"Mirror Man" is a 1982 song by the British

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

group

The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

. It was released as a single in the UK on 12 November 1982 and peaked at number two in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. It was written jointly by lead singer

Philip Oakey Philip Oakey (born 2 October 1955) is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer, songwriter, and cofounder of British synth-pop band the Human League. Aside from the Human League, Oakey has enjoyed an e ...

with keyboard players

Jo Callis John William "Jo" Callis (born 2 May 1951) is an English musician and songwriter who played guitar with the Edinburgh based punk rock band The Rezillos (under the name Luke Warm), and post-punk band Boots for Dancing before joining The Human ...

and Ian Burden, and produced by

Martin Rushent Martin Charles Rushent (11 July 1948 – 4 June 2011) was an English record producer, best known for his work with The Human League, The Stranglers and Buzzcocks. Early life Rushent was born on 11 July 1948 in Enfield, Middlesex. His father ...

Background

"Mirror Man" was the first track written and recorded by the Human League after they returned from their World Tour, conducted in the wake of the enormous international success of their album '' Dare''. "Mirror Man" was conceived and written as a celebration of Oakey and

Philip Adrian Wright Philip Adrian Wright (born 30 June 1956) is an English musician, also known as Adrian Wright. Wright had studied film making at Sheffield Art College and was a friend of Philip Oakey. In 1978, he was invited to join the new avant-garde electr ...

's love of

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

records. It has been described as electronic northern soul, with Oakey's main verses delivered in deliberate sentences with emphasis on the last word of each sentence. Vocalists

Susan Ann Sulley Susan Ann Sulley (born 22 March 1963), formerly known as Susanne Sulley and Susan Ann Gayle, is an English singer who is one of the two female vocalists in the synth-pop band The Human League. Born and raised in Sheffield, England, as a schoo ...

and

Joanne Catherall Joanne Catherall (born 18 September 1962) is an English singer who is one of two female vocalists in the English synth-pop band The Human League. In 1980, Catherall was a 17-year-old school girl when she and her best friend Susan Ann Sulley w ...

feature prominently throughout the song but have no lyrics, providing backing vocals of "oohs" and "ahhs". Recording and production was overseen by Martin Rushent, who had produced the band's album ''Dare''. Speculation about who was the titular 'Mirror Man' was ended in 1988 when, during interviews to promote the band's

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

album, Oakey revealed that it was about

Adam Ant Stuart Leslie Goddard, better known as Adam Ant (born 3 November 1954), is an English singer, musician, and actor. He gained popularity as the lead singer of new wave group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring 10 UK top ten ...

. Oakey had become concerned that Ant was starting to believe his own publicity, and was in danger of losing touch with reality. Oakey had avoided revealing this at the time for fear of offending the song's subject. The song was released as a single in the UK in November 1982. It was the first new single the band had released since the phenomenal success of "

Don't You Want Me "Don't You Want Me" is a song by British synthpop 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 ...

" almost a year earlier. The single was tipped by the media to be the band's second

Christmas number-one single In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume ...

in the UK, but peaked just short, at number two. The single did however reach number one in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

earlier that month and also reached the Top 10 in Canada the following February. Its release in the US was delayed until May 1983 where it was incorporated into the stop gap EP ''

Fascination! ''Fascination!'' is an EP released by British synthpop band The Human League in 1983. The EP was issued as a stop-gap release in between the albums '' Dare'' (1981) and '' Hysteria'' (1984). Released in the US and Canada, it was made availab ...

''.

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

, the band's record company in the US, had refused to release it as a single "unless there was to be an album hot on its heels". The track peaked at number 30 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the fall of 1983. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described the song as "a cross between the Four Seasons' chestnut '

Let's Hang On "Let's Hang On!" is a song composed by Bob Crewe, Sandy Linzer, and Denny Randell that was popularized by The Four Seasons in 1965. The single reached the No. 3 position in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart, the group's highest placement ...

,' and the rock-steady rhythms of the mid-'60s

vault."

Promotional video

The promotional video for "Mirror Man" was conceived and directed by DuffyHuman League Greatest Hits Video, 1988, credits and was filmed on location at a deserted theatre in London. The basic premise is that Oakey is a ghost of a performer who has died and now inhabits the theatre where he reveals himself to the band who have come to rehearse. The main scenes are of Oakey in a dressing room singing to a mirror, spliced in with footage of the crash and death of John Cobb (whilst attempting to break the world water speed record on

Loch Ness Loch Ness (; gd, Loch Nis ) is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. It takes its name from the River Ness, which flows from the northern end. Loch Ness is best known for clai ...

on 29 September 1952).

Track listing

;7" (Virgin – VS522) # "Mirror Man" – 3:48 # "You Remind Me of Gold" – 3:36 ;7" (A&M - AM-2587) # "Mirror Man" – 3:48 # "Non-Stop" – 4:15 ;12" (Virgin – VS522-12) # "Mirror Man" – 4:21 # "You Remind Me of Gold" – 3:36 # "You Remind Me of Gold (Instrumental/Dub)" – 3:53

Chart performance

References

{{authority control The Human League songs 1982 singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Songs written by Philip Oakey Songs written by Jo Callis Song recordings produced by Martin Rushent Songs written by Ian Burden 1981 songs Virgin Records singles A&M Records singles