Musical Monday - Don't You Want Me by the Human League

#1 on the Billboard Hot 100: July 3, 1982 through July 17, 1982.

#1 on the Cash Box Top 100: June 26, 1982 through July 17, 1982.

#1 on the U.K. Chart: December 12, 1981 through January 9, 1982.

This song probably should also be known as "how to have a number one hit in seven countries while only being able to sing in a monotone".

On a more serious note, with Don't You Want Me, the Human League helped set the direction of music and music videos in the 1980s. While there had been several "1980s"-ish" songs prior to this one, this may be the first song to top the charts in either the U.S. or the U.K. that was wholly and fully a product of the decade. This song simply couldn't have come to the cultural forefront in any earlier period, and it represented the leading edge of numerous artists who shared the same kind of sound that this represented.

More so than the song itself, the music video helped set the tone for the 1980s. MTV had debuted in August of 1981, and video was becoming increasingly important in pop music. While most music videos being produced were basically some variation of the band playing in front of a camera, the video for Don't You Want Me alluded to a larger story, taking on the trappings of a film noir murder mystery, presenting a version of the song that gave only a passing nod to the fact that the people appearing in it were musicians and not actors. This, coupled with the androgynous, stylized look that would dominate certain strains of popular music for the next couple of years, more or less dictated what MTV would look like in its formative stages.

All of this probably obscures the fact that the song lyrics are really quite creepy. Staged as an exchange between two ex-lovers, the male half of the song comes off as controlling and abusive, even not so subtly negging the female character by pointing out the relatively humble job she held before he met her. The only thing I can think when I listen to the song is to mentally shout "RUN!" to the female character in the song, because she needs to get as far away from her ex-boyfriend as possible.

Previous Musical Monday: Begin the Beguine (Volver a Empezar) by Julio Iglesias

Subsequent Musical Monday: The Land of Make Believe by Bucks Fizz

Previous #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Ebony and Ivory by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder

Subsequent #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Eye of the Tiger by Survivor

Previous #1 on the Cash Box Top 100: Ebony and Ivory by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder

Subsequent #1 on the Cash Box Top 100: Hurt So Good by John Mellencamp

Previous #1 on the U.K. Chart: Begin the Beguine (Volver a Empezar) by Julio Iglesias

Subsequent #1 on the U.K. Chart: The Land of Make Believe by Bucks Fizz

List of #1 Singles from the Billboard Hot 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles from the Cash Box Top 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles on the U.K. Chart for 1980-1989

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