Electricity (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark song)

The track is a holdover from defunct Wirral group the Id (who were led by McCluskey and Humphreys), and features a melodic synthesizer break as opposed to a sung chorus. Following OMD's release of "Electricity" on Factory Records, the band were offered a recording contract with Dindisc, who twice re-issued the single. It achieved limited success on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at no. 99 in early 1980, but found popularity in nightclubs. A 2019 re-release, through Virgin EMI, topped the UK Vinyl Singles Chart.

Background[edit]

"Electricity" was the first song that Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys wrote together at the age of 16.^[3] It addresses society's wasteful usage of energy resources.^[4] Inspired by Kraftwerk's "Radioactivity", the track was described by McCluskey as "a faster, punkier version of 'Radioactivity' with a chorus".^[5] As with single "Messages" from the same album, a sung chorus is substituted for a melodic synthesizer break.^[6]


McCluskey and Humphreys originally recorded "Electricity" as members of OMD precursor group the Id, in early 1978.^[7] After OMD's first concert, opening for Joy Division in a 1978 appearance at Eric's Club in Liverpool, McCluskey was inspired to send a demo of the song to Factory Records founder Tony Wilson. They later heard that while he was not impressed with it, his wife was, so he bought it from them and released it as a single. Its ensuing success led to them receiving a seven-album record deal with Dindisc, worth over £250,000.^[8][9]

Reception[edit]

"Electricity" was a hit with veteran DJ John Peel, who gave the song regular play on his late-night radio show;^[10][11] as a result, the British music press quickly picked up on the song.^[11] Adrian Thrills of NME cited it as "the best example of Factory Records to date – excellent, melodic, synthesiser pop". He also lauded B-side "Almost", calling it "a doleful, heartsick slab of electronic angst".^[11] In a review of 1980 single "Enola Gay", Jonathan Green of The Canberra Times described both it and "Electricity" as a "super pop song".^[12]


Conversely, Garry Bushell gave a negative review in Sounds, in which he remarked: "If Mike Oldfield was ten years younger and a Tubeway Army fan, this is what he'd sound like... who wants to listen to a bunch of Scousers whining about electricity anyway?"^[11] (Bushell later called his "less than generous" appraisal a "mistake".^[13]) David Hepworth, who re-assessed the track in the same publication, wrote that OMD's sound "commands your attention" and lauded the single for being "packaged with as much taste as it's played".^[11] "Electricity" reached no. 2 on the Sounds Alternative Chart in the summer of 1979^[14] and became popular in nightclubs.^[15][16]


In a retrospective article, Ned Raggett of AllMusic described the song as "pure zeitgeist, a celebration of synth pop's incipient reign".^[2] Critic Dave Thompson called it a "perfect electro-pop number".^[4]

Legacy[edit]

Andrew Trendell of NME recognised "Electricity" as a "classic" and "one of the most influential singles of the post-punk era".^[17] The Guardian's Mary Harron wrote that the song "pioneered a new electronic pop",^[18] while Mike Mettler of Digital Trends said it "is generally acknowledged as being the pioneering inspirational synth-pop track for many early electronic artists".^[19] Author and musician Rudi Esch described "Electricity" as "a song that started a new movement"; Esch borrowed its title for his book, Electri_City: The Düsseldorf School of Electronic Music (2016).^[14] John Earls of Classic Pop called the track "groundbreaking".^[20]


Erasure bandleader Vince Clarke (formerly chief songwriter of Depeche Mode and Yazoo) told the BBC, "When I was 18 or 19 I heard a single called 'Electricity' by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. It sounded so different from anything I'd heard; that really made me want to make electronic music, 'cause it was so unique."^[21] The song was a fixture in the DJ sets of Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes; bandmate John Taylor cited it as an early influence on the group.^[22] The track was also important to artists such as Alphaville,^[23] No Doubt,^[24] Take That's Gary Barlow,^[19] and Nation of Language, whose formation it directly inspired.^[25] "Electricity" and its cover art were highly influential on the parallel music and graphic design careers of Brett Wickens (co-founder of the groups Spoons and Ceramic Hello).^[26] BBC Radio's Steve Lamacq has named the "wonderful" song as his inspiration to become a radio DJ, noting that he wanted to afford air time to similar, "curious" music.^[10][14]


"Electricity" has been praised by other musicians. Ted Ottaviano of Book of Love, a band heavily influenced by OMD, said, "I've never heard anything so simple and sophisticated all at the same time... [It's] one of my all-time faves."^[27] Mute Records founder Daniel Miller wrote, "I remember thinking, 'My God, that's an amazing pop song'."^[14] Philip Oakey of the Human League called it a "brilliant single",^[28] while Simple Minds frontman Jim Kerr commented, "I bought it and played it nonstop... I was downright jealous to be honest."^[29] David Balfe of The Teardrop Explodes also mentioned his admiration for "Electricity".^[14]


The track has been covered by artists including NOFX,^[30] Apoptygma Berzerk^[31] and MGMT.^[32] Q argued that "The Kids Aren't Alright", by punk rock band the Offspring, "borrows heavily" from the song; the magazine pointed to NOFX's punk cover of "Electricity" as evidence.^[33] In its various releases, the track has been ranked among the best of 1979, 1980 and 1981.^[34][35][36] In May 1980, ZigZag readers voted it one of the top 20 singles of the past year.^[37] It has since appeared in lists such as Classic Pop's "Top 40 New Romantic Songs" and Radio X's "20 Best Singles Released on Factory Records".^[38][39]

Sleeve design[edit]

The sleeve was designed by Factory's designer Peter Saville. The band and Saville met in a Rochdale pub and exchanged ideas. Saville told them about a book of avant-garde musical scores which he'd come across. Andy McCluskey said that he sometimes wrote down the tunes he composed in a similar shorthand. This led to the unusual graphics that feature on the sleeve. Saville suggested to use shiny black ink on black paper. Neither OMD nor Tony Wilson believed it could be done, but Saville persuaded a printer to do the job. The thermographic printing was a success, but the place set on fire three times, so eventually only 5,000 sleeves were printed.^[46] The reissue sleeves were standard white on black printed sleeves.