Junk Culture

**Junk Culture** is the title of the fourth studio album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, released on Virgin records in the UK on 30 April 1984. It was the first OMD album to be released on compact disc, which was issued after the vinyl LP and cassette editions, on 24 May.

## Origins

After the Dazzle Ships tour, the group decided to take a break and reflect on their future output, given that the album and singles had not sold as well as they had anticipated (although the tour had been mostly 'sold-out'). On returning to the UK in August, they began writing and demoing new songs at Highland Studios in Inverness, Scotland, away from the constraints of The Gramophone Suite in Liverpool (by now defunct). A short tour was then put together in order to try out new songs and restore faith among the public and fans. New songs included Junk Culture, early versions of Tesla Girls and Never Turn Away, The Avenue (which is now known to have dated back to the *Dazzle Ships* demos) and Heaven Is (which would not make the album). Reception was generally favourable and so OMD returned to the studio with renewed confidence.

In the Winter 1983 fan club newsletter, the group announced that they were now recording at Air Studios in Montserrat and were working with producer Brian Tench. They had also adopted a lot of new technology, most notably the Fairlight CMI and the Roland Jupiter 8 ("*to get some fabulously stupid noises*") as well as two Linn Drum drum machines. New songs already recorded were Tesla Girls, Junk Culture, All Wrapped Up, Heaven Is, Talking Loud and Clear and Love and Violence. It was also reported that, "*Paul sings on two new songs, neither of which has a title yet*". One of these would become Never Turn Away, the other did not make the album although may have been All Or Nothing. A new single was announced for January and the new album in February, although in the event the new releases came at the beginning and end of April respectively.

The fan club newsletter of spring 1984, distributed when Locomotion had been released as the new album's lead single, reported how the album had finally come to be. The group had 'run out of time' in Montserrat and split up for the Christmas holidays. They then intended to finish the album in Brussels, but this plan failed. The elusive Tony Visconti was then called in as a possible new producer, "*to give us a new approach and some fresh impetus*" although was not immediately available. After another three weeks away on their respective holidays, the group reconvened in Hilversum in The Netherlands, with Visconti who had approved the new tracks. Montserrat producer Brian Tench was called back in for the mixing, and the album was completed. OMD then decided to stay in the Benelux area for tour rehearsals, which took place in a "*village hall - back to basics*" in De Haan near Ostende. The Weir brothers, who had contributed to the album recordings, were also taken on board at this point

## Release

The release of *Junk Culture* was preceded by the lead-single Locomotion and spawned three further singles, Talking Loud and Clear, Tesla Girls and Never Turn Away. Reviews were generally favourable, and the album was considered a return to form after the commercial disaster that had been *Dazzle Ships.* *Junk Culture* entered the UK album charts at no.9 a week after its release, although did not go any higher, remaining in the Top 40 for 12 weeks.

A promotional tour kicked off on Saturday 26 May 1984 at the Glasgow Apollo, where the group appeared as a six-piece for the first time, being joined by Graham and Neil Weir for certain numbers.

### US release

The album was also released in the US, with a slightly modified tracklisting (see below) although failed to make any great impact. A nine-date tour to promote the album took place in July.

### Re-release

A "thirtieth anniversary" deluxe two-CD edition with all related B-sides, single extended versions and previously unreleased demos was released on 02 February 2015.

## Reception

Reviews of *Junk Culture* in the UK music press were generally positive. In *Smash Hits*, Johnny Black described the album as "..*infinitely more accessible than the last album but still reveals some brave moves*.", adding however, "..*the special moments that turn excellence into magic are fewer and further between*" (7/10). Writing In *Record Mirror*, Robin Smith was more enthusiastic about the album stating that "..*the Orcs have at last thrown off their serious young men mantle and stepped out of he shadow of St. Joan to loosen up and enjoy themselves. This spirit is typified by the ace tracks 'Locomotion' and 'Apollo'.* [...] *Smooth, warm and powerful. (+++++)".*

## Tracklisting

### LP Virgin V 2310 / MC TCV 2310

Side One

1. Junk Culture
2. Tesla Girls
3. Locomotion
4. Apollo
5. Never Turn Away

Side Two

1. Love and Violence
2. Hard Day
3. All Wrapped Up
4. White Trash
5. Talking Loud and Clear

### Free one-sided 7" with initial copies of LP only:

* (The Angels Keep Turning) The Wheels Of The Universe

### Deluxe CD edition (2015)

2 x CD, Virgin/EMI/Universal

CD One: 10 tracks, as original CD

CD Two:

1. Her Body In My Soul
2. The Avenue
3. Julia´s Song (re-recorded)
4. Garden City
5. All Wrapped Up
6. Locomotion (12" version)
7. Tesla Girls (12" version)
8. Talking Loud and Clear (12" version)
9. Never Turn Away (12" Version)
10. (The Angels Keep Turning) The Wheels of the Universe
11. 10 To 1
12. All Or Nothing
13. Heaven Is (Highland Studios Demo)
14. Tesla Girls (Highland Studios Demo)
15. White Trash (Highland Studios Demo)

## Legacy

> "*The album is a really amazing collection of really bright and well-crafted pop songs. There's still a few interesting and unusual tracks in there, but we were definitely leaning towards a slightly more cautious approach. However I think it's possibly the tipping point of our career in terms of the quality of our music. It is the catchiest, poppiest album we've ever made, and it's the last one we made where we were in complete control and we had time to do it*." AM, 2015.[1]
>
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## External links

* Discogs
* Spotify - Deluxe edition - Original album

1. ↑ Peter Saville recalls in Houghton (2018) that he spent some time together just with AM in Montserrat, after recording had finished.