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 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 ...

. In 1978, he was invited to join the new avant-garde electronic band

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' ...

which consisted of Oakey,

Martyn Ware Martyn Ware (born 19 May 1956) is an English musician, composer, arranger, record producer, and music programmer. As a founding member of both the Human League and Heaven 17, Ware was partly responsible for hit songs such as "Being Boiled" and " ...

and

Ian Craig Marsh Ian Craig Marsh (born 11 November 1956) is an English musician and composer. He was a founding member of the electronic band the Human League, writing and playing on their first two albums and several singles, until leaving in 1980 to form the ...

. Then a non-musician, Wright was appointed as 'Director of Visuals' whose job was to provide lighting and slideshows to accompany the Human League's live concerts. When the Human League split in October 1980, Wright sided with Oakey, while Ware and Marsh left to form

Heaven 17 Heaven 17 are an English new wave and synth-pop band that formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of Martyn Ware (keyboards) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards) (both previously of the Human League), an ...

- as such, he became a musician in his own necessity, and he quickly learned keyboards. He and Oakey co-wrote some of the new Human League's songs including the number one hit "

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 ...

", plus tracks such as "Darkness", "I Am the Law" and "

The Things That Dreams Are Made Of "The Things That Dreams Are Made Of" is a song by the English synthpop group The Human League. It was originally recorded for the band's 1981 album '' Dare'', but was remixed, remastered and released as a dance EP single in 2008. It reached nu ...

" for the album ''

Dare Dare may refer to: Places * Dare, East Timor, a city * Darè, Italy, a commune * Dare County, North Carolina, United States * Dare, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community Name * Dare (name), a list of people and fictional c ...

''. Wright is also credited with the iconic album sleeve design for ''Dare''. He remained a key member of the Human League during the early 1980s both as a composer and keyboard player. He left the band in 1986 after becoming disillusioned with the musical direction Oakey was taking and feeling marginalized by their new producers during the recording of the album ''

Crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch su ...

'' in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. After The Human League, he worked in film before moving into design. In 1999, he participated in the BBC documentary on The Human League, part of the ''Young Guns Go For It'' series.

Present day

Wright has worked with his wife, fashion-turned-furniture designer Tracey Boyd. The couple live in

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area. Chelsea histori ...

Awards

* 1982

BRIT Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

(as member of The Human League) - 'Best British Breakthrough Act'

References

1956 births Living people Musicians from Wakefield English keyboardists English new wave musicians English songwriters The Human League members {{England-musician-stub