It was written jointly by lead singer Philip Oakey with keyboard players Jo Callis and Ian Burden, and produced by Martin Rushent.

"Mirror Man" (originally titled "Can't Get To Sleep At Night"[2]) was the first track written and recorded by the Human League after they returned from their World Tour, conducted in the wake of the enormous international success of their album Dare.

Vocalists Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall feature prominently throughout the song but have no lyrics, providing backing vocals of "oohs" and "ahhs".

[citation needed] Speculation about who was the titular 'Mirror Man' was ended in 1988 when, during interviews to promote the band's Greatest Hits album, Oakey revealed that it was about Adam Ant.

The main scenes are of Oakey in a dressing room singing to a mirror, spliced in with footage of the crash and death of John Cobb (whilst attempting to break the world water speed record on Loch Ness on 29 September 1952).