Our resident Eighties Synth-Pop Guru, Steve, was in his element for a summer evening with The Human League, Thompson Twins with Tom Bailey, and Blancmange at Scarborough’s Open Air Theatre on Saturday 28th June 2025.
Now and again you see a line up that makes you go “Wow, who put that together?” This was one of those moments, the very thought of seeing these 3 particular acts on the same bill, in Scarborough, was far too good to resist; on paper it was going to be a classic journey through some of the 80s finest synth pop – in reality it was so much more.
It’s a beautiful warm night with just the slightest hint of breeze, perfect conditions for the SOAT, it’s already pretty full & looking like a capacity audience, there’s a real buzz in the air, thousands of 80s music lovers ready to relive their youth, hoping to be transported back to arguably the greatest era in British music, a simple time that people of a certain age yearn for and anyone younger wishes they had lived through.
At 7pm Blancmange take to the stage, vocalist Neil Arthur looking very cool in his shades and synth wizard Finlay Shakespeare (what a fantastic name!) kick off with their gorgeous cover of Abba’s Cassandra, Arthur’s passionate delivery grabbing everyone’s attention, the synth line sparkling; from this moment on we knew we were in for a treat.
The excellent Blind Vision is track two, Arthur hitting his stride now, and the notes; Shakespeare showing everyone what he’s made of with aplomb, fully immersed in his very cool looking synth rig and giving it everything he’s got, this guy can really play. After hitting us with the excellent Don’t Tell Me & the smash hit Living On The Ceiling it’s over too soon, I’d really like to see a full set from this enthralling duo one day, they are a class act.
Tom Bailey is as cool now as he was back in the day, now backed by 3 excellent musicians, ladies who look the part dressed in all white and playing multiple instruments, they ably & competently do so with a smile and attitude. This band look great and sound fantastic.
Thompson Twins music is always a nostalgia fest, and we are treated to such gorgeous tracks as You Take Me Up, We Are Detective & Doctor Doctor, Lay Your Hands On Me & a storming version of Love On Your Side, before closing with the utterly magnificent and personal favourite Hold Me Now, a song so romantic and evocative of its time that it has the whole 8000 strong crowd hugging, swaying & singing at the top of their voices, pure pop perfection.
So the main event is upon us, The Human League are arguably one of the finest crafters of synth pop from the 80s, and they rip through a set of blinding songs, all utter bangers and classics, The Sound Of The Crowd, Open Your Heart, Love Action, Mirror Man, Louise, Human, The Lebanon, Heart Like A Wheel, the hits keep coming and the crowd keep singing.
Phil Oakey is – unbelievably – 69 years old. A formidable presence onstage, and probably the coolest person of that age within a 100 mile radius, his movement around the stage is commanding. He couldn’t help but smile as the crowd continued to go crazy and his rapport with the band was energised, he was exuding joy, as were Joanne Catherall & Susanne Sully, who easily roll back the years every time they walk onstage, channelling their inner youth with pitch perfect vocals and the moves, they got the moves still going on, it could be 1981 for all they care, living their best life, and we are right there with them! Susanne particularly shone during One Man In My Heart from 1995, a memorable and lovely moment as the audience lovingly backed her excellent vocals.
All of a sudden it was over too soon. You never want nights like this to end and just want to relive them over and over and over, they are that amazing; the encore was a delicious trio to end on with the wonderfully industrial Being Boiled, followed by the timeless and glorious Don’t You Want Me, which drives the audience insane at this point. I reckon you could hear us in Filey or maybe further, who cares, this is just phenomenal. Talking of phenomenal, the final song of the night is the most important song, and biggest hit of 1984, Together In Electric Dreams, a song so perfectly written by synth genius Giorgio Moroder and vocally executed by Oakey that it more than stands the test of time, it’s a classic.
I can’t wait to see this band again (Darlington Arena on Sun 24th August), everything about them is just incredible, the visuals, the costume changes, the sound, the band (2 keytar players is wholly necessary in the circumstances) and more importantly playing live as much as possible, a theme that continued throughout the whole night – nice to see when you know that a few modern artists don’t. The atmosphere was electric, as everyone filed out happily singing the chorus to Electric Dreams and headed home, hearts full of 80s love; what a night, well done to everybody involved, we loved it!
Interesting fact – The band got their name from a science fiction board game called Star Force: Alpha Centauri. The Human League was the name of a group of rebels seeking independence from earth which resonated with the band.
They were originally called The Future before adopting their current moniker.
To see what else is coming up at Scarborough Open Air Theatre, click here.
