Philip Oakey, born on 2 October 1955 in Hinckley, Leicestershire, is a British singer-songwriter who rose to prominence as the lead vocalist of the synth‑pop group the Human League. After a brief, unremarkable start in unrelated jobs, Oakey was recruited in 1977 by classmates Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh to replace guitarist Adi Newton in the Sheffield‑based trio the Future, which soon renamed itself the Human League. The band released its debut album, Reproduction (1979), followed by Travelogue (1980). The breakthrough single "Don't You Want Me" (1981) topped the UK Singles Chart for five weeks and entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at Number 1, selling over a million copies in the United States. Subsequent releases include Dare (1981), Hysteria (1984), and Romantic? (1990), the latter peaking at number 24 in the UK. Oakey’s high‑profile collaboration with Giorgio Moroder produced the film score Together in Electric Dreams (1984) and the 1985 album Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder. Later releases included Octopus (1995), Secrets (2001), and Credo (2011).
