Song · Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
“Radio Waves” by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
From the album Dazzle Ships (1983)
“Radio Waves” by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark appears on 2 radio countdowns from 1 station between 1983 and 1988. It was first released in 1983 on the album Dazzle Ships. Its best result is #66 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1983. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #120 alternative song of 1983 and #5,730 alternative song of all time.
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"Radio Waves" sits on Dazzle Ships, the fourth album from Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, released on 4 March 1983 through Virgin but dressed up as the work of Telegraph, a label that didn't exist. Andy McCluskey wrote it with John Floyd and sings lead, and the band produced it with Rhett Davies.
It's a fitting title for a record that leaned on shortwave radio recordings and musique concrète collages to get at the Cold War and the Eastern Bloc, and that swerved hard away from the hit-making Architecture & Morality after OMD refused to simply make that album again. Critics mostly panned it at the time, though the press has since come round to hearing it as a misunderstood record ahead of its time.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 66 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1983 | 107 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 305 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) | 496 |
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