Song · Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
“Electricity” by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
From the album Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (1980)
“Electricity” by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark appears on 8 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 1981 and 2024. It was first released in 1980 on the album Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Its best result is #23 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1981. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #23 alternative song of 1981 and #2,438 alternative song of all time.
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"Electricity" is where Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark switched on: their first single, put out on Factory in 1979 and folded into their self-titled debut album a year later. Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys wrote it, a leftover from the Id, the Wirral band the pair had led before, and they sing it together in unison, with Humphreys riding a touch higher in the mix. McCluskey plays bass, Humphreys works the electronic drums, and where a sung chorus should be there's a synthesizer melody bright enough to light the room. They produced it with Chester Valentino.
It barely dented the UK chart, but it caught on in the clubs, won them a deal with Dindisc, and helped kick off the whole synth-pop boom, with Depeche Mode, Duran Duran and Simple Minds among those who took the hint.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 23 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1981 | 106 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 160 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) | 496 |
| 1989 | 171 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) | 495 |
| 1992 | 194 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) | 500 |
| 1994 | 473 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) | 497 |
| 2002 | 309 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 946 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2024 | 937 | WYEP | WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years | 1049 |
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