It was our first song that wasn’t written by us both. “The record company instantly thought, 'oh we’ve got a potential hit',” recalls McCluskey. "The contention was within the band and within our own management. But it was also a lament for the destruction of Hiroshima by a nuclear bomb in 1945. Yes it was catchy, that heavenly synth line spiralling toward the troposphere. OMD were, by contrast, hugely ambivalent about Enola Gay. Granted, it worked for the time, but that’s how i see it now.When Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark ’s Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys played their weird new song for their record label, the suits immediately heard the chiming of cash tills. The video isn’t anything special, though really, it feels too homemade, like something a bunch of amateurs would make at their local Make Your Own Music Video outlet. I prefer some other acts from the era, but this is interesting for sure, and I can definitely see how it probably influenced a fair amount of modern stuff. It’s an interesting blend of ’80s pop and techno, and I’m glad that there’s an actual song here, too. Jordan Blum: I’ve heard a lot about this band over the years.
Understandably and perhaps due to the success of the single, it doesn’t sound that fresh 36 years past its release though. There’s a really interesting schism between the feelings that the vocals and the synths inspire throughout the piece. Ĭhad Miller: Really nice political music. Frothy and catchy, but also very layered and mature.
Bouncier than New Order, a lot less gloomy than Depeche Mode, more dancefloor-friendly than Thomas Dolby, the song is fun and catchy but has too much going for it to be simply dismissed as a dance single. OMD became one of those synth outfits perfect for a John Hughes soundtrack, and the sound definitely recalls the ’80s heyday of fellow plastic pop earworm titans Erasure.
Ĭhris Ingalls: Full disclosure: my first experience with this song was hearing the live version off the soundtrack of the 1980 live concert documentary “Urgh! A Music War”, but I usually skipped the song in order to hear XTC’s “Respectable Street.” One of OMD’s better known (and earlier) songs, it’s still fun to hear decades later. “Enola Gay” is perhaps the quintessential embodiment of their sound - a romantic epic told through two alternating, and often intersecting, synthpop riffs, one a revolving premonition and the other an ecstatic burst of shimmering nostalgia. Yet their influence on the genre - now and then - is incalculable: Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey’s soaring yet racked-with-pain synthesizer melodies and soft-spoken vocals set a sonic and thematic precedent that remains firmly intact today. Pryor Stroud: In the popular consciousness, the vanguard of ’80s synthpop is typically composed by the likes of the Human League, Tears for Fears, and Depeche Mode. Besides that, “Enola Gay” is a sweet electronic song that’s textured, layered and multi-dimensional, making it a song that almost everyone can find something to enjoy. It’s easily one of the few electronic songs that has a topical/political underbelly, and it is somewhat a shame that the beat overpowers the message at times.
However, underneath this upbeat song is a dark reference to the World War II bombing of Hiroshima, as McCluskey croons “Enola Gay / You should have stayed at home yesterday / Ah-ha words can’t describe/ T he feeling and the way you lied”. Andy McCluskey’s vocals sound great as well, and are enhanced by the great electronic beat behind him. Not only is the rhythm tight, but the synths and melodies float sweetly over the percussion. Emmanuel Elone: For an ’80s electronic song, “Enola Gay” is still more layered and sophisticated than many electronic songs coming out today.