In 1980, when Catherall had just turned 18 and was still at school doing A levels, she went on a night out with Susan Ann Sulley where they were discovered in Sheffield's Crazy Daisy Nightclub by Philip Oakey, the lead singer and a founding member of The Human League.

The Human League had recently split acrimoniously over creative differences, leaving only two of the original four members, Oakey and Adrian Wright, to continue.

[citation needed] Catherall now states that she knew it was a genuine offer, as Oakey was well known in Sheffield; she and Sulley already had tickets to see The Human League on the Doncaster leg of their tour.

This was overturned reluctantly when Oakey, complete with his then trademark lop-sided haircut, red lipstick and high heeled shoes, visited both sets of parents to convince them that the girls would come to no harm.

[citation needed][2] The first European tour of The Human League got underway with the two young recruits assigned to dancing and incidental vocal duties.

Although the tour was a success, the crowds were largely hostile to Catherall and Sulley, as fans had bought tickets for the original all male line-up.

[citation needed] The new Human League of Sulley, Oakey, Catherall and Wright started to gain ground in early 1981 with the release of the single "Boys and Girls."

The girls were not used in the production, as the song was written without any female backing, and they were busy with school, however they were featured on the record sleeve and in promotional photo shoots.

Soon after "Boys and Girls" came the recruitment of professional musicians Ian Burden and Jo Callis, which sharpened the band's output considerably.

[citation needed] Now working with a new producer, Martin Rushent, the band's next single, "Sound of the Crowd", was their commercial breakthrough, becoming a Top 20 hit.

The band were invited to play on the UK's principal music programme BBC TV's Top of the Pops with only a few hours' notice.

The scenario was "a movie shoot for a murder mystery film" and is lyrically a conflicting duet between Oakey and Sulley, with backing vocals from Catherall.

The effects of the music and emotional lyrics, as well as the cinematic production values, helped propel "Don't You Want Me" to the UK number one spot.

The subsequent interest prompted Virgin Records to release Dare in the US as "Don't You Want Me" rose in the US charts to number one, aided by the promo video.

[citation needed] However, in 1986, Virgin Records paired The Human League with US production team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

On one occasion, during an interview of ITV's This Morning, host Richard Madeley made the mistake of telling viewers that the band were making an "80s comeback", prompting an irritated Catherall to reply: "We've never stopped working, we've never been away!