Joanne Catherall

In 1997 Joanne Catherall became a mother, giving birth to a son named Elliot. She is the only member of the trio to have children.

The Human League found a new record label, in the form of EastWest records. Using material rejected by Virgin, and new material written by Oakey and Sutton, the band released a new studio album in 1995. Propelled by some radio friendly singles, Octopus returned the band to the UK top 10 for the first time since the 1980s. As well as performing on UK TV music shows, various talk shows were keen to interview the band. On one occasion, during an interview of ITV's This Morning, host Richard Madeley made the mistake of telling viewers that the band were making an "80s comeback", prompting an irritated Catherall to reply: "We've never stopped working, we've never been away!"

Catherall and bandmate Philip Oakey began a relationship during this time. At one time the British media erroneously reported that Catherall and Oakey had married, a story which is occasionally still repeated. Catherall and Oakey split amicably in 1990, remaining friends and colleagues. Catherall subsequently married in 1995.

The Human League reconvened for their 1990 album Romantic?, which Catherall contributed vocals for, but the album was not well received, only charting barely and receiving little critical support. By now The Human League consisted solely of Catherall, Philip Oakey and Susan Sulley with supporting musicians.

With Oakey working on side projects, rumours that the band had split were perpetuated in the press. However, in 1986, Virgin Records paired The Human League with US production team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The band decamped to the USA to record. Creative tensions disturbed their time there, both in the band and with the production team. Sulley and Catherall, who had fortunately absolved themselves of any creative responsibility in 1981, were exempted from the bickering but were homesick and unhappy in the US. Creatively, the US recordings ended in acrimony but not complete disaster.

The single "Human" was released in September 1986. A ballad about separation and infidelity, it gave Catherall her most prominent vocals in any Human League single. The promo video was typical of mid-1980s gloss and the single peaked at number one in the US and number eight in the UK. The subsequent album, Crash, emerged from the Jam and Lewis sessions, and reached number seven in the UK.

Following this, however, the recording sessions for their next album became fraught with tension and producer Martin Rushent departed from the project, as did later producer Chris Thomas. They were replaced by producer Hugh Padgham and the subsequent album Hysteria was released in mid-1984, three years after Dare. Although it entered the charts at number three, the album failed to match the success of Dare and quickly dropped out of the charts.

In 1982, riding on the success of Dare, The Human League embarked on an international tour. On completion of the tour, the group returned to the recording studios to start on the follow-up to Dare. In November 1982, the Motown-inspired single "Mirror Man" hit the UK charts, peaking at number two. Six months later, the group released the single, "(Keep Feeling) Fascination". Aided by a promo video, this single also made number two in the UK and number eight in the US.

After the tour, Catherall and Sulley returned to school full-time while Wright and Oakey set about composing and songwriting. The new Human League of Sulley, Oakey, Catherall and Wright started to gain ground in early 1981 with the release of the single "Boys and Girls." Even though it charted at number 48, it was the most successful single at that point. The girls were not used in the production as the song was written without any female backing and they were busy with school. They later featured on the record sleeve and in promotional photo shoots.

In October 1981 The Human League released their next studio album Dare. By now The Human League were in their ascendancy and were becoming extremely popular with the mainstream British public.

In mid November 1981, with the Human League fully in the public eye, and sales of the album Dare soaring, Virgin records decided to release one more single from Dare. Oakey had always disliked the track "Don't You Want Me". Virgin Records had more faith; they commissioned an expensive and elaborate promo video to accompany the release of "Don't You Want Me". Shot on 35mm film rather than videotape, the promo was filmed in late November 1981 in Slough, Berkshire. The scenario was "a movie shoot for a murder mystery film", and is lyrically a conflicting duet between Oakey and Sulley with backing vocals from Catherall.

Premiering in December 1981, the video was played on British television frequently. The memorable opening scene of the video has Catherall, in a fur coat standing on a rural road corner. The night is freezing, she is surrounded by swirling mist and accompanied by the deep opening synth chords. The effects of the music and emotional lyrics, as well as the cinematic production values, helped propel "Don't You Want Me" to the UK number one spot.

1981 also saw the start up of cable TV channel MTV in the US. However, the channel was limited in that music videos were a new medium, and there were relatively few available. The syndication by Virgin Records of "Don't You Want Me"'s promo to MTV, and ensuing airplay, brought The Human League to US audiences. The subsequent interest prompted Virgin Records to release Dare in the US as "Don't You Want Me" rose in the US charts to number one, aided by the promo video.

In October 1980, Catherall was an unknown 18-year-old school girl when she and her best friend Susan Ann Sulley were discovered in Sheffield's Crazy Daisy Nightclub by Philip Oakey, the lead singer and a founding member of the Human League. The pair then joined Oakey in forming a new and subsequently commercially successful band line-up.

On return to Sheffield in December 1980 both girls were made full-time members of The Human League.

By this time, the music video had become highly popular for broadcast TV. Spurred on by pre-filmed promos and live TV appearances, the band started to refine their personal appearance styles for a commercial audience. Catherall adopted the striking black kohl eye make-up and bright red lipstick which became her trademark early 1980s style.

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.