| "Enola Gay" | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cover of the original 7" single, designed by Peter Saville. |
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| Single by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark | ||||||||
| from the album Organisation | ||||||||
| B-side | "Annex" | |||||||
| Released | 26 September 1980 | |||||||
| Format | 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl | |||||||
| Recorded | Ridge Farm Studios, Dorking, 1980 | |||||||
| Genre | Synthpop | |||||||
| Length | 3:33 | |||||||
| Label | DinDisc | |||||||
| Writer(s) | Andy McCluskey | |||||||
| Producer | Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Mike Howlett | |||||||
| Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark singles chronology | ||||||||
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"Enola Gay" is a song by British synthpop band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (normally abbreviated to OMD). It was written by frontman Andy McCluskey, and appears on the band's second album, Organisation (DinDisc/Virgin, 1980). It was released as a 7" single on 26 September 1980. "Enola Gay" reached number 8 in the UK chart[1] and topped the charts in Portugal and other European countries. An early version with a slightly different arrangement appears on the group's Peel Sessions 1979–1983 album.
In 1998 David Guetta & Joachim Garraud and Sash! made remixed versions of the song for the intended second disc of The OMD Singles. The second disc was dropped, and eventually only the Sash! remix appeared on The OMD Remixes EPs. In 2003 the double disc version was released in France only, which included the remixed versions by Guetta and Garraud as well.[2] The Guetta and Garraud remixes were released on a limited 12" to promote the compilation album.[3]
A live performance of this song, recorded at the Guildhall in Portsmouth, England on 19 September 1980, is featured in the film Urgh! A Music War.[4]
Contents |
The song is named after the Enola Gay, the USAAF B-29 Superfortress bomber that carried "Little Boy", the first atomic bomb to be used in an act of war, dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, killing more than 100,000 of its citizens. The name of the bomber itself was chosen by its commanding pilot, (then) Col Paul Tibbets who named it after his mother, Enola Gay Tibbets (1893–1983), who herself had been named for the heroine of the novel Enola; or, Her fatal mistake.[N 1]
The lyrics to the song reflect on the decision to use the bomb and ask the listener to consider whether the bombings were necessary ("It shouldn't ever have to end this way").[6] The phrase:
is an allusion to both the nickname of the uranium bomb, as well as the fact that pilot Paul Tibbets named the aircraft after his mother. The phrase:
refers to the precise time of detonation over Hiroshima at 8:15am JST.
The song was also released during a major controversy surrounding then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's decision to allow US nuclear missiles to be stationed in Britain.[7]
The music video begins by showing sped-up footage of clouds passing through the sky. After the opening riff, which is shown as just the keyboardist's hands playing it whilst being animated using digital rotoscoping, it shows a transparent video image of McCluskey vocalising and playing a bass guitar. The still photo from the album cover is taken from the video.
| Side one | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Enola Gay" | 3:33 | |||||||
| Side two | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Annex" | 4:33 | |||||||
Unusually, the 12" single contained no additional material or alternative mixes, only the same tracks as on the 7".
| Side one | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Enola Gay (Dancefloor Killa Remix)" | 9:02 | |||||||
| Side two | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Enola Gay (Dub Remix)" | 6:57 | |||||||
| 2. | "Enola Gay (Radio Edit)" | 3:05 | |||||||
| Chart (1980/1981) | Peak position |
Certifications (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|---|
| UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[8] | 8 | BPI: Silver[9] |
| Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart [10] | 47 | |
| French Singles Chart | 1 | |
| Ireland (IRMA)[11] | 14 | |
| Italy (FIMI) [12] | 1 | |
| New Zealand (RIANZ)[13] | 31 | |
| Portuguese Singles Chart | 1 | |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] | 2 | |
| US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard) [15] | 34 |
| Preceded by "Amoureux solitaires" by Lio [16] |
Italian Singles Chart number-one single 4 July 1981 – 8 August 1981 [12][17][18][19][20][21] |
Succeeded by "(Out Here) On My Own" by Nikka Costa [22] |
Spanish pop-rock group Los Petersellers included in their second LP Contra la amenaza del Dr. Thedio (1997) a cover (many of their songs are covers) with the music of "Enola Gay" and self-penned Spanish lyrics, with the title "Manolo es Gay" (Manolo Is Gay). Serbian punk rock band KBO! recorded a version on their 2001 cover album (Ne) Menjajte Stanicu ((Do Not) Change The Station).[23] Also in 2001, the indie synthpop band The Faint covered the song on Messages: Modern Synthpop Artists Cover Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.[24]
The song was covered several times in 2007. Swedish artist Sommarkillen made a cover of the song called "Sommartjej" with new Swedish lyrics; the Danish electro-pop trio, Oliver North Boy Choir (formerly called Pierre) also recorded it. This track was posted on many MP3 blogs. In June 2007, José Galisteo released his cover of it on his debut album, Remember.[25] German techno group Scooter also covered the song on their 2007 album Jumping All Over the World.[26] There was also a 2007 dance version (with multiple remixes) of the single recorded by a French band Digital Air.
The song was featured in the critically acclaimed 2008 Israeli film Waltz with Bashir, directed by Ari Folman, which documented the experiences of Folman as a young soldier in the 1982 Lebanon War. The track also features on the Max Richter soundtrack of the film.