''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 music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...

band

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

. The EP was issued in the UK by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

in April 1980, a month before the release of the band's second album '' Travelogue''. 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, who had also been working with new wave bands such as Simple Minds and XTC. 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", 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), better known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer who achieved fame and success during the 1970s and 1980s. His career ended after he was convicted of downloading child pornography i ...

's "

Rock and Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and 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 African ...

" (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, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...

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 th ...

and Martyn Ware under the name of The Future, of which Adi Newton 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 television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'' 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 (1250 AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Ware, Massachusetts, United States, the station serves the Springfield radio market. The station is currently owned by Success Signal Broadcasting ...

Marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

and

Wright Wright is an occupational surname originating in England and Scotland. 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 ...

. 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 We ...

'', named "

Rock 'n' Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and 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 African ...

/ Nightclubbing" medley an "infectious tongue-in-cheek mix", "best commercial cut" and predicted a 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# " Being Boiled" (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 Cliff Richard, the Beatles, David McWilliams (" Days of Pearly Spe ...

) ( Jim Osterberg,

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

) 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) 5:33 # "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