Ah, the 1980s.
Aquanet, a burgeoning new trend called “music videos” hosted by “VJs” and a synthesizer, helped to rewrite the music scene.
A trifecta of bands played the recently rechristened Northfield Park Racino last week. The 1980s produced a ton of British bands, aptly named the Second British Invasion, as they took over MTV’s airwaves for the better part of the decade. Three of those outfits played an almost-four hour concert in the beautifully air-conditioned venue.
Chanteuse Alison Moyet, with her husky alto, opened the night with a forty-minute set of some of her solo work as well as a few tunes from her band Yazoo. Her voice is still strong, as she offered a Yazoo triple play with “Only You,” “Situation,” and “Don’t Go.”
The middle slot was held by synth-pop duo Soft Cell. Known best for their early ’80s mega-hit cover of “Tainted Love,” they toured throughout the mid-aughts. Sadly, keyboardist David Ball passed away in late 2025, leaving vocalist Marc Almond without his musical partner of nearly fifty years.
After a twenty-minute stage reset, headliner The Human League took the stage. Resembling a Kanamit from the classic Twilght Zone episode “To Serve Man,” frontman Phil Oakley came out wearing white culottes with a matching straight-shouldered jacket. The look was definitely early ’80s, and he did a few wardrobe changes throughout the evening. Their seventy-minute set took us through their entire discography, offering their biggest hits “Human,” “Fascination,” and “Don’t You Want Me” towards the end of the set. Encoring with an interesting tune from a very mediocre 1983 film, “Together in Electric Dreams” ended the night.
