Crush (album)

**Crush** is the title of the sixth OMD studio album. It was released on 17 June 1985 on the Virgin label in the UK.

As well as going Top 20 in the UK[1] *Crush* was also the bands' first chart album in the US [2]. Although not completely moving away from OMD's more experimental sound, many tracks represent the group's desire to break the US market with a more commercial product. Producer Stephen Hague was also drafted in for this ppurpose.

The lead single So In Love (co-written with Hague) was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, although the follow-up Secret fared less well in both countries, only just making the Top 40 in the UK. A third single La femme accident failed to make the Top 40.

The overall sound and success of *Crush* however gave the group more recognition in the US and they were consequently invited to make a contribution to the soundtrack of the teen-movie *Pretty in Pink*. The track If You Leave, written specifically for the movie, reached no.4 on the American Hot 100 in May 1986 and remains one of their best known songs in the US. The single featured the *Crush* track 88 Seconds in Greensboro on the B-side, a song chronicling the Greensboro massacre of November 1978.

## Tracklisting

original release Virgin CDV2349

1. So In Love 3:30
2. Secret 3:56
3. Bloc Bloc Bloc 3:28
4. Women III 4:26
5. Crush 4:27
6. 88 Seconds In Greensboro 4:16
7. The Native Daughters of the Golden West 3:58
8. La femme accident 2:50
9. Hold You 4:00
10. The Lights Are Going Out 3:57

*vinyl LP and cassette (V2349 & TCV2349) break between tracks 5 & 6.*

## Crush The Movie

* The album issue was supplemented by a feature length movie documenting the making and recording of *Crush*, issued by Virgin Video on VHS.[3]

See Crush The Movie page for more details.
## Notes

* *Crush* is the first album is the OMD canon not to have been remastered or been given the 'deluxe' re-issue treatment. The album's last re-issue was on CD on both the Virgin and Disky (NL) labels in 1996.
* Secret is the group's third single, after Souvenir, and Never Turn Away to feature Paul Humphreys on lead vocals. The track also featured sampled vocals by Maureen Humphreys, Paul's wife at the time.
* The cover illustration by Paul Slater is reminiscent of paintings by American artist Edward Hopper. The figures depicted in the windows on the back of the sleeve / inside cover are band core-members A. McCluskey and P. Humphreys.
* The inner sleeve of the LP also features black & white photographs of the two. Martin Cooper and Malcolm Holmes are listed as band members.
* Brass parts are played by brothers Graham and Neil Weir who would join the group during live concerts and go on to become part of the band for the successive album *The Pacific Age*.
* Producer Stephen Hague also contributes musically and co-wrote the lead single and opening track So In Love.
* A 'special American dance remix' of So In Love featured on the US 12" release only.
* Secret and La Femme Accident were both issued as extended remixes on their respective 12" releases.
* Although So In Love and Secret feature on all the group's 'greatest hits' albums, La Femme Accident is always left out. Their first compilation album (1988) does however featured the 12" version of the track. The track was rightly reinstated on the definitive 2019 *Souvenir - The Singles Collection 1979-2019*
* La Femme Accident references French saint Joan of Arc (see also Joan of Arc and Maid of Orleans from the *Architecture & Morality* album).
* A promo video was also made for Hold You, although the track was never released as a single.

## Related tracks

the following tracks were issued as single B-sides or bonus tracks:

* Concrete Hands (7" and extended 12" versions) - b-side to So In Love. Shorter version features on *Navigation The OMD B-Sides*
* Maria Gallante - bonus tracks on So In Love 2x7" & 12". Remains unique to this release.
* White Trash (live) - bonus track on So In Love 2x7". Track originally featured on *Junk Culture*, remains unique to this release.
* Drift - B-side to Secret 7" & 12". Instrumental track, remains unique to this release.
* Firegun - B-side and bonus track on 7", 12" and 2x12" releases of La Femme Accident. Features on *Navigation: The OMD B Sides*.
* Extended versions of So In Love and Secret feature on *So80s (SoEighties) Presents Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark* (2011).[4]

## Live performances

* The release of *Crush* was backed with a UK and European tour, continuing into a North America leg (see Crush tour). Demand in the US led them to go straight onto The Power Station support tour and The Thompson Twins support tour, spilling over into 1986. Some UK and European dates originally scheduled for October and November 85 were either cancelled or re-scheduled to February 1986.
* The live gig at Sheffield City Hall on 14 June 1985 was recorded and transmitted on BBC Two on 23 July 1985 as part of a special documentary on the group. The programme was made available officially as part of the *Souvenir* box set in 2019. See Live at Sheffield City Hall (14/06/1985).

## External links

* Discogs
* Musicbrainz
* Spotify