"Messages" is the third single of the synthpop group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, released in 1980. The song originally featured on their eponymous debut album, but a re-recorded version provided OMD with their first Top 40hit single in the UK, reaching number 13. As with debut single "Electricity", "Messages" features a melodic synth break instead of sung chorus. Most copies of the original 10" pressing with the album version were scrapped on behalf of the band, but a handful did escape destruction. Some of these were given away as part of a competition for the OMD fan club in 1980. These pressings can be distinguished only by the shorter track time and different runout information. The later grey two-tone labels incorrectly state the producer as Chester Valentino. Mike Howlett is the producer, as the track was remixed and times at 4:48 – later editions again feature grey labels correctly attributed to Howlett and were also issued with different coloured record labels including red, green and a pink/white combination. These labels also correctly credit Howlett for the production. The song was featured in the second series of Ashes to Ashes. It has been covered by White Town and Ganymede.
Reception
writer Dave Thompson called the song "haunting" and "sublime", with a "gorgeous melody is swallowed in sorrow". Colleague Ned Raggett wrote that the track "wears the emotion of its lyrics on its sleeve, with a killer opening line – 'It worries me, this kind of thing, how you hope to live alone and occupy your waking hours' – and a melody both propulsive and fragile". Both found the re-recorded single version to be an improvement on the original.
Song versions and B-sides
An early version of "Messages" was recorded on 20 August 1979 and broadcast by John Peel on his Radio 1 programme on 3 September. Although the song structure and lyrics remained the same, the song originally had a slower tempo than either the single or album versions, the latter being the first to be officially released on the band's debut album in February 1980. The song was re-recorded for the release as a single in May 1980 and this new version differs from the album version. The single was produced by Mike Howlett who would go on to produce the band's highly successful follow up single "Enola Gay" and their second album Organisation later in the year. The 7" version is slightly shorter than the 10" with an earlier fade out. The 10" version is featured on the compilation albumsThe Best of OMD, The OMD Singles and ', which takes its title from this song and also includes the music video. The 10" version was also added as a bonus track on the remastered Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark album, released in 2003. An instrumental dub version of "Messages", titled "Taking Sides Again" is featured as the B-side on both the 7" and 10" singles. On the 10" single, a cover version of The Velvet Underground's song "I'm Waiting for the Man" was included, retitled "Waiting for the Man". Both B-sides can be found as bonus tracks on the remastered Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark; only "Waiting for the Man" was included on the ' compilation album, released in 2001.
The band performed the song live for a showcase appearance on the BBC music programme The Old Grey Whistle Test in May 1980. The performance was later featured in the Synth Britanniaat the BBC programme following the Synth Britannia documentary first broadcast in October 2009. The group also made their Top of the Pops debut on 8 May 1980 when the single was at just no. 53 in the UK Singles Chart. Sheffieldelectronic music band The Human League also made their Top of the Pops debut on the same show. Although "Messages" made slow progress in the charts, the band made a second performance on the programme on 29 May when it was at no. 26 for the second week running. The single eventually made it to no. 13 but was not featured on Top of the Pops again due to the UK Musicians Union strike.
Live performances
The song has been regularly performed live by the band during concerts since 1979. Official audio releases can be found on Live at Leigh Rock Festival 1979, Access All Areas, "Universal" CD single, Dazzle Ships at The Museum of Liverpool and Architecture & Morality / Dazzle Ships – Live at the Royal Albert Hall. Video releases of live performances of "Messages" can be found on the DVDs ' and ' as well as on the Access All Areas and Dazzle Ships at The Museum of Liverpool DVDs. The band performed their version of "Waiting For the Man" during live shows in 1979 and 1980, and later performed a radical reworking of the song featuring brass instruments on their Junk Culture tour in 1984. A recording of the latter version at the Hammersmith Odeon in London features on the 12" version of the "Never Turn Away" 12" single release in 1984.
