" Fascination" is a 1983 song by the British synthpop group The Human League. It was composed by Jo Callis and Philip Oakey, and produced by Martin Rushent. The song features vocals from four of the band members, including lead singer Philip Oakey, female co-vocalists Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall, and a rare vocal role from keyboardist and guitarist Jo Callis. The single was designated 'Red' on the Human League’s short-lived, self-imposed labelling system of 'Blue' for pop songs and 'Red' for dance tracks.
Chart performance and certifications
The single was released in the UK on 11 April 1983 as a non-album single, and went to number 2 in the UK Singles Chart. It was incorporated into the band's EPFascination!. Released in the US a month after the UK release, the single reached number 1 on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart and number 8 on the US BillboardHot 100 that summer. The EP Fascination! contained two versions of " Fascination"; the extended mix and an improvisation, both different from the single version. These were also the tracks featured on the 12" issue in the UK. The 7" issue featured a new instrumental track on the B-side, Total Panic.
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Music video
The video for " Fascination" was filmed in a semi-derelict area of Newham, London which was due for demolition and redevelopment as part of the widescale redevelopment of Docklands and East London which took place in the early 1980s. The video begins with a close-up of an orange "you are here" dot on a street map, which becomes an actual giant orange dot on the ground as the camera zooms in. The dot highlights a single house on the apex of a street, and the camera passes through a set of window curtains to show the band playing the song inside. The entire room is painted grey, as are the band's instruments and microphones. During the bridge, two boys kick a ball around in the street outside. Both the ball and one boy's clothes turn orange when they enter the dot; when he kicks the ball back, it returns to its original colour. As the song ends, the camera retreats from the room and zooms out into the sky, the view changing back to the original map. Unusually for Human League videos to this point, the band are all seen playing instruments as if it were a live performance. Philip Oakey said in 1983: Both the house and surrounding area encompassed by the orange dot were completely painted orange, including a nearby Austin 1800 car. The video was conceived and directed by Steve Barron, who directed most of the Human League's early 1980s music videos. The band's scenes were all filmed in a studio; Susan Ann Sulley says that the house was still occupied by a family during the painting and filming of the external scenes. The house remained orange until being demolished in mid-1983.
