3. The Human LeagueDare

I bought Dare before I came to Sheffield. The Human League were romantic glam, happening in a city of smoke and furnaces. Sheffield seemed not quite north, not quite Midlands, which I quite liked. It had its own attitude and identity, and films like Threads and The Human League. I’d known bands like Cabaret Voltaire since the John Peel years. The city was like a fucked up Manchester, more sardonic, more humorous. This group sounded like the music of the future, siphoned from a speaker from 1942.

‘Get Carter’ from Dare is based on the film, which was adapted from Ted Lewis’ book, Jack’s Return Home. I have a new English Library paperback of it, but it’s a Richard Allen type design. It says on the author bio, ‘Ted Lewis lives in an idyllic Essex cottage with his blonde wife.’ What? Even in my youth, I thought, that’s a bit fucking strong, isn’t it? What’s that got to do with anything? It sets the seal for what that type of book was aiming at. It’s the same market as Mickey Spillane, without the panache of Raymond Chandler. The film has this hard-boiled quality to it, a little bit of glamour, because Caine’s associated with the swinging 60s, he dressed well and looks good in it. Everything’s well-tailored because it’s made from nylon and holds together in a fight. It’s filmed like The Likely Lads in that kind of bland, social realist, documentary way. There’s that real familiarity to it. When you hear the ‘Get Carter’ theme by The Human League, it’s like, what the fuck is this? The film is so utterly and remorselessly grim that even the sexy bits are horrible. It’s something that doesn’t make sense and has a great attraction for me.