The 1980s were a decade when male pop stars preened. The aesthetics of the New Romantic meant androgyny was culturally sanctioned, spectacular outfits were more likely to appear on men than women, and pretension was encouraged: pop stars actively tried to look like they came from another planet.
And of all the preening 80s frontmen, perhaps the most decked out, the most other-worldly - the most pop-starry - was the Human League's Philip Oakey. With his eye-catching asymmetrical hairstyle, later to be joined by full make-up, earrings and gender-bending outfits, Oakey was only invited to join the Human League because the band members believed he already looked like a pop star. His appearance in the 80s was so outre he said the father of then 17-year-old band member Susan Sulley only allowed her to go on the band's 1980 tour because 'he wasn't entirely sure I was a man'.
So it's somewhat surprising, when talking to Oakey, to discover he's just about the most down-to-earth bloke you could ever wish to meet. Utterly devoid of celebrity pretensions or artistic temperament, he's never moved away from his adopted hometown, Sheffield, still has the same friends he had before he was famous, and sees being a pop star as just another job, one that he says he's incredibly lucky to have. He even admits, without a hint of false modesty, that he doesn't consider himself to be very musical.
The Human League will make their first visit to Hong Kong on October 13 when they play at Kitec in Kowloon Bay. Before that was a US tour on the back of a summer mostly playing festivals in Europe. Oakey, speaking from California, where the band had just headlined Los Angeles' Hollywood Bowl for the second time, says it's a relief to get back to playing to his fans.
'I don't like festivals as much. With solo performances, you know they're there to see you, and you know they know your material,' he says. 'The festival thing has got so big now that people go to them without even knowing who's on, and it can get a bit X Factor if they don't care for you. But the good thing is that you get a chance to impress people who didn't know you before.'
The band have never really stopped touring. No one could accuse them of hopping on the 80s-revival bandwagon, because they've never split up. Even when they hit their commercial nadir in the early 1990s, they ploughed on, kept touring - because this is what they do for a living.
'We're on the bus rather too much at the moment,' says Oakey (who's very much Philip rather than Phil: using the abbreviated version of his name was a short-lived experiment that unfortunately coincided with the 1980 release of Love Action, one of their biggest hits, with its lyrical declaration that 'this is Phil talking'). 'But every day we look at each other and say 'I am so lucky'. Pop music is quite working class. All of my friends have proper jobs, and this is just my job. I like the job a lot and I know I'm privileged. I shouldn't even be a musician - I'm not all that musical.'