The Human League’s Oakey’s not your average pop star

The Human League, 80s synth pop masters are coming to Mzansi in May. Front man Phil Oakey had a chat with us.

Here’s a cliché: The Human League was one of the Eighties’ most iconic pop bands with a string of hits that include The Lebanon, Human, Don’t You Want Me, and so much more.

Now, here’s a not-so-much of’ typecasting. You’d expect the front man of one of the most successful bands of the era, still touring, to have a bit of an ego, to sound tired of the umpteenth interview of the day, and to not really care about what fans think or feel.

But Phil Oakey, frontman of the Human League, is different. He’s a somewhat self-deprecating, effervescent, and ridiculously funny and interesting human being.

He may be, as he said, well past retirement age, but he cuts a fine figure, and this man can still bring down the house.

The Human League will be here in May for performances in Johannesburg and Cape Town, and will be joined by special guests Blancmange at the Now Now Festival at Marks Park in Johannesburg on Saturday, 9 May, and in Cape Town on Tuesday, 12 May 2026, at the Grand Arena in Grand West.

Oakey still loves performing. Picture: Facebook

Human League heads to Mzansi

Oakley will be travelling from his home in Sheffield, Yorkshire. That’s in England.

“I live in a very ordinary town. I can’t really be a pop star at home. Sheffield is a working town in Yorkshire. People are very down-to-earth. So, if I walk around wearing sequins in Sheffield, I will get a lot of trouble. But in my mind, I’m a pop star,” he said. And that part of his persona resurfaces whenever the band’s out and about, performing.

Oakey still gets a bit of stage fright before he goes on stage.

“I am a very shy person, and after all these years, there’s still a similar amount of fear before a show,” he shared. “But we’ve got a really great band now, and I rehearse all the time, so I know I’m probably going to get the words right,” he audibly grinned.

When audiences attend a Human League show, he added, all he really wants is for them to have a good time.

“We just go on stage and try to entertain the audience,” he said. “We try and cover the hits and do the songs justice… which is quite hard when you’re as amateurish as we are.”

That’s his humour, and the band’s shows remain exactly what audiences expect: the classics, the energy, and the wonderfully funny and talented Oakey.

Watch a classic Human League music video:

‘We are a pop band’

“I became a touring musician in about 1977, and I don’t really know how to stop.”

That simple explanation might also be the secret behind the longevity of one of the defining synth-pop acts of the 1980s. While many bands from that era have reinvented themselves, chased trends or tried to distance themselves from their pop roots, Oakey said The Human League have always taken a simpler approach.

“We are a pop band, and we don’t make excuses for who or what we are or try to be something other than what we are,” he said.

The Human League emerged during a fertile period for British music, alongside bands like Tears for Fears, Simple Minds and Prefab Sprout. Their sound helped define the electronic pop movement of the era.

Oakey said that despite massive changes in music, the spirit of the Eighties and early Nineties’ music never really disappeared.

“I think you could even say that Billie Eilish and The Weekend carry some of that,” he said. “Very technological, very programmed. It’s not the same, but everything changes, doesn’t it?”

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But, he said, pop music that simply sounds good is always great.

“I love music for being abstract,” Oakey said. “You just go; I like that tune. I like the sound of that voice.” In his personal playlist, he even admitted to liking somewhat willy songs like Disco Duck and even the famously nonsensical Mah Nà Mah Nà.

“I don’t hold it against anyone doing a stupid record.”

Still kicking pop-butt, The Human League. Picture: Facebook

When he’s not touring, Oakey keeps busy with various creative projects. Music still occupies much of his time.

“I write music all the time that never quite gets finished,” he said.

Lately, he’s also been experimenting with more traditional crafts.

“I do a bit of woodwork occasionally,” he said. “And I’ve just bought some oil paints, so I’m going to have a go at painting.” The only problem, he admitted, is deciding what to paint. “That’s the hardest bit,” he said. “With music, you just put some notes together. Nobody says, ‘Hang on, that doesn’t look like a tree.’ When you paint, you must paint the tree.”

Oakey’s still writing music

Even after decades of performing, Oakey still enjoys moments when the audience doesn’t quite know what’s coming. One of his favourite live moments includes performing the band’s darker, more driving material.

“We do a song called Seconds,” he said. “It’s very driving, he said, “It often surprises fans who expect something softer.

“People basically think we’re a slightly not-as-good ABBA that uses synthesisers,” Oakey joked again.

Instead, the band often blends Seconds into The Lebanon, creating a powerful live sequence that shape shifts from electronic pulse to guitar-driven energy.

“I love that moment in the show,” he said.

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