I imagined "Computer World" by Steve Tupai Francis to be a detailed discourse on the album of the same name by Kraftwerk. In reality this book is yet another biography of the band that rehashes the same old sources and tells the same tales.
In fairness, I think my opinion of this book suffers because I am reading it immediately after devouring Karl Bartos's memoir "The Sound of the Machine – My Life in Kraftwerk and Beyond" which contains valuable insight and fascinating stories about the creation of the album. I can recommend the Bartos book without hesitation.
It's a similar position with the second book "The Human League and the Sheffield electro scene" which I am reading soon after finishing Martyn Ware's autobiography.
There's nothing new in the book's examination of the songs and things feel rote compared to Ware's analysis. The author repeatedly refers to Sheffield as a "small city" and seems to regard the subject matter with mild disdain. This book feels like a commission rather than a labour of love. When I read about the influence of "Eileen Derbyshire" who worked for the "Doctor Who Sound Workshop" (p41) the credibility of the author evaporated completely.
Whilst it may make sense to the author to include an examination of Heaven 17 material until the release of "How Men Are", his decision to stop at this point feels arbitrary. The assertion that The Human League and Heaven 17 became "too divergent" at this point doesn't make sense. Both bands were set on very different courses from the moment Phil and Virgin Records fired Martyn and made an all out assault on the charts. I also think the approach of this book is quite disrespectful to Heaven 17 who merit a book of their own rather than being rolled up as an adjunct.
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