A Human League concert review 40+ Years in the Making
I’d been waiting decades to write a proper Human League concert review, and when I heard their first U.S. tour in fifteen years would include fellow early‑80s hitmakers Soft Cell and Alison Moyet, it felt like someone had raided my old Columbia House vinyl order history and built a lineup straight from the “10 albums for a penny” era. Colton and I had seen Soft Cell last year opening for Simple Minds, but this would be my first time seeing both The Human League and Alison Moyet — two major gaps in my 80s concert résumé finally getting filled.
Texas Trust CU Theater isn’t a venue I have been to often — in fact, before this show, I’d only been there three times since 2008. Yet somehow, this was the first of three shows I’ll see there this year, with Howard Jones (with Wang Chung, English Beat, and Modern English) and Squeeze (with Haircut 100! and Adam Ant) both rolling through later in 2026. At this point, Grand Prairie is hosting so many 80s artists that it’s basically an accidental festival just spread over three months, which at our age is honestly the more humane scheduling option.
This night also kicked off my first back‑to‑back concert run since 1991, when I saw Metallica two nights in a row at the Great Western Forum. I may have permanently lost a small percentage of my hearing that weekend, but honestly, it was worth it.
Pre‑Show — Merch Lines, 80s Playlists, and a Soft Cell Shirt for Colton
Entry was quick, merch lines were slow, and the shirt selection was surprisingly solid. I picked up a Generations Tour tee featuring all three artists, while Colton chose a Soft Cell shirt with a fun design on it. All three acts had their own merch — multiple shirts, tour items, and even signed posters from The Human League — so the booth felt more like a mini record‑store pop‑up than a standard concert table. We settled into our center‑stage Row L seats, a perfect vantage point, while the venue played a pre‑show playlist of 80s alternative deep cuts that felt like tuning into KROQ at midnight in 1986.
Alison Moyet opened the night, alternating first‑slot duties with Soft Cell depending on the city.
Alison Moyet — The Contralto That Can Still Level a Room
Moyet walked onstage dressed head‑to‑toe in black, accompanied by a tight three‑piece band. No video screens, just light bars and towers pulsing in time with the music — simple, effective, and very much in line with her no‑nonsense stage presence.
Her ten‑song set leaned 60/40 toward Yaz, including “Nobody’s Diary,” which she introduced by casually mentioning she wrote it at sixteen. Writing the lyrics to a hit song at sixteen is wild; meanwhile, at sixteen I was struggling to come up with a topic for junior‑year English essays. Her voice remains a force: rich, smoky, and unmistakably hers.
“Winter Kills” was the only Yaz track I wasn’t familiar with, but she framed it as the calm before the disco‑leaning stretch that closed her set. “Situation” landed especially well — one of those songs that still hits with the same punch it had in 1982, helped along by sharp lighting cues that made the chorus pop.
Colton noted she had some dance moves — and he wasn’t wrong. Several songs had the crowd (especially the women) up and moving. She closed her set with “Don’t Go,” thanking the audience and The Human League before launching into it. The energy jumped instantly; it was the perfect capstone to her portion of the night.
During the set change, Colton — resident lighting nerd — immediately clocked that Soft Cell had a completely different lighting crew. He gave me a quick breakdown of how Moyet’s rig was pulled so fast and how Soft Cell’s video wall changed the whole lighting plan. I nodded along like I understood all of it.
Alison Moyet — Setlist (2026 Generations Tour)
Soft Cell — Cabaret, Crooning, and a Tribute to Dave Ball
Soft Cell opened with Marc Almond in sunglasses and a long black coat, flanked by a keyboardist and two backup singers. They kicked off with “Memorabilia,” weaving in snippets of Madonna’s “Holiday” and “Into the Groove,” which was a very Soft Cell way of saying “welcome to the show.” I’ve always loved “Memorabilia,” and it was fun seeing it live again — especially after watching Nine Inch Nails perform the song during their Coachella collaboration with Boyz Noize on the livestream, a fun contrast to seeing them live in Dallas just a few weeks earlier. That Coachella version had a sharper, industrial edge, and it’s interesting to hear how Soft Cell’s original still carries its own swagger.
Their new single “Danceteria,” from the forthcoming album completed just before Dave Ball’s passing, followed immediately. Almond framed it as a tribute to their time in NYC in 1982 — the kind of detail that reminds you Soft Cell lived the nightlife they wrote about.
The middle of the set leaned into Almond’s cabaret‑crooner instincts: “Torch,” “Loving You, Hating Me,” and “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye,” accompanied by a pink background with flamingo line drawings — a nod to the Pink Flamingo hotel in the lyrics, which absolutely sounds like a place that rents rooms by the hour. Almond is a cabaret singer in the old Sinatra tradition, just one whose material leans less “Velvet Room at the Sands” and more “stories whispered behind the club at 3 a.m.”
I quietly hoped for “It’s a Mug’s Game,” my favorite Soft Cell track, but considering it’s only been performed live twice and not since 1983, I didn’t hold my breath.
Vintage club footage from the 60s and 70s played behind most songs, giving the set a nostalgic, slightly decadent vibe. “Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go” brought the expected sing‑along, and they closed with “Out Come the Freaks,” dedicated to Dave Ball. The video screen displayed a tribute to him, ending with his birth and death years — a simple, heartfelt moment.
Soft Cell — Setlist (2026 Generations Tour)
The Human League — The Heart of This Human League Concert Review
The Human League took the stage just after 10 p.m. The setup was minimal: three microphones up front, keyboards on risers at each end, drums in the middle, and stairs connecting everything. It looked like a synth‑pop command center.
They opened with “Sound of the Crowd,” beginning with only the drummer, then one keytar player, then the second, and finally Phil Oakey, Susan Ann Sulley, and Joanne Catherall. It was a slow‑build entrance that felt theatrical without being overdone, a standout moment in this Human League concert review.
“Mirror Man” followed, with Susan and Joanne handling the opening harmonies while looking gorgeous. Phil sounded fantastic — crisp, strong, and shockingly unchanged after nearly fifty years of performing. The venue’s acoustics helped; Texas Trust CU Theater is built for music, not basketball.
“The Things That Dreams Are Made Of” brought one of the keyboardists down front with his keytar while Susan and Joanne clapped overhead. Phil roamed the stage, eventually climbing the riser for the “New York, ice cream, TV…” lines — a moment that felt like pure 1982.
The down‑tempo section included “Louise” and “Seconds,” their track about the JFK assassination, which hit differently in a venue less than fifteen miles from Dealey Plaza and the Texas School Book Depository. Nothing like a little local history to make a synth‑pop song feel heavier. Susan and Joanne left the stage before “Seconds” to change outfits, returning for “One Man in My Heart,” which Susan handled beautifully. Phil stepped out after “Seconds” for his own wardrobe change and returned for “Human,” accompanied by inexplicable jellyfish visuals. (Sure. Why not.)
The final run — “Tell Me When,” “(Keep Feeling) Fascination,” and “Don’t You Want Me” — brought back the dual keytars. “Fascination” featured vocals from all three members plus Ben, one of the keyboard/keytar players. They stretched the intro of “Don’t You Want Me” while the trio remained offstage, letting anticipation build before Phil emerged two minutes in. Susan handled her co‑lead lines with ease.
After thanking the audience, they left briefly before returning for “Being Boiled” and closing with “Together in Electric Dreams,” which, despite technically being a Phil Oakey/Giorgio Moroder track rather than a Human League single, has long since become their unofficial anthem. It felt like the perfect communal sing‑along to end the night — and the perfect capstone to this Human League concert review.
The Human League — Setlist (2026 Generations Tour)
Conclusion — A Night Built for Anyone Who Ever Loved a Synth Line
The Generations Tour delivered exactly what it promised: three artists who helped define early‑80s synth‑pop, each bringing a different flavor of nostalgia without feeling like museum pieces. Alison Moyet reminded everyone why her voice is still unmatched, Soft Cell leaned into their cabaret‑meets‑club‑culture weirdness, and The Human League proved they can still command a stage with nothing more than keytars, harmonies, and Phil Oakey’s baritone.
For me, finally seeing The Human League after decades of waiting felt like closing a loop that started years before MTV ever reached our house — back when Devo, The Human League, Soft Cell, Naked Eyes, Men at Work, and Madness were the bands that hooked me into New Wave as a pre‑teen in the early eighties, with Richard Blade’s MV3 filling in the gaps long before we could reliably pick up KROQ.
Next up: Joe Jackson the following night. Because apparently 2026 is the year I pretend I’m still 22.
Looks like The Human League played all the hits! Great setlist. They STILL sound amazing.