mythology once and for all." Smash Hits critic David Hepworth called it "chock-full of precise, memorable melodies delivered with style and humour". Noted music critic Paul Morley wrote in the NME, "Dare is the second intoxicating intervention to be produced out of the great split [referring to Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware leaving the first incarnation of the Human League, and their album Penthouse and Pavement released with their new band Heaven 17], and already it's the first Human League greatest hits collection ... Much more than ABBA or whoever you like, the Human League signify that deliciously serious, sincerely disposable MOR music can possess style, quality and sophistication ... I think that Dare is one of the GREAT popular music LPs." In the US, Rolling Stone rated Dare four out of five stars, with reviewer David Fricke commending the Human League for finding "an appealing balance between modern technique and tuneful charm" on an album of "artfully grabby" songs. Robert Christgau of The Village Voice was less impressed, giving it a "B−" grade and remarking that "Philip Oakey comes on like three kinds of pompous jerk." According to the book Let It Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, renowned music critic Lester Bangs died of an accidental drug overdose while listening to Dare. Awards Dare featured in numerous year-end polls for 1981. It was ranked the sixth best album of 1981 by the NME, and was voted Album of the Year in the 1981 Smash Hits readers' poll. Martin Rushent received the Brit Award for Best British Producer at the 1982 ceremony for his production on Dare, while the band won the award for Best British Newcomer. Legacy Dare has appeared on several lists of the greatest albums of all time. Sounds magazine ranked it the 81st best album of all time in 1986, and the 44th best album of the 1980s three years later. In 1990, Dare was listed by Rolling Stone as the 78th best album of the previous decade. Q placed the record at number 69 on its 2000 list of the "100 Greatest British Albums Ever"; the same magazine, in 2006, ranked Dare the 19th best album of the 1980s. In 2006, British Hit Singles & Albums and NME organised a poll in which 40,000 people worldwide voted for the 100 best albums ever, with Dare placing at number 77. Slant Magazine