Nowadays electronic music is taken for granted, but back in 1980-81 the Human League were unique in having an almost completely electronic sound which made the post punk guitar bands of the time sound boring and very old fashioned. I started off the eighties as a bit of a mod, but when I fist heard the League and their contemporaries in late 1980, I knew the future wasn't with The Jam and their dour drone and sixties throwbacks but with the synthesiser. Being Boiled was a seminal moment in developing my musical tastes. The Human League are definitely the Super League to me and Oakey is a genius.

I think it was a combination of Jean Michel Jarre and Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds that first got me into electronic music.

Then along came Gary Numan, John Foxx and Devo.

But it was The Human League who brought synths well and truly into the world of pop. It was the perfect setup which was exciting and new. They were like the next door neighbours who you wanted to be friends with - to be in their gang.

I think Martin Rushent was an important part of it all though, because he was a genius in the studio. He made electronic music sound so different to what had been done before.

What a brilliant setup!