B-side "Almost" Genre New wavesynthpop | Format 7" vinyl Length 3:32 | |
Released 21 May 1979(see release history) Recorded Cargo Studios, RochdaleHenry's Studio, Liverpool | ||
"Electricity" is the 1979 debut single of the English group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, featured on their eponymous debut album the following year. Inspired by Kraftwerk's "Radioactivity", the song addresses society's wasteful usage of energy sources. Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys share lead vocals on the track. As with single "Messages", from the same album, the band embraced the concept of machines singing the song's chorus.
Contents
- Track listing
- History
- Reception
- Electricity and Almost versions
- Cover versions
- Singles
- Albums
- Sleeve design
- References
It was on the strength of "Electricity" that the band were offered a recording contract with Dindisc, who twice re-issued the single: the final release achieved a peak of no. 99 on the UK Singles Chart in March 1980. In 2012, "Electricity" peaked at no. 126 in the French charts.
Vince Clarke of Erasure (and formerly chief songwriter of Depeche Mode, Yazoo and The Assembly) has cited "Electricity" as his primary inspiration to pursue a career in electronic music, while BBC Radio's Steve Lamacq has named it as the track that made him want to become a DJ.
Track listing
- "Electricity"
- "Almost"
History
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 worth £250,000.
Reception
"Electricity" was a hit with veteran DJ John Peel, who gave the song regular play on his late-night radio show; as a result, the British music press quickly picked up on the song. Adrian Thrills in the New Musical Express 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."
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?" However, David Hepworth, who re-appraised the track in the same publication, opined that OMD's sound "commands your attention" and lauded the single for being "packaged with as much taste as it's played." "Electricity" featured on the NME end-of-year list for 1979.
Retrospectively, AllMusic critic Ned Raggett described the song as "pure zeitgeist, a celebration of synth pop's incipient reign". Colleague Dave Thompson called it a "perfect electro-pop number".
Vince Clarke cited "Electricity" as the track that sparked his interest in electronic music. In a BBC interview he said: "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." Simple Minds frontman Jim Kerr admitted to being "downright jealous" of the song.
"Electricity" and "Almost" versions
Multiple versions of "Electricity" exist; the earliest are recordings by McCluskey and Humphreys' previous group The Id.
There are many different versions of the two songs that were present on OMD's debut single. After the band left Factory Records, DinDisc attempted twice to score a hit with "Electricity". Consequently, four versions of "Electricity" and three of "Almost" exist.
Cover versions
"Electricity" has been covered by the bands NOFX and MGMT.
Singles
The following singles were released:
Albums
"Electricity" and "Almost" were released on the following OMD albums:
Sleeve design
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. Both OMD and Tony Wilson didn't believe 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. The reissue sleeves were standard white on black printed sleeves.