# Human League Hit Survived Band-Producer Disagreement

> Human League's 1986 No. 1 hit 'Human' emerged despite a dispute with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis over vocal credits.
- Title: Human League Hit Survived Band-Producer Disagreement
- Summary: Human League's 1986 No. 1 hit 'Human' emerged despite a dispute with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis over vocal credits. Human League's song 'Human'…
- Keywords: human league, jimmy jam, terry lewis, 1986, us charts, synth-heavy bands, virgin records, crash album, music, culture, Human, League
- Source: American Songwriter — https://americansongwriter.com/this-80s-no-1-hit-survived-a-severe-disagreement-between-band-and-producers
- Author: Jim Beviglia
- Published: 2026-10-04T15:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: human league, jimmy jam, terry lewis, 1986, us charts, synth-heavy bands, virgin records, crash album, music, culture
## Human League's 1986 US Chart Success
Human League achieved No. 1 in the US with their 1986 song 'Human', written and produced by American Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
## Band-Producer Disagreement Over Vocals
Human League disputed why producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis used Lisa Keith for backing vocals instead of their existing female vocalists.
## Vocal Credit Resolution
The record company decided to include only Human League's Joanne Catherall in a spoken-word section of 'Human' despite band objections.
## Song's Emotional Impact
The song's lyrics reveal mutual infidelity, with Phil Oakey singing 'I wouldn't ever try to hurt you' and Joanne Catherall responding 'I forgive you, now I ask the same of you'.

> I wouldn't ever try to hurt you, I just needed someone to hold me .
## Album's Commercial Success
The album 'Crash' helped Human League regain US popularity after their 1984 album 'Hysteria' underperformed in America.
## Key takeaway

Human League's song 'Human' reached No. 1 in the US after resolving a disagreement with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis over vocal credits.