| "(Forever) Live and Die" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark | ||||
| from the album The Pacific Age | ||||
| B-side | "This Town" | |||
| Released | 26 August 1986[1] | |||
| Format | 7" vinyl, 7" picture disc, 12" vinyl |
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| Recorded | Studio De La Grande Armée, Paris | |||
| Genre | Synthpop | |||
| Length | 3:38 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Writer(s) | Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark | |||
| Producer | Stephen Hague | |||
| Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark singles chronology | ||||
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"(Forever) Live and Die" is a song by British synthpop band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, released as the first single taken from their 1986 album, The Pacific Age. Paul Humphreys provides the lead vocals, as he did on OMD's 1981 UK #3 hit "Souvenir".
The song demonstrates the typical 1980s pop sound, with recurring synthesized melodic chords, bass-driven hooks and an instrumental horn section. The original remix of the 12" (Forever) Live and Die by John 'Tokes' Potoker was withdrawn because the band didn't like it. Virgin records had already printed up 5,000 sleeves crediting the remix, and some of the actual remixes did make it into the shops. It was subsequently replaced with a remix by Tom Lord-Alge.
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The single charted at #11 in the UK[2] and became OMD's second US hit, peaking at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100[3]. It was a top 10 single in several European countries and Canada. It was the last single to peak inside the UK Top 20 before the band split in 1989, and Andy McCluskey continued OMD on his own.
| Chart (1986/7) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 19 |
| Austrian Singles Chart[4] | 5 |
| Canadian Singles Chart[5] | 10 |
| Dutch GfK chart[6] | 5 |
| Dutch Top 40[7] | 3 |
| German Singles Chart | 8 |
| Irish Singles Chart[8] | 13 |
| Swiss Singles Chart[9] | 9 |
| UK Singles Chart[2] | 11 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[3] | 19 |
| US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[3] | 37 |
| US Billboard Adult Contemporary[3] | 25 |