Talk:Philip Oakey

Philip or Phil?
Reliable sources close to Mr Oakey state that he now personally prefers to be called Philip Oakey instead of Phil Oakey which he was widely known early in his career. This mirrors his Human League Co-Vocalist Susanne Sulley now preferring to be called Susan. Conflicting reports also state that he continues to refer to himself as Phil on stage during Human League live events. When asked about this Oakey said "I've never been a Phil, it's too familiar and I am a formal sort of person"

For Wiki purposes Philip Oakey should be considered as the normal term of address as Phil is just a truncation of his full first name.

Andi064 21:27, 8 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Seems reasonable. roundhouse 22:42, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

"I've never been a Phil" - except on "Love Action" when he said "This is Phil talking"... Totnesmartin 17:02, 2 October 2007 (UTC)
 * Here's the quote ref: there are other instances where he has said the same thing. He can get quite irritated being called Phil by the media now. Maybe times change and what seemed like a good idea to appear cool 26 years ago isn’t anymore. Similarly I know that Susan G is totally embarrassed by the whole 'Susanne' thing, another attempt to appear cool. Living people are refered to by their present prefered name on Wikipedia, hence the changes I made; and on Being Boiled he was credited as Philip Oakey anyway.Andi064 17:36, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

Opinion statements
There are a lot of uncited opinion statements in this article, like "he famously left a note on Oakey's front door" (is it famous?), "In an unplanned move that is now entrenched in popular folklore" (is it?), "Oakey has been a very flamboyant dresser and fashion trend setter" (what trends did he set?), etc. etc. I don't know anything about Oakey, which is why I looked up the article in the first place, but all of this Oakey-boosting opinion stuff stood out as I was reading. Maybe someone knowledgeable can have a look? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.161.86.196 (talk) 02:47, 27 December 2014 (UTC)
 * I agree. A lot of this stuff is still there. I'm going to chop the vaguest of the unsourced stuff first. Ashmoo (talk) 08:49, 11 November 2016 (UTC)

Reference Validity
The first reference in this article, used multiple times, appears to be just a fan webpage. How can the veracity of this sourced be confirmed? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.155.42.169 (talk) 23:18, 24 March 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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What happened to the Solihull stuff?
Last time I read the Phil Oakey article, I can't remember how long ago it had various facts about Solihull, like how he went to Solihull School http://www.solsch.org.uk/page/?pid=279. And how his earlier school was in another part of Solihull, from memory possibly Catherine de Barnes? Middle More Rider (talk) 22:46, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

Mentioned here: http://www.the-black-hit-of-space.dk/articles_2004_irmingham_evening_mail.htm Middle More Rider (talk) 23:37, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

ethnicity
greek, afghan, indian or arab ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:908:191:5FA0:6D6B:D5F0:70CD:B670 (talk) 09:24, 29 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Neither, he's English. Nick Cooper (talk) 15:05, 5 November 2021 (UTC)

Phil in solihull
Incredible that Phil probably attended the Solihull music venue The Lair when he was in Solihull. Paul panic (talk) 11:45, 28 April 2021 (UTC)


 * Possible, but he was 14 when the family had moved to Sheffield. He was probably one of the lads larking about at that well known hangout, the fountains in Mell Square.
 * Middle More Rider (talk) 02:25, 25 July 2023 (UTC)

Hairstyle- later years
With a “number two” the hair is several mm long. But videos I’ve seen of him live  (2016 and later) have him with what looks like a bald head. Definitely not a number two, so that is not "the style he wears today", which is what the article states. Boscaswell  talk  08:05, 10 April 2022 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion: You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 19:24, 7 April 2023 (UTC)
 * Phil Oakey on BBC Radio 4's Front Row, 10 Dec 2010.flac

Some comments by Martyn Ware
In a YouTube video, 'Martyn Ware – the Human League, Heaven 17 and getting a £324,000 cheque in the ‘80s', he says that Oakey was originally from Solihull, maybe he didn't want to go into a big explanation of previous places? How verifiable are the locations in this article? About Oakey joining the band he says they were with him in person and Ian told him he was in. Nothing about a note on a door. On the band splitting, he says that the only tension was about Oakey wanting Adrian Wright to have equal earnings even though he only put up picture slides, and that Martyn arrived at a studio rehearsal and the manager was there, he told Martyn he wanted him to leave the band. Just him. But then Ian said he'd go with Martyn. On Oakey seeing the new female members dancing in a night club, Martyn says "It's bollocks, it was all pre planned", as in getting the girls and getting Jo Callis etc. into the band. Middle More Rider (talk) 02:38, 25 July 2023 (UTC)