Phil Oakey
| Philip Oakey | |
|---|---|
Oakey performing with The Human League in 2014
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Phil Oakey |
| Born | 2 October 1955 |
| Origin | Hinckley, Leicestershire, England |
| Genres | Synthpop, new wave, electronic |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, keyboards |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Labels | Fast Product, Virgin Records, EMI, EastWest, Papillon, Wall of Sound |
| Associated acts |
The Human League Giorgio Moroder |
Philip "Phil" Oakey (born 2 October 1955) is an English singer, songwriter and producer. He is best known as the lead singer, songwriter, and co-founder of the English synthpop band The Human League. Aside from the Human League, he has had an extensive solo music career and collaborated with numerous other artists and producers.
Oakey was one of the most visually distinctive music artists of the early 1980s. At the height of their success, The Human League released the triple platinum album Dare and Oakey co-wrote and sang the multi-million selling single "Don't You Want Me", which was a number one single in both the U.S. and UK, where it remains the 25th highest selling single of all time. Oakey has been lead singer of The Human League for over 30 years, with whom he has sold more than 20 million records worldwide. He continues recording and performing internationally.
Oakey was born on 2 October 1955 in Hinckley, Leicestershire. Oakey is of Indian, Irish and Malaysian descent. His father worked for the General Post Office and moved jobs regularly: the family moved to Coventry when Oakey was a baby, to Leeds when he was five and to Birmingham when he was nine, attending Catherine-de-Barnes primary school, and gaining a scholarship to the independent Solihull School. He settled in Sheffield when he was fourteen. He was educated at King Edward VII School in Sheffield. He left school at 18 without finishing his exams and worked in a number of casual jobs: in a university bookshop, and from 1975 as a porter at Thornbury Annex Hospital in Sheffield. He was married briefly to his girlfriend, whom he met at school, but the marriage did not last long and they were divorced in 1980.
Oakey’s entry into music in 1977 was entirely accidental. He had bought a saxophone but had given up trying to learn how to play it, and had no aspiration to be in a pop group.
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