''Holiday '80'' is an EP released by the original line-up of 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 ...

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' ...

. The EP was issued in the UK by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

in April 1980, a month before the release of the band's second album ''

Travelogue Travelogue may refer to: Genres * Travel literature, a record of the experiences of an author travelling * Travel documentary A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or t ...

''. The EP peaked at no. 56 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1980, but was later reissued and returned to the chart, peaking at no. 46 in February 1982. The recordings were produced with

John Leckie John William Leckie (born 23 October 1949) is an English record producer and recording engineer. His production credits include Magazine's ''Real Life'' (1978), XTC's ''White Music'' (1978) and Dukes of Stratosphear's '' 25 O'Clock'' (1985), t ...

, who had also been working with new wave bands such as

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. They have released a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United St ...

and

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...

. The principal song on the EP was "Marianne", however Virgin felt the band's preferred version of the track was not strong enough and refused to release it. The EP also featured a new, more elaborate recording of the band's debut single "

Being Boiled "Being Boiled" is the debut single by the British synthpop band the Human League. Composed by Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, with lyrics by Philip Oakey, it has been released several times since 1978, finally becoming a UK top ten hit in 1982. ...

", which would subsequently be included on the ''Travelogue'' album. The last track was a medley consisting of a cover of

Gary Glitter Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), best known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He achieved success during the glam rock era of the 1970s and 1980s, and his career ended after he w ...

's "

Rock and Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

" (titled "Rock 'n' Roll" in the track listings) seguéing into the

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

track " Nightclubbing". The Japanese release also features the song "Toyota City", which also appears on ''Travelogue''. The track "Dancevision" is a short instrumental track originally recorded by

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 ...

and

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 ...

under the name of The Future, of which

Adi Newton Clock DVA are a musical group from Sheffield, England, whose style has touched on industrial music, industrial, post-punk, and Electronic body music, EBM. They formed in 1978 by Adolphus "Adi" Newton and Steven "Judd" Turner. Along with contemp ...

had also been a part. Newton released a longer version of "Dancevision" in 2015 as part of his career spanning ''Horology 2'' compilation, which also included several other tracks recorded as The Future. The 2002 CD release '' The Golden Hour of the Future'' did not include "Dancevision". The UK release of ''Holiday '80'' was as a double 7" (containing four tracks) and two single 7" versions (both containing three tracks each), all with the same catalogue number, and a 12" EP (containing four tracks). The Japanese release was a 12" with different tracks to the UK 12". The band performed "Rock 'n' Roll" on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' on 8 May 1980, even though the EP had not entered the Top 40. Although the EP would chart no higher than 56 after their appearance, the band garnered mainstream attention and their album ''Travelogue'' would enter the UK Top 20, peaking at no. 16, following the performance. This would be the band's only ''Top of the Pops'' appearance featuring the original line-up of Oakey,

Ware Ware may refer to: People * Ware (surname) * William of Ware (), English Franciscan theologian Places Canada *Fort Ware, British Columbia United Kingdom *Ware, Devon *Ware, Hertfordshire *Ware, Kent United States * Ware, Elmore County, Al ...

Marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

and

Wright Wright is an occupational surname originating in England. The term 'Wright' comes from the circa 700 AD Old English word 'wryhta' or 'wyrhta', meaning worker or shaper of wood. Later it became any occupational worker (for example, a shipwright is ...

. The performance was officially issued for the first time on the DVD of the 2016 anthology by The Human League, ''A Very British Synthesizer Band''. The anthology CD also features "Nightclubbing" as a standalone song without being immediately preceded by "Rock 'n' Roll".

Critical reception

On 26 April 1980 Tony Jasper, reviewer of British music newspaper ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'', named "

Rock 'n' Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

/ Nightclubbing" medley as "infectious tongue-in-cheek mix", "best commercial cut" and predicted debut chart entrance "for this clever Sheffield band".

Track listing

UK 2×7" Gatefold (Virgin SV-105) # "Marianne" (Marsh/Oakey/Ware) 3:17 # "Dancevision" (Marsh/Ware) 2:21 erformed by The Future# "

" (Album Version) (Marsh/Oakey/Ware) 4:22 # "

/ Nightclubbing" (

Mike Leander Michael George Farr (30 June 1941 – 18 April 1996), known professionally as Mike Leander, was a British arranger, songwriter and record producer. He worked variously with The Beatles, David McWilliams ("Days of Pearly Spencer"), Gary Gli ...

) ( Jim Osterberg,

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

) 6:22 UK 12" (Virgin SV-105-12) # "Marianne" (Marsh/Oakey/Ware) 3:17 # "Being Boiled" (Album Version) (Marsh/Oakey/Ware) 4:22 # "Dancevision" (Marsh/Ware) 2:21 erformed by The Future# "Rock 'n' Roll / Nightclubbing" (Glitter, Leander) (Osterberg, Bowie) 6:22 UK 7" ''Holiday '80: Being Boiled'' (Virgin SV-105) # Being Boiled (Oakey) 4:10 # Marianne (Oakey) 3:14 # Dancevision (Marsh/Ware) 2:15 UK 7" ''Holiday '80: Rock 'n' Roll'' (Virgin SV-105) # Rock 'n' Roll (Glitter, Leander) 3:15 # Being Boiled (Oakey) 4:10 # Dancevision (Marsh/Ware) 2:15 Japanese 12" (Virgin VIP-5906) # "Marianne" (Marsh/Oakey/Ware) 3:17 # "Dancevision" (Marsh/Ware) 2:21 erformed by The Future# "Toyota City" (Marsh/Ware) 3:22 # "Rock 'n' Roll / Nightclubbing" (Glitter, Leander) (Osterberg, Bowie) 6:22 # "Being Boiled" (Album Version) (Marsh/Oakey/Ware) 4:22

Charts

References

External links

THE HUMAN LEAGUE
{{Authority control 1980 EPs Albums produced by John Leckie The Human League EPs Virgin Records EPs