If You Leave (song)

Composition

The band wrote "If You Leave" after John Hughes decided to change the ending to Pretty in Pink after poor test audience reactions. Hughes had asked the band for a song for the new ending two days before they were due to begin a tour, and "If You Leave" was written and recorded in under 24 hours as a result. The song was deliberately written at a tempo of 120 BPM, to match the speed of "Don't You (Forget About Me)", which the dancers in the scene had initially danced to. Despite this songwriter Andy McClusky later noted that an editing error meant that the dancing appears out of sync regardless. The original ending featured another OMD song, "Goddess of Love", which was released on The Pacific Age later in 1986.

Reception and legacy

Ian Cranna in Smash Hits wrote that "If You Leave" is "false and contrived and seems to last about 3 years", and elected to review B-side "88 Seconds in Greensboro" instead, describing it as "OMD at their blazing best". In later years, Trouser Press called the song a "dull ballad", while Village Voice journalist Alfred Soto said it represented "the nadir of synth pop".

Other retrospective opinions were favourable. Mike DeGagne in AllMusic named "If You Leave" as the best track from Pretty in Pink, adding that "its adult feel and smooth transition from stanza to chorus makes it [OMD's] most memorable song". Stereogum critic Ryan Leas considered the track to be among "the best songs of the '80s", and described its intro/chorus synthesizer melody as "one of the best sounds ever". Andrew Unterberger in Stylus Magazine said that the "gorgeous" song makes the final scene of Pretty in Pink "one of the best in cinematic history".

Hugo Lindgren in The New York Times Magazine argued that the stateside popularity of "If You Leave" – as well as that of the similarly pop-oriented Crush (1985) – "obscured OMD's legacy as musical innovators" from US audiences, adding that the release of the single marked the point "when making music to satisfy their own youthful curiosities finally and irrevocably gave way to making music for whoever signed the checks". Listeners in OMD's native UK – where the band had gained an audience with edgy, experimental music – were particularly resistant to the track. Frontman Andy McCluskey commented: "It's a blessing to have such a big hit, but a shame that it overshadows so many other good songs for the US audience. We have many European fans who hate the song."

"If You Leave" has been included in various "greatest songs" listings; KOOL-FM named it the third-best new wave song of the 1980s, while Time Out ranked it the 10th greatest song of 1980s cinema.

In popular culture

The Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation, which was known in its early seasons for naming each episode after a 1980s hit song, named an episode after this song. On Modern Family, "If You Leave" is Phil and Claire Dunphy's song. However, Claire forgets this and thinks their song is "True" by Spandau Ballet. In the Season 2 finale of The Goldbergs the song is played as Erica boards the plane on her way to her summer music school. Cover versions of the song have also been used in film and television.

7": Virgin / VS 843 (UK)

1. "If You Leave" – 4:30
2. "88 Seconds in Greensboro" – 4:20

7": A&M/Virgin / AM 8669 (US)

1. "If You Leave" – 4:24
2. "Secret" – 3:57

7": A&M/Virgin / AM 2811 (US)

1. "If You Leave" - 4:24
2. "La Femme Accident" - 3:58

12": Virgin / VS 843-12 (UK)

1. "If You Leave" (extended version) – 5:59
2. "88 Seconds in Greensboro" – 4:20
3. "Locomotion" (live version) – 3:50

12": A&M/Virgin / SP-12176 (US)

1. "If You Leave" (extended version) – 5:59
2. "La Femme Accident" (extended version) – 5:36

Other appearances

Cover versions