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.
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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. Listen to the best of OMD on Apple Music and Spotify.Emmanuel Elone: For an ’80s electronic song, “Enola Gay” is still more layered and sophisticated than many electronic songs coming out today. The band will also perform a special live streamed show from London’s Indigo at The O2 on October 24 – set to raise money and awareness for their crew, whose livelihoods have been so affected in the wake of the global Covid-19 pandemic. Lyrically detailing the atomic bombing on Hiroshima during World War II by the B29 Superfortress aircraft, the song scored a UK Top 10 on the singles charts and went on to become an international success, selling more than 5 million copies worldwide and ingraining itself as a synth pop classic and arguably OMD’s signature track. Recorded at Ridge Farm Studios in Dorking, and released on September 26, 1980, “Enola Gay” was the only single from the band’s second studio album Organisation. It’s already a perfect song, so this is just a tribute and an homage, made all the more meaningful with the occurrence this year of the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombs on Japan. Of the remix, Doyle comments “Getting your hands on the raw material of “Enola Gay” feels like stealing into hallowed halls. The single has also received a hypnotic remix from Hot Chip’s Al Doyle, out today.