The Human League’s Philip Oakey Talks About The Synthpop Group’s First U.S. Tour In 15 Years

BusinessHollywood & EntertainmentThe Human League’s Philip Oakey Talks About The Synthpop Group’s First U.S. Tour In 15 YearsByDavid Chiu,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. David Chiu is a freelance music writer based in New York.Follow AuthorJun 05, 2026, 07:30am EDTThe Human League: (L-R) Susan Ann Sulley, Philip Oakey and Joanne Catherallcredit: PerouOver the years, the legendary British synthpop act the Human League would occasionally appear at a festival gig in the U.S., but they hadn’t played a string of dates in that territory for 15 years. “Everything like that gets harder and harder as the years go by, it seems," explains Philip Oakey, the group’s lead singer and co-founder, about touring the States. "I think there's less money in the music industry and you're constantly trying to find a way of financing these things.”But that has changed now as the Human League — which consists of Oakey and longtime backing and lead singers Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley — are headlining the Generations tour in the U.S., with fellow acts Soft Cell and Alison Moyet. The three acts kicked off their joint tour this past Tuesday in San Diego.“Towards the late '80s and the early '90s, I don’t think we did anything [regarding live performances],” Oakey recalls. “Then we got the chance to do a tour supporting Culture Club in '98…That enabled us to kick off playing live again.”To a fan of ‘80s British pop music, this triple bill is a dream come true. Both the Human League and Soft Cell had breakthrough successes with their hits “Don’t You Want Me” and “Tainted Love” in 1981, respectively; Moyet emerged as one half of the synthpop duo Yazoo with former Depeche Mode keyboardist Vince Clarke that same year. Oakey says that the League has previously crossed paths with Soft Cell and their singer, Marc Almond, a few times. The Human League.credit: PerouMORE FOR YOU“There’s quite a circuit of sor...