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Hysteria
Studio album by the Human League
Released	7 May 1984 (1984-05-07)
Studio	AIR (London) Townhouse (London)
Genre	Synth-pop
Length	39:59
Label	Virgin
Producer	Hugh Padgham Chris Thomas The Human League
The Human League chronology
Fascination! (1983) Hysteria (1984) Crash (1986)
Singles from Hysteria
"The Lebanon" Released: 24 April 1984 "Life on Your Own" Released: 18 June 1984 "Louise" Released: 5 November 1984

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Calgary Herald	E
Number One	4/5
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Record Mirror
Rolling Stone
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
Smash Hits	5/10
The Village Voice	C
Windsor Star	C+

Hysteria is the fourth studio album by the English synth-pop band the Human League, released on 7 May 1984 by Virgin Records. Following the worldwide success of their previous studio album Dare (1981), the band struggled to make a successful follow-up and the sessions for Hysteria were fraught with problems. The album title itself is taken from the problematic recording period. Producers Martin Rushent and Chris Thomas both left the project which would eventually be finished by producer Hugh Padgham.

Hysteria attained relatively lacklustre success in comparison to its multi-platinum predecessor. Three singles from the album reached the top 20 of the UK singles chart, and "The Lebanon" was the only single to chart in the United States, peaking at number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and has been certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), denoting shipments in excess of 100,000 copies.

In 2005, Hysteria was remastered and reissued with B-sides and extended mixes as bonus tracks.

The song "Rock Me Again and Again and Again and Again and Again and Again (Six Times)" is a cover version of a 1973 song by Lyn Collins and James Brown. "I Love You Too Much" is a substantially remixed version from the EP Fascination! (1983) and "Don't You Know I Want You" is a reworked version of the instrumental B-side "Total Panic!" that appeared on the "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" single in 1983.

Track listing

Side one

1. "I'm Coming Back" (Philip Oakey, Philip Adrian Wright) – 4:07
2. "I Love You Too Much" (Ian C. Burden, Jo Callis, Wright) – 3:26
3. "Rock Me Again and Again and Again and Again and Again and Again (Six Times)" (Lee Austin, James Brown) – 3:32
4. "Louise" (Callis, Oakey, Wright) – 4:55
5. "The Lebanon" (Callis, Oakey) – 5:03

Side two

6. "Betrayed" (Oakey, Wright) – 4:02
7. "The Sign" (Burden, Callis, Oakey) – 3:46
8. "So Hurt" (Burden, Oakey) – 3:53
9. "Life on Your Own" (Callis, Oakey, Wright) – 4:06
10. "Don't You Know I Want You" (Burden, Callis, Oakey) – 3:09

2005 CD bonus tracks

11. "Thirteen" (from "The Lebanon" 12-inch single, and 7" B-side)
12. "The World Tonight" (from "Life on Your Own" 12-inch single, and 7" B-side)
13. "The Lebanon" (extended version)
14. "Life on Your Own" (extended version)
15. "The Sign" (extended version)

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Hysteria.

Musicians

• Ian C. Burden – bass, keyboards, guitar
• Jo Callis – guitar, keyboards, vocals
• Joanne Catherall – vocals
• Philip Oakey – vocals, programming, keyboards
• Susanne Sulley – vocals
• Philip Adrian Wright – occasional keyboards
• The Human League – percussion, programming
• Martin Rushent – drum programming (tracks 2, 8, 10)
• Jim Russell – drum programming (track 7)

Technical

• Hugh Padgham – mixing, production, engineering
• Chris Thomas – production
• The Human League – production
• Bill Price – engineering
• Renate Blauel – engineering
• Gavin MacKillop – engineering
• Steve Jackson – engineering assistance
• David Motion – engineering assistance
• Jeremy Allom – engineering assistance
• Paul "Croydon" Cook – engineering assistance

Artwork

• Simon Fowler – photography
• Ken Ansell – layout

Charts

Certifications

Gallery

• Outer front (right) and back of original UK LP gatefold edition
• A portion of inner sleeve for the gatefold edition
• Back of original UK CD's booklet
• Back cover (Tracklist) of original UK CD
• Front cover of original US cassette

References

1. "Hysteria – The Human League". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
2. Muretich, James (19 May 1984). "Human League: Hysteria". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 3 May 2020 – via Google News Archive.
3. Rice, Maureen (12 May 1984). "Albums" (PDF). Number One. No. 54. p. 37. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
4. Lloyd, Jack (25 May 1984). "Albums". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
5. Page, Betty (12 May 1984). "Human's Lib" (PDF). Record Mirror. p. 20. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
6. Puterbaugh, Parke (5 July 1984). "The Human League: Hysteria". Rolling Stone. No. 425. p. 46.
7. Considine, J. D. (2004). "The Human League". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 397–98. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
8. Martin, Peter (10 May 1984). "Album Reviews: Human League – Hysteria". Smash Hits. London. p. 27.
9. Christgau, Robert (24 July 1984). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
10. Shaw, Ted (18 August 1984). "Pop". Windsor Star. Retrieved 14 October 2020 – via Google News Archive.
11. "Record News". NME. London. 5 May 1984. p. 33.
12. Windle, Rob Archived 24 April 2003 at the Wayback Machine
13. Hysteria (liner notes). The Human League. Virgin Records. 1984. V 2315.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
14. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 143. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
15. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6725a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
16. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Human League – Hysteria" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
17. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Eurotipsheet. Vol. 1, no. 11. 11 June 1984. p. 12. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
18. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
19. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Human League – Hysteria" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
20. "Charts.nz – The Human League – Hysteria". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
21. "Swedishcharts.com – The Human League – Hysteria". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
22. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
23. "The Human League Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
24. "Top 100 Albums (January 3–December 29, 1984)" (PDF). Music Week. 26 January 1985. p. 42. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
25. "British album certifications – Human League – Hysteria". British Phonographic Industry. 8 May 1984. Retrieved 30 June 2021.

External links

• Hysteria at Discogs (list of releases)

• 1984 albums
• Albums produced by Chris Thomas (record producer)
• Albums produced by Hugh Padgham
• The Human League albums
• Virgin Records albums