Electricity (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark song)

"Electricity" is the 1979 debut single by English electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), featured on their eponymous debut album the following year. Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys sing the lead vocals on the track together in unison. As with single " Messages" from the same album, the song features a melodic synthesizer break as opposed to a sung chorus.

The track is a holdover from defunct Wirral group the Id, who were led by McCluskey and Humphreys. Following OMD's release of "Electricity" on Factory Records, the band were offered a recording contract with Dindisc, who twice re-issued the single. An October 2019 re-release, through Virgin EMI, topped the UK Vinyl Singles Chart.

"Electricity" has been recognised as one of the most influential songs of its era, and has been praised by multiple recording artists.

Background

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

McCluskey and Humphreys originally recorded "Electricity" as members of OMD precursor group the Id, in early 1978. 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.

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 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." In a review of 1980 single " Enola Gay", Jonathan Green of ''The Canberra Times'' described both it and "Electricity" as a "super pop song".

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?" (Bushell later called his "less than generous" appraisal a "mistake".) 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" peaked at no. 2 on the ''Sounds'' Alternative Chart in the summer of 1979, and was later featured on ''NME''s end-of-year list.

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

Legacy

Danny Eccleston of ''Mojo'' recognised "Electricity" as important to "the dawn of UK synth-pop", while ''The Guardian''s Mary Harron wrote that it "pioneered a new electronic pop". 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). Andrew Trendell of ''NME'' identified the track as a "classic" and "one of the most influential singles of the post-punk era". AFI and Blaqk Audio frontman Davey Havok called the song "groundbreaking".

Erasure bandleader Vince Clarke (formerly chief songwriter of Depeche Mode and Yazoo) told the BBC
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