BIOGRAPHY QUICK INDEX: Home Page Page 1: Synopsis & 1980 Page 2: 1981 Page 3: The Remaining 1980s Page 4: The 1990s Page 5: The 21st Century HOME     NEXT PAGE

SUSAN ANN SULLEY - 2007

SYNOPSIS  

Born on 22nd March 1963 and raised in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK. In 1980 as a 17 year old schoolgirl, Susan Ann Sulley and her best friend Joanne Catherall were ‘discovered’ in a Sheffield nightclub by Philip Oakey, the lead singer and a founding member of the synthesiser based avant-garde pop group The Human League. The pair were recruited into the band at exceedingly short notice, initially as dancers, incidental vocalists and as Philip Oakey puts it "to provide some glamour” for a European tour that was in crises.

They soon were asked to provide full vocals by Oakey and subsequently became permanent members of the band.  The girls' distinctive vocals and glamorous presence rapidly became a signature of the new Human League; changing the band's style, its appeal to the mainstream public, and contributing to its subsequent international commercial success dramatically.

Within a year Susan would become famous throughout  the UK and USA as a member of one of the highest profile pop groups in UK history.  The Human League would later be accurately described as a band that plugged into the psyche of a generation. Over the next 28 years Susan would remain fiercely loyal to and work tirelessly with The Human League without interruption. She remains with the band to this day together with Philip Oakey and Joanne Catherall in what NME has since called "One of the Greatest Bands of all time".

Now an attractive and elegant woman in her mid forties, she has been an international  pop star for nearly three decades, and all her adult life. She remains a current, well known and popular figure on the British and International music scene; and an independent media personality in her own right. She has been called "one of Britain's most down to earth popstars" and lives a very quiet lifestyle in her native city of Sheffield.

" We didn’t expect fame and fortune, the reason we went on that first tour is because we would get six weeks off school. " - Susan Sulley speaking in2002

OCTOBER 1980 - THE CRAZY DAISY STORY 

It might be a subjective description, but 'Legend' is certainly not too strong a term for the events of October 1980. If there is one aspect of The Human League most people throughout  the world know, it is the basic story of how the girls came to be in the band.

Susan with Joanne in early 1980  before joining the band

In October 1980 Susan was living an average teenage girl's life in Sheffield, UK. 17 years old she was attending Frecheville Comprehensive School in the city, studying for her 'A Level' exams (High School Diploma). Her best friend at the time was the slightly older Joanne Catherall, another strikingly pretty, dark-haired, Sheffield native. The pair had been inseparable best friends since the age of 13. The girls socialised mainly together often visiting Sheffield city centre. A chance meeting on one such unremarkable night out together would be life changing for both girls, it would also have a profound effect on the direction of an entire genre of music, whose influence can  be felt today, nearly 30 years later!

The story of how Susan and Joanne came to join The Human League remains firmly embedded in international pop folklore. Although verified as true by all involved, it was questioned at the time in some quarters as a modern Cinderella story or a deliberate publicity stunt. The truth is, like many key events in history it was a complete accident!

Such is the world wide renown of ‘The Crazy Daisy Story’ Susan is almost always asked to re-tell it whenever she is interviewed by the media from any country, even three decades after the event.

October 1980 saw the departure of one half  of the original members (and the only musicians) Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware from the original band line-up at short notice, due to an acrimonious dispute with Philip Oakey. It was decided that Philip could continue with the band and retain the title of The Human League. But he would also be responsible for honouring the current commitments to Virgin Records including the large advance fee debts. Another band commitment was an imminent European tour, and the promoters were threatening to sue Oakey if it wasn't completed as scheduled. With a hostile UK music press writing off  The Human League as finished ("now the talented ones had left") and Virgin / Tour promoters leaning on him , Oakey hastily set about finding replacement group members for the tour that was due to start in less than 7 days time. 

With time rapidly running out before the tour, Oakey went into Sheffield City centre on a non descript Wednesday night with the aim of recruiting a single female singer for the tour. Oakey was aware that the audience who had paid to see the original four man line up were not going to be happy with just the two (non instrument playing ) remaining members “and a tape machine!”. With little success, late in the evening Oakey visited the dance club, 'The Crazy Daisy Club' on High Street, Sheffield. On the dance floor Oakey spotted two girls dancing together: Susanne Sulley (as Susan was then calling herself) and Joanne Catherall were both ordinary  schoolgirls on a routine night out together. Susan was 17 years old and Joanne had just turned 18. What caught Oakey’s eye was that they dressed in an ultra feminine style, had immaculate makeup and very bold, unique dance moves. They apparently according to Oakey were completely at odds with the other girls in the club. Britain was only just moving away from the 'Punk rock' phase and Susan and Joanne were dressed in a very feminine and eclectic style which a year later would be characterised as 'New Wave'/ ‘New Romantic’ although both girls dislike this label and claim their look at the time was unique to them. Which it certainly was!

Satirical cartoon of 'The Crazy Daisy incident' first appeared in Smash Hits - 1984

Oakey approached them and explained the situation. Realising that the girls were best friends and discovering that they were only 17/18, he immediately revised his original plan for a single female and asked both girls to accompany him on the tour. Oakey explains that because of their young age he thought that the two girls "could look after each other" on the tour. Susan and Joanne immediately accepted the offer. Susan says she knew instantly that it was a genuine offer as Oakey was well known in Sheffield and both she and Joanne already had tickets to see The Human League on the Doncaster leg of the tour. But perhaps the cartoon opposite (from a parody in Smash Hits magazine 1982) suggests a more realistic initial response from the girls when approached by the much older Oakey.

On why they caught Philips eye, Susan explains: "He (Philip) said that in a nightclub full of very, very weird people we just looked classy." A long running friendly argument between Susan and Joanne is that, as Philip originally only wanted a single female, who of the pair it would have been. Susan reckons it was her as Philip spoke to her first, but Joanne disagrees and says that was only because Susan left the dance floor first.

Unfortunately at such a young age the final decision rested with Susan and Joanne’s respective parents, who understandably initially refused to give their consent. Fears were laid to rest when Oakey visited the girls' parents to assure them that, in his words: "it wasn't a heinous plan to take the girls abroad and sell them". Philip jokes that as he turned up in full makeup and his trademark  geometric haircut "they (Sue and Jo's parents) weren't sure I was really a man". It  was just as well that permission was given as the girls say that they were planning to run away if consent was refused.

Although both sets of parents eventually gave cautious permission, Oakey received a chilling  ultimatum from Susan’s father. She recalls: “My Dad threatened to kill him! He said that if anything happened to Joanne or me on the tour then he would find him and kill him. I truly believe that he would have carried that out, if anything had happened to us on that tour my dad would have killed Philip.”

Both girls were still studying for their final year at school. But the school eventually agreed to the absence as it was thought that the opportunity to see Europe would be beneficial for the girls. There was virtually no time for rehearsals and within days the girls departed with Oakey, Adrian Wright and  another new addition keyboard player Ian Burden on tour.

THE 1980 TOUR 

The arrival of "dancing girls" was met with utter derision by the music press who now were convinced that The Human League was completely finished.

On the 1980 tour from left: Ian Burden, Susan, Adrian Wright Joanne Catherall, Philip Oakey

 The tour was completed as scheduled but it wasn't the fairy tale experience of going on tour with a band that Susan and Joanne had been expecting. The girls were often verbally abused and on occasions had things thrown at them by hostile audiences. Many of the audiences had bought tickets to see the original all male line up and considered Susan and Joanne an unwelcome addition to the ‘serious’ synthesizer band. Some even erroneously blamed the girls for the break-up of the original band or accused Oakey of 'selling out'. Oakey by all accounts was amazed at the girl’s fortitude and professionalism in the face of such hostility. He was also impressed with their high voices which had been used on ad lib vocals and he planned to use them further. On return to the UK he and band manager Bob Last made the girls full time members of the band.

History would later prove that the girls' arrival in the group would be absolutely critical to its further commercial success and subsequent longevity. It is very possible that without Susan and Joanne, the band may have folded there in November 1980; and as a result an entire international genre of  music would look very different today!

On completion of the tour both Susan and Joanne returned to school full time before Christmas 1980. The girls say they only went on the tour "for a laugh and to get some time off school" and being made members of the band was seen as nothing more than a hobby. Susan said at the time that she didn't believe that anything would come of it.

She was about to be proved very wrong...

Page One of  Five