One Man in My Heart

"One Man in My Heart" is a song recorded by British synthpop band The Human League. It was released as the second single from the band's album Octopus. A ballad, the song differs from all previous Human League tracks as the lead vocal is performed by a female member of the band, Susan Ann Sulley, with spoken word refrains from Philip Oakey and contrasting backing from the third Human League member Joanne Catherall. Released on 6 March 1995 in the UK, the song received positive reviews from music critics and eventually peaked at number 13 in the UK Singles Chart, eventually spending eight weeks in the charts.[1] In 2001, The Guardian newspaper called it one of the best love songs of the 1990s.[2]

"One Man In My Heart"
Single by The Human League
from the album Octopus
Released6 March 1995
Recorded1994
GenreSynthpop
Length3:45
LabelEast West Records
Songwriter(s)Oakey, Sutton
The Human League singles chronology
"Tell Me When"
(1994)		 "One Man In My Heart"
(1995)		 "Filling Up with Heaven"
(1995)

The song was written by Neil Sutton and Philip Oakey. Criticism of Susan Ann Sulley's vocals was that she was too technically proficient making her sound "bland": one critic declared that he missed "The rough edges of the girl plucked from the Sheffield dance floor".[3]

Music video
Susan Ann Sulley in the "One Man in My Heart" promotional video, 1995

The music video for One Man in My Heart has a similar cinematography style to the video for the previous single Tell Me When and had the same director, Andy Morahan. It is set in a Parisian cafe and principally features (for this song) lead vocalist Susan Ann Sulley sat on her own having a coffee while singing to herself; whilst watching the other customers. Fellow band members Philip Oakey and Joanne Catherall are seated elsewhere in the cafe and the camera pans to them for their backing vocals and Oakey's incidental spoken words.[4]

Known in the media for her regular dramatic style changes Sulley had the look of an elegant business woman for the video. Sulley always insists that she "doesn’t dress up for music videos" and the style seen on screen is how she could be found in her daily life. She changed her style again before the next music video later that year. The video received considerable play on VH1

Critical reception

Billboard were highly favourable, writing: "this sophomore single from the act's comeback album Octopus needs no apologies for its innocent composition. It is a beautiful ballad that should set top 40 afire."[5] Dave Thompson of AllMusic continued this welcoming sentiment, saying: "One Man in My Heart" could have been a total throwaway, a gloopy little love song without a single redeeming quality, beloved by grannies and tweenies, gag-inducing for those outside those age parameters. But the band obviously gave the number time and attention, and thus ensured that it can't be so easily dismissed." He added: "the group produced a love song unlike virtually all typical pop fodder."[6]

Track listings

"One Man In My Heart" was released as 2 CD singles with remixes by Joachim Björklund & Sören Elonsson, credited as T.O.E.C.

  • CD 1 1995, East West (YZ904CD1)
  1. One Man In My Heart
  2. One Man In My Heart (T.O.E.C. Extended)
  3. One Man In My Heart (T.O.E.C. Unplugged)
  4. These Are The Days (Sonic Radiation)
  • CD 2 1995, East West (YZ904CD2)
  1. These Are The Days (Ba Ba Mix)
  2. These Are The Days (Overworld Mix)
  3. These Are The Days (Man With No Name Vocal)
  4. One Man In My Heart (T.O.E.C. Nasty Sue Mix)

Charts
Chart (1995) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[7] 60
Germany (Official German Charts)[8] 90
Ireland (IRMA)[9] 29
Poland (LP3)[10] 25
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[11] 7
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[12] 13
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References
  1. "Artist Chart History - The Human League". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  2. The Guardian, Culture Supplement April 2001
  3. Music Week Magazine March 1995
  4. mvdbase.com - the Human League - "One man in my heart"
  5. Flick, Larry (3 June 1995). "Single reviews". Billboard. 107 (22): 83. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  6. Thompson, Dave. "One Man in My Heart Single Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  7. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12 no. 14. 8 April 1995. p. 22. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  8. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Human League – One Man in My Heart". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  9. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – One Man in My Heart". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  10. "Notowanie nr696" (in Polish). LP3. 2 June 1995. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  11. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  12. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
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