Sound city Liverpool music festival kicked off its 10th anniversary celebration at the new Clarence Dock location with a trip down memory lane in the form of The Human League.
Supported by A Certain Ration and the Art of Noise and with the sun beating down on the site, no one could have asked for a better start to the 4 days that are to follow.
With The Art of Noise, there may not have been much in the way of stage presence but in playing their hits Close to the Edit, Beat Box and Moments in Love amongst others it allowed a nostalgic trip and created the right atmosphere to sit back, relax and watch the sun set in the distance.
Following a one minute silence in tribute to the horrific events at Manchester’s MEN Arena earlier in the week it was the turn of the headline act to make their appearance.
The Human League took to the stage and wasted no time in getting straight into it with their 1981 hit Love Action. Phil Oakey running around from one end of the stage to the other to get the crowd roused whilst Jo Catherall and Susan Sulley provided those famous backing vocals.
Tonights set was a mixture of tunes from the DARE album and Hysteria.
With tracks like Heart Like A Wheel and Sound of the Crowd the crowd were dancing, swaying and singing along and when it got to Louise, Mirror Man and Fascination they were truly bouncing around with the band but it is obviously Don’t You Want Me? that really gets them chanting along with Phil and the girls.
The encore consisted of Being Boiled and Together in Electric Dreams. With a quick costume change for Phil and Jo and Susan re-appearing in their Moulin Rouge outfits.
The Human League, after 40 years, still have what it takes to keep an audience energized and transfixed and all their songs stand up to the test of time quite easily.
No one could have asked for a better start to what is shaping up to be a memorable 10th anniversary. And with the likes of John Cale, Metronomy and The Kooks to come, to name just the headliners, its gonna be a long but amazing 4 days