They added, "But the tune is an infectious anachronism—the synthesizer trio still tinkle about as soullessly as they did in 1982, when they hit No. And the (then) mixers du jour Utah Saints sprinkled their magic dust over what was already an accomplished slab of gorgeousness to churn out an even bigger dancefloor stonker. David Sinclair of The Times commented, "All the familiar components are here join-the-dots tune, danceable synth-pop arrangement, catchy bubblegum chorus but the result sounds disconcertingly like the Human League by numbers. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.

A demo version was recorded in 1991 and presented to Max, Ian and Jean [ clarification needed] at East West. In the album review, the reviewer said that "Tell Me When" "portrays Phil Oakey and the girls as a perfect replica of the electro pop band around 1981's Dare album.

Tell Me When" was the first Human League single to be released from Octopus and was issued in advance of the album. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. But isn't that what the League have always had, in abundance, with more than a modicum of electronic auteur thrown in? The band then performs in the main hall of the Wallenstein Palace, surrounded by lit candles and candelabras.

Another NME editor, Paul Moody, viewed it as "sublimely clumsy" with "this killer Human League chorus all over it, the sort that rings around your brain like a nursery rhyme from Mars. By the time of its release, the single received over one thousand plays per week across the board according to East West Records. Tell Me When" became the Human League's most commercially successful single in nine years and reintroduced the band to many of the British general public.The song fared well on the Mainstream Top 40 chart, where it peaked at number nine on 22 April 1995. Dave Thompson of AllMusic said it echoes earlier material, likening it to " Fascination" and " Mirror Man". head of music Richard Park welcomed the single, saying "the marketplace is just ready for a fresh dose of the Human League". Released in a variety of vinyl and CD single formats, these variously included remixes of "Tell Me When" by contemporary electronic acts Utah Saints, Development Corporation and Red Jerry, a non-album B-side ("The Bus to Crookes"), and a track from the band's recent collaboration with Yellow Magic Orchestra.

I actually bought this cd for the instrumental track BUS TO CROOKES which is the last track on this cd single and a great tune. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.It topped the Major Market Airplay charts in the UK for two weeks commencing 4 February, registering total plays of 915 for the week of 11 February. In the US, it peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 15 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and number eight on the Cash Box Top 100. People Magazine stated that "their hot new single 'Tell Me When' has made the Human League hip again". Oakey took issue with this description and said in an interview that the band had never stopped recording and performing since its formation in 1977.