Fan power has seen the 80s hit make it back into the charts.
Following Aberdeen’s heroic win in the Scottish League cup, fans of the club have been hard at work getting The Human League’s ‘Don’t You Want Me’ to the top of the iTunes chart. And they haven’t done too badly, with the 1981 hit currently sitting in the top 5.
The Human League performing in Amsterdam
The Human League’s iconic hit reached the top spot back in 1981, and was ringing around Celtic Park after Aberdeen won the final 4–2 against Inverness CT. The jubilant fans changed the lyric ‘don’t you want me baby’ to “Peter Pawlett baby” after their injured midfielder, who missed out on playing the final but was there to help the players celebrate the famous win.
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The campaign had been supported by the rest of the Aberdeen squad too, with the players posting a picture from the dressing room of them holding a piece of paper. “GET ME TO NO 1 #PeterPawlettBaby”, it read. The band are also in full support of the fan-driven campaign, as you’d expect. They issued a statement on their website detailing their feelings on the unexpected surge of interest in their hit song.
"For us to be waking up this morning to find Don't You Want Me at number 5 on the iTunes singles chart was absolutely amazing and has to rank as one of the biggest surprises of our career to date, which after over 35 years in the music business is really saying something,” read the statement, which was posted to the band’s Facebook page.
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"We are slightly stunned but at the same time very honoured that the fans of Aberdeen FC have chosen our song as their anthem to Peter Pawlett and their achievement in getting it so high in the charts in the space of just one day is a real testament to both their dedication to their club and to this player in particular,” they added.
Released on 27 November 1981 as the fourth single from their third studio album Dare, ‘Don’t You Want Me’ was The Human League’s best known and most commercially successful recording to date. It was the Christmas number 1 in the UK, where it has since sold over 1,560,000 copieseto make it the 23rd most successful single in UK Singles Chart history. It would break America, too, topping the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982 where it would stay for three weeks.
Watch the video for 'Don't You Want Me' - The Human League
"Speaking as a band who have always enjoyed a deeply loyal and enthusiastic fan base of our own we know just how important the fans really are and what a difference they can make,” the band added.
"We do of course wish the Aberdeen fans every success in their campaign to honour Peter by getting DYWM to number one on Sunday and regardless of whether they succeed or not we hope that both they and everyone involved with the club have a fantastic day at their League Cup parade this coming Sunday. As we believe the saying goes in Aberdeen - Come On You Reds!"