-selling single to be released in 1981, and the fifth biggest-selling single of the entire decade. Its success was repeated six months later in the US, with "Don't You Want Me" peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. Billboard magazine ranked it as the sixth-biggest hit of 1982. The single was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) the same year for sales of a million copies. "Don't You Want Me" is notable as the first song featuring the revolutionary Linn LM-1 drum machine to hit number one on the UK chart and was also the first LM-1 track to top the Billboard Hot 100.[citation needed]
After the band scored a number of hits for Warner's eastwest label, the song was remixed and issued by Virgin as a CD,[20]cassette[21] and 12-inch single on 16 October 1995.[22] This version featured new remixes by Hooj Choons' Red Jerry and German Eurodance duo Snap!, and would peak at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart.[23] The release coincided with the issue of the group's second Greatest Hits compilation album shortly afterwards (which featured the Snap 7 inch remix).
As of November 2012, "Don't You Want Me" was the 23rd best-selling single in the UK, with 1.55 million copies sold.[6] On 23 March 2014, the song re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number 19 and debuted at number one on the Scottish Singles Chart thanks to a social media campaign by fans of Aberdeen Football Club.[24] In 2017 it was reported to be the 43rd most successful single in UK chart history with sales and streams combined.[25]
In 2021, Viacom International Studios put into production a music chart programme called The 80s Greatest Hits 1980-1989 for Channel 5[26] and asked the Official Charts Company (OCC) to provide the countdowns for the series, based on the best-selling singles for each year. When the 1981 episode was broadcast (now under the title of Britain's Favourite 80's Songs)[27] "Don't You Want Me" was placed at number one,[5] with the OCC now confirming it was the official best-selling song of 1981 with an estimated 1.15 million sales (previously the title had gone to "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell, which now has been put in second place with 1.05 million sales).
In 1981, record company Virgin were becoming aware that the music video was evolving into an important marketing tool, with MTV being launched that year. Virgin commissioned a promotional video for "Don't You Want Me".
The video for the song was filmed near Slough, Berkshire, during November 1981. The video's theme is the filming and editing of a murder-mystery film, featuring the band members as characters and production staff. Because it is a "making-of" video, both crew and camera apparatus appear throughout. The video was conceived and directed by the Irish filmmaker Steve Barron, and has at its core the interaction between a successful actress (also an assistant editor) played by Susan Ann Sulley walking out on "film director" Philip Oakey on a film set.
In a 1995 interview, Catherall mentioned that the car Callis was driving had to be pushed into shot as he could not drive at the time, to which Sulley added "he still can't!"[28]
In 1989, English pop singer Mandy covered this song under the title of "Don't You Want Me Baby". Released as a standalone single after her only album, Mandy (1988), it was also Smith's final single and became her only single to hit the UK top 75, peaking at No. 59. The B-side, "If It Makes You Feel Good", featured on the album. The song was included as a bonus track on the 2009 reissue of her album.
British band the Farm released a cover of "Don't You Want Me" in October 1992 that reached number 18 on the UK Singles Charts making it their third-highest-chart single after 1990's "All Together Now" and "Groovy Train". It was originally recorded for the NME charity album Ruby Trax.
An uncredited female singer sings lead vocal on the second verse, as sung by Susanne Sulley in the original version. The accompanying music video features former Manchester United footballer George Best mouthing along to the chorus.[69]
"Don't You Want Me" was recorded as a Eurodance song by Swedish band Alcazar, released internationally in 2002. The song was included in the European version of their debut album, Casino (2000) together with a few others. It was recorded in Stockholm at first, but when the band wanted it for a new pan-European single, a new version was made.
The single was released in Australia as a follow-up to the successful single "Crying at the Discoteque". The white 12-inch was released in Europe and distributed to DJs to get maximum airplay at the disco arenas.
"Don't You Want Me" is Alcazar's biggest hit in the United States with 15 weeks on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, peaking at #30.
The accompanying music video for "Don't You Want Me" was filmed at Filmhuset in Stockholm, and was directed by Jesper Ganslandt. The video takes place in "Circus Alcazar" and is filled with horses, ducks, an evil parrot, acrobats, the Alcazar ballet (including a dog in a pink ballerina dress) and Annikafiore's boyfriend juggling with fire in the background. The video shoot took almost 23 hours.
^"Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 4 June 2022. Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "Human League" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca".
