So, the inestimable Mr @nickyhavey was the lucky winner of the draw to choose the next record on from The Mobile's Drowning in Berlin. Nicky chose 21.
Now, those who know me will know I'm a great fan of Gary Numan. When I saw that the number was 21, and knowing we were on M for Mobiles, I had a little bet to myself that we would land squarely in Numan territory. Which would have been fine by me. Lots to write about there 😉
So I started counting, and, yes, we hit the Numan singles. I carried on counting, and we hit the last single as I counted 20 - Noooo!
So Number 21 is the first single beyond my Numan stuff. And actually, I'm very happy. I love this single. An absolute synthpop classic, and one of the very first singles I bought as I was getting my collection going back in 1980. I was 13. 😄
It's this. Messages by Orchestral Manouvres in the Dark
You can see the cover bears a few scars and scrapes from it being 41 yers in my collection. Fourty. One. Years. Oh my lord.
But the music on the but of plastic in the cover is as fresh as ever (nope, I'm not above using a good old cliché in my writing!)
I think the start of Messages is one of the most iconic synthpop intros ever. That simple 4 note riff, which then builds with a simple chord and a glorious synth and reverse cymbal rise that throws you headlong into to meat of the song. Lovely subtle chord changes, and quite a melancholy song, given it's got quite a driving tempo.
Have a listen...
OMD walked a fine line between deft pop songs with a fine ear for a touching and memorable melody, and quite arty pieces. But they pulled it off. The singles were always exquisite. Sometimes they sailed quite close to cheesy, but surfed that wave skillfully and never quite fell into that trap. Then there were deeper cuts waiting to be found on the albums. I loved them. To be fair, after founding member Paul Humphries left in '89 some of their 90s albums did firmly target the poppier end of the spectrum, and they got less of a warm reception as a result. But I still had a soft spot for them.
And I still do. Their last album - The Punishment of Luxury, their thriteenth - is a cracking record. Recommended.
In fact, there's little of their output that I've not liked in one way or another. Some didn't quite gel when I first heard it, but as I've revisited stuff over time it all grew on me. I do think that's usually a good sign that there's more to the music than at first meets the eye.
The b-side of Messages is that old staple of single releases - an instrumental version of the lead track.
The title, 'Taking Sides Again' is one of the lyrics from Messages.
It's not a straight instrumental mix where the vocals have just been taken out of the main track. They've had a bit of a fiddle 😉
Anyway, pop or arty - OMD delivered. And talking of pop, fun fact: Andy McClusky (the singling bass player) went on to found Atomic Kitten and write most (if not all) of their early hits. This chap know how to hit the charts...
As I've been writing this, I've been bouncing around OMD stuff from across the years. They really did release some wonderful stuff - I would heartily recommend having a dive into their music if you're not that familiar with them, but like a good pop tune.
I sort of hesitate to mention this next bit, as I think I'm going to suffer by comparison. But being a musician and a shameless self-publicist, I can't pass up the opportunity to talk about somrthing I've done.
As well as my solo stuff, I've done a lot of work with an old friend under the name quiddity. As well as original stuff, we did the occasional cover. I wrote about some of our politically tinged covers recently, but we also did some normal covers. And as I've always loved Messages and fancied that I could get awa y with simgning it I convinced Dan for us to have a go. I'll let you be the judge as to whether we pulled it off 😉
So, there y'go. OMD and Messages. Lovely stuff.
Help me find the next track to play you in a couple of weeks by replying to this post with a number between 1 and 100. More info below....
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My record collection listening chain is a series of occasional posts working through my 7" single collection (and maybe other records as well). The general idea is that I started by posting about the first record in my collection, then asked readers to reply with a random number from 1 to 100. I would then choose someone at random, and count on from the last record posted about by the number they have chosen and post about that record. Then we'll rinse and repeat until we get bored! Oh, and I also chuck in a 100 delegated Hive Power reward, 50 delegated Vibe Power & Rising Star instrument card to the chosen poster as a 'thank you for playing'!
Previous records from the collection...
#6 - Drowning in Berlin
#5 - We Are Ninja
#4 - People Are People
#3 - The Authentic Ray Charles ep
#2 - Old Red Eyes Is Back
#1 - Take a Chance on Me