"(Keep Feeling) Fascination" is a song by 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 composed by

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

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 ...

, 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 ...

(which would be the last song he produced for the band for seven years). The song features vocals from four of the band members, including lead singer

, female co-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 ...

, and a rare vocal role from keyboardist and guitarist

. The single was designated 'Red' on the Human League's short-lived, self-imposed labelling system of 'Blue' for pop songs and 'Red' for dance tracks.

Chart performance and certifications

The single was released in the UK on 15 April 1983 as a non-album

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, and went to number 2 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 incorporated into the band's 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 ...

''. Released in the US a month after the UK release, the single reached number 1 on the US

Hot Dance Music/Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

chart (their first single to do so) and number 8 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 that summer. The EP ''Fascination!'' contained two versions of "(Keep Feeling) Fascination"; the extended mix and an

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

, both different from the single version. These were also the tracks featured on the 12-inch issue in the UK. The 7-inch issue featured a new instrumental track on the B-side, "Total Panic".

Music video

The video for "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" was filmed in a semi-derelict area of

Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the s ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

which was due for demolition and redevelopment as part of the widescale redevelopment of Docklands and East London which took place in the early 1980s. The video begins with an aerial view of an orange "you are here" dot on a street map, which is revealed as an actual giant orange dot on the ground as the camera zooms in. The dot highlights a single house on the apex of two streets, and the camera passes through a set of window curtains to show the band playing the song inside. The entire room is painted grey, as are the band's instruments and microphones. During the song's bridge, two boys are shown kicking a ball around in the street outside. Both the ball and one boy's clothes turn orange when they enter the dot; when he kicks the ball back, it returns to its original colour. As the song ends, the camera retreats from the room and zooms back out into the sky, the view changing back to the original map. Unusually for Human League videos to this point, the band are all seen playing instruments as if it were a live performance.

said in 1983: Both the house (which was First Avenue, London E13 8AP) and surrounding area (Junction of 1st Avenue and 3rd Avenue) encompassed by the orange dot were completely painted orange, including a nearby

Austin 1800 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 18), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 12 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 16), ...

car. The video was conceived and directed by

Steve Barron Steven Barron (born 4 May 1956) is an Irish-British filmmaker. He is best known for directing the music videos for the songs "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, "Summer of '69" and " Run to You" by Bryan Adams, " Money for Nothing" by Dire Stra ...

, who directed most of the Human League's early 1980s music videos. The band's scenes were all filmed in a studio;

said that the house was still occupied by a family during the painting and filming of the external scenes. The house remained orange until being demolished in mid-1983.

Track listings

7-inch vinyl (Virgin - VS 569) # "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" – 3:39 # "Total Panic" – 3:23 12-inch vinyl (Virgin - VS569-12) # "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" (extended version) – 5:00 # "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" (improvisation) – 6:15 Mini-CD (Virgin - CDT24) # "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" (extended 12-inch version) – 5:00 # "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" (improvisation 12-icnh dub) – 6:15 # "Total Panic" – 3:23 #*CD released in 1988.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

In popular culture

* A

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the song recorded by

Rob Crow Robertdale Rulon Crow Jr. (born February 21, 1971) is an American singer and musician from San Diego, California, known for his involvement with the bands Pinback, Heavy Vegetable, Physics, Optiganally Yours and Thingy. He has also led the band ...

(of

Pinback Pinback is an American indie rock band from San Diego, California. The band was formed in 1998 by singers, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Armistead Burwell Smith IV and Rob Crow, who have been its two consistent members. They have rele ...

), features in the 2010 commercial for

Kingsford Charcoal Kingsford is a brand of charcoal briquette used for grilling, along with related products. Established in 1920, the brand is owned by The Clorox Company. Currently, the Kingsford Products Company remains the leading manufacturer of charcoal in t ...

. * A cover version of the song recorded by the

OV7 OV7, formerly known as La Onda Vaselina, is a Mexican Latin pop group formed in 1989, but it was not until the early 1990s that Onda Vaselina would begin to make their impact. La Onda Vaselina was formed with the members being children, but it was ...

group features in the album ''Siete Latidos'' (2001).

References

External links

* http://www.the-black-hit-of-space.dk/keep_feeling_fascination.htm * Available to watch on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqqBs6kkzHE {{DEFAULTSORT:Keep Feeling 1983 singles 1983 songs A&M Records singles The Human League songs Song recordings produced by Martin Rushent Songs written by Jo Callis Songs written by Philip Oakey Virgin Records singles