Song · Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
“Secret” by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
From the album Crush (1985)
“Secret” by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark appears on 11 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 1985 and 2003. It was first released in 1985 on the album Crush. Its best result is #48 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1985. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #104 alternative song of 1985 and #1,762 alternative song of all time.
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"Secret" came off Crush, the 1985 album from Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, and this time it's Paul Humphreys out front: he wrote it on his own and takes the lead vocal himself. Stephen Hague's production buffs the synths to a high gloss, and the song is pure soft-focus yearning, a new wave ballad cut out for the last slow dance of the night.
It got a second wind a few years later, when it turned up in the 1988 comedy Arthur 2: On the Rocks and on the film's soundtrack. Around the same time it went back out to American radio as the follow-up to "Dreaming" from The Best of OMD, and pop stations gave it a fresh round of spins.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 48 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1985 | 107 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 136 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) | 496 |
| 1988 | 69 | Live 105 | Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) | 501 |
| 1989 | 243 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) | 495 |
| 1991 | 895 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) | 1002 |
| 1995 | 414 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) | 500 |
| 1996 | 61 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) | 500 |
| 1998 | 238 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) | 488 |
| 1999 | 351 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) | 1002 |
| 2002 | 1525 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 886 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
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