The Human League’s Generations Arena tour kicked off its UK leg in December 2024. By the band’s third show they’d already elicited a five-star review from the Guardian, who described the show as: “An evening of immaculate electro pop, delivered with grace, precision, and elation.”
Behind the scenes was no exception, with seasoned Production Manager Sarah Hollis of Hollistic Productions at the helm. Hollis has been Production Managing tours since the late 90s and has worked with The Human League since their 2008, Steel City Tour. “I was also the stage manager on that tour,” she explained, “which was a mixture of arena’s, theatres and a couple of academies (and not in the order you’d like!) so let’s say it kept me on my toes, and I’ve been working with the band ever since.”
Emmy Award Winning Designer, Rob Sinclair, was asked by the band’s manager to produce a couple of different designs he could show the band in early 2024. A design was approved in late April, but after some initial R&D, the band decided to go with the alternative design.
In terms of production design, the band had explored a lot of advanced techniques with projection mapping on previous tours which Sinclair, and the band, felt may be difficult to top this time around — however, distinctive, bespoke visuals have always been a core part of The Human League’s live performances, and the band didn’t want to lose that visual impact. As a result, this tour features an 18m by 9m ROE CB5 5.7 mm rear LED wall to deliver that same level of striking, immersive imagery in a fresh way.
In late Summer ‘24, Hollis began sourcing supplier quotes based on Sinclair’s production design, incorporating the initial lighting design from LD Chris Steel and the preliminary audio specification provided by FOH engineer Kevin Pruce.
Solotech were then confirmed to take care of audio, supplying a d&b KSL line array system for arenas, control for both UK and European legs along with a full support package. A DiGiCo Quantum 338 console was spec’d for front of house and a DiGiCo SD10 Surface Console at monitors.
“We did a test build of the automated lighting and artist platform at our long term suppliers Colour Sound – who we also confirmed to supply all rigging, video and automation-along with set company, Upset Solutions, who were supplying the platform decking and hard fixings.” Hollis recalled.
“It was a good exercise in ironing out any issues we had, and I wanted to make sure we were ready to go as soon as the band walked into rehearsals, as we only had a short production rehearsal period.
“The ideal flown position for this platform (which would also carry the band) meant it would land over a small upstage section of the large tiered stage set, so several revisions were made with Upset, as it was essential there would be enough room to position it and also get the artists off the platform swiftly.
“We also had to take into account the platform height, including the lighting fixtures underneath, which meant the artists would still be 1.2m above the set even when the platform was at it’s lowest. To solve this, we added an extra rear landing and side treads that would sit flush with the platform upon landing. Instead of removing them once the band had descended and the platform flown out, we left them in situ and manufactured them to blend in and look like part of the main set. It worked really well and gave Philip (Oakey, Lead Singer) more platforms and levels to use during the show.
Zack (Wade, tour rigger) started the rigging advance in early November.
“Our first couple of shows were in the smaller arenas.” Hollis explained. “So we had to take into account their low clearance and roof capacity, particularly in relation to flying the artist and the hanging of the heavy rear video wall. Zack and I worked closely to ensure we had accurate rigging plots for every venue, ahead of the first show, as the tour period was so short, and we knew we’d hit the ground running straight out of rehearsals”.
Upset Solutions worked with Sinclair’s stage design to nail the decking and fascias needed for the all white set (a Human League tradition), along with the all white Marley floor covering.
The striking stage set they supplied was 50ft wide by 25ft deep, on several levels with custom curved staircases left and right, giving frontman Oakey plenty of room to run up and down and around the stage.
“We settled on neon flex pixel tape for the LED edging on each level, which really brought the set to life”.
Really Creative Media (RCM) once again expertly produced all screen content, along with supplying the servers.
“The show started with multiple kabuki drops revealing the three principle band members flown 7m above stage level on a central 3m by 3m platform made up of QH40 truss topped with litedeck and fully automated using four Kinesys Apex hoists. It was flanked by two further automated lighting pods, all sub hung off the main mother grid.” Hollis said.
The band’s manager, Simon Watson, chose not to use side screens, feeling they would distract from the stage and the performance. Instead, the visual team mixed live relay and effects into the main show content using Resolume media servers, which created a unique visual experience on the rear video wall each night. This was delivered expertly by video director Dylan Etherington, video engineer Albert Crick, and server technician Iain Harvey.
Hollis also had a great production team in Michael ‘Shivers’ McGuire (Stage Manager) and Sophie Kemp (Production Coordinator) who she says “Went above and beyond as usual.”
It’s clear that working with The Human League remains a real highlight for the crew. Many of the core team have been with them for years, and it feels more like one big unit than a traditional artist-crew divide. That kind of collaborative atmosphere and mutual respect has always been part of their approach.
“I don’t think he’ll mind me saying,” Hollis observed, “but for a man in his late sixties, Philip brings an incredible energy and presence to the stage—more than many artists half his age, and Susan and Joanne are two of the nicest people you could meet with a wicked sense of humour. There’s always plenty of laughs on the road, and even after more than four decades in the business, they still care deeply about putting on the very best show that they can.”
And according to the band’s manager Simon Watson (many press outlets and countless fans), this year was indeed their very best.
“This was without a doubt the biggest, most complex and most challenging tour we have ever done, and the results speak for themselves. Because it was also the best attended, best reviewed and best received (by the fans) Simon commented.
None of this would have been possible without all the hardworking and dedicated professionals who put it together for us every day, a lot of whom were brought onboard by Sarah, who did another fantastic job for us as always.”
The Human League continues their live momentum with a packed run of summer shows across the UK and Europe in 2025, including headline slots at festivals and iconic venues such as Kew Gardens, Cardiff Castle, and Valencia’s Jardines de Viveros.
