Travelogue, The Human League

Obvious Promo Copy - Sticker Removed from Label

The Human League – Travelogue

Artist: The Human League

Title: Travelogue

Album Type: Second Studio Album

Original Release Date: May 1980

Label: Virgin Records

Genre: Synth-Pop / Post-Punk / Electronic / Industrial

Background & Production Travelogue is the final studio album recorded by the original Human League lineup—Philip Oakey, Martyn Ware, and Ian Craig Marsh—before the band famously split. Unlike the mainstream pop success of their subsequent album Dare, Travelogue represents the band’s peak as purist electronic pioneers. Produced by Richard Mainwaring, the album was recorded using exclusively synthesizers and sequencers (with the exception of vocals), a radical approach for 1980. It captures a moment when the band was transitioning from the cold, clinical minimalism of their debut Reproduction toward more structured, albeit still avant-garde, pop melodies.

Musical Composition The album is defined by its icy, futuristic soundscapes and the use of early analog synthesizers like the Korg 700S and Roland Jupiter-4.

• Experimental Pop: Tracks like "Being Boiled" (re-recorded for this album) and "Only After Dark" (a Mick Ronson cover) showcase the band’s ability to blend mechanical rhythms with hook-driven vocals.

• Theatricality: The album features eccentric tracks like "The Black Hit of Space," a sci-fi narrative about a record so popular it consumes the universe, featuring distorted synth effects that were highly advanced for the era.

• Cover Versions: A unique electronic reimagining of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" highlights the band’s intent to deconstruct traditional soul and pop through a digital lens.

Critical Standing & Legacy Shortly after the release of Travelogue, internal tensions led Ware and Marsh to depart and form Heaven 17, while Oakey retained the band name to create the globally successful "New Romantic" version of The Human League. Consequently, Travelogue is often cited by electronic music aficionados and collectors as the "truer" representation of the band’s original vision. It reached #16 on the UK Albums Chart and remains a cornerstone of the early UK synth-pop movement.

• Keywords: The Human League, Travelogue, Philip Oakey, Martyn Ware, Synth-Pop, Electronic Vinyl, Virgin Records, 80s Post-Punk, Analog Synth, Heaven 17.

• Collection Ideas: Early Electronic Pioneers, Synth-Pop Essentials, 80s New Wave, Post-Punk Rarities.

• Related Artists: Kraftwerk, Gary Numan, Heaven 17, Depeche Mode, Cabaret Voltaire.

MINT - sealed

NM - likely never played - almost perfect

VG+ - light scuffs, light scratches wont effect play

VG -  signs of wear, light scratches you can feel

GOOD -  surface noise, visible groove wear

POOR / FAIR- some damage, causing issues like skipping & distorted audio

OIS - original inner sleeve