IT'S Sheffield, it's Sunday night and favourite city sons and daughters the Human League are storming through their songbook of greatest hits.
What could be better? Well, it could be Saturday night maybe.
Phil Oakey claims he's on a bonus for every time he mentions the name of the new Academy venue, at this one-off show designed to get this resurrected venue off to a suitably high profil
e start.
But he can't help recalling the original League played the old Top Rank back in 1978 or thereabouts - as a precursor to the raucous stomp of Empire State Human.
Almost every tune played tonight is a hit, from Being Boiled to 2001's All I Ever Wanted - although space is still found for Dare's brooding album track Seconds.
Even that acute piece of 1980s Middle Eastern political analysis The Lebanon is revived - though not, sadly, the classic tale of love lost, Louise, which seems to have been erased from the band's personal history books.
The League may be an oldies band these days - though they'd probably never admit it - but what makes them a bit special is the seriousness with which they treat their illustrious back pages.
There's no cheesy nostalgia or contrived crowd singalongs here - just a joyous celebration of some of the best pop songs of the last 30 years.
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The full article contains 237 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.
