Human League’s Philip Oakey on Why He Didn’t Think ‘Don’t You Want Me’ Would Be a Hit and the Enduring Power of New Wave Music

Bogdan Hofbauer

The New Wave era of spiky but danceable pop tunes and sharp colorful looks may feel like it happened a million years ago, but to everyone’s surprise, the 45-year old musical movement has never really gone away. First popularized as MTV was becoming massively popular, 1980s music endured as the default upbeat soundtrack everywhere from your Trader Joe’s store to shows and movies like “Stranger Things” and “Marty Supreme.” One of the most prominent hitmakers of the era were Human League — one of