Songoftheday 6/27/14 - Talk to me don't lie to me, save your breath...

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - "So In Love"
from the album Crush (1985)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #26 (two weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 7

Today's Song of the Day is by the British new wave group Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, who were one of the first big synthpop acts to make it big in the UK in the late 70s. Hailing from the town of Meols by the western border with Wales, Paul Humphries and Andy McCluskey led the band as they released their first album in 1980, which was much more experimental in sound than their later work. Their second single, "Red Frame/White Light", was their first to nick the UK chart, peaking at #67. Their next single from their debut, "Messages", did even better, becoming their first top-40 hit at #13.

Later that same year they released a second album, Organisation, and the sole single from the project, "Enola Gay", made it to the top-10 in the UK at #8. It also was their first taste of success outside of Britain, hitting the chart in Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, and even reaching the top-40 on the American dance club play chart in Billboard. The single's success set them up for their next effort, Architecture and Morality, which was their biggest yet, with three singles going top-5 in the UK, and "Souvenir" climbing to #3 (their best showing in their career). From the same album "Maid Of Orleans" topped the singles chart in Germany and the Netherlands.

While their next set Dazzle Ships was more out there, and sold considerably less, the band drifted more toward mainstream pop, and their next album Junk Culture brought them back to the UK top-5 with "Locomotion", which was also another minor club hit in the U.S. (and also my first exposure to OMD courtesy of my Now Thats What I Call Music import cassettes from the Listening Booth).

In 1985 OMD released Crush, which placed them firmly in the center of the pop realm, and the first single, "So In Love", finally got the quartet played on American radio. Produced by up and coming helmsman Stephen Hague, the song had soaring falsettos and pounding keys over a straight-up break-up song...

"So In Love" became OMD's first American top-40 pop hit in November of 1985, while climbing to #16 on the dance club play chart in Billboard magazine. Surprisingly, the single actually peaked one notch under its American high on the British chart, though it did go top-10 in Holland and top-20 in Germany and Ireland.

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...and here's the reunited Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark in 2013...

Up tomorrow: Aunty Entity remains among the not dead.