“Don’t You Want Me?” is a historic, globally dominant 1981 synth-pop masterpiece that stands as the absolute definitive anthem of the early British new wave movement for The Human League. Built entirely upon electronic instrumentation, the track features a pulsing synthesizer bassline, mechanical LinnDrum programming, and bright, icy electronic hooks. The production is clean, synthetic, and cinematic, paving a brand-new path for electronic commercial pop music on a massive global scale.

Lyrically, the song is a brilliant, dramatic duet structured as a bitter, two-sided argument detailing the collapse of a romantic and professional relationship. Phil Oakey sings the opening verse from the perspective of a manipulative svengali who claims responsibility for making a woman successful, while Susan Ann Sulley delivers a fierce counter-verse, asserting her independent strength and refusal to be controlled. Its incredible synth hook and unforgettable, tragic chorus turned it into an immortal pop culture phenomenon.