Susan Ann Sulley
The Sheffield shop assistant plucked from a dance floor to become the defining voice of one of synth-pop's most enduring and unlikely anthems.
Born 1963 (age 63)·English singer·Birthday: March 22·Baby Boomers
Biography
Susan Ann Sulley's story is a perfect slice of pop mythology. In 1980, she was a 17-year-old college student with no professional singing experience when Human League founder Philip Oakey spotted her and school friend Joanne Catherall dancing in a Sheffield nightclub. He invited them to join the band, not as backup singers, but as integral visual and vocal components. Thrust into the spotlight, Sulley's cool, understated delivery became the perfect counterpoint to Oakey's baritone. Her most iconic moment came co-leading the duet "Don't You Want Me," a song of romantic power struggle that became a global phenomenon and defined the sound of early-80s pop. Rather than a fleeting moment of fame, Sulley and Catherall became permanent fixtures, providing the consistent human touch that grounded the band's electronic sound through decades of stylistic shifts. Her career embodies the idea that in pop, authenticity and presence can be as powerful as technical virtuosity.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Susan was born in 1963, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Susan Was Born
The biggest hits of 1963
#1 Movie
Cleopatra
Best Picture
Tom Jones
#1 TV Show
Beverly Hillbillies
Susan's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1963Born
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1968Started school
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1976Became a teenager
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Could drive
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1981Could vote
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1984Turned 21
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1993Turned 30
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 40
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 50
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
2023Turned 60
ChatGPT goes mainstream; Israel-Hamas war begins
Gas: $3.52/galHome: $361,600Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Flowers" — Miley CyrusBest Picture: Oppenheimer
2026Age 63 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Co-lead vocalist on "Don't You Want Me," a worldwide number-one hit in 1981 that became the UK's best-selling single of that year.
- Has been a continuous member of The Human League since 1980, contributing to multiple platinum albums including "Dare" and "Hysteria.", "Performed at the historic Live Aid concert in 1985 as part of The Human League."
Did You Know?
She was studying to be a clerical officer at a Sheffield college when she was recruited by Philip Oakey.
Sulley and bandmate Joanne Catherall were famously given a crash course in singing and dancing by the band's manager after joining.
She briefly used the stage name Susanne Sulley in the early 80s before reverting to her birth name.
“We were just two normal girls from Sheffield who got lucky.”
