Messages (OMD Song)

Messages (OMD Song)

"Messages" is the third single of the synthpop group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released in 1980. The song originally featured on their eponymous debut album, but a re-recorded version provided OMD with their first Top 40 hit single in the UK, reaching number 13. As with debut single "Electricity", the band embraced the concept of machines singing the song's chorus. The original grey two tone labels incorrectly state the producer as Chester Valentino, later editions feature different coloured record labels that correctly credit Mike Howlett for the production. The song was featured in the second series of Ashes to Ashes (2009).

AllMusic journalist Ned Raggett wrote: "Messages wears the emotion of its lyrics on its sleeve, with a killer opening line - 'It worries me, this kind of thing, how you hope to live alone and occupy your waking hours' - and a melody both propulsive and fragile." He described the re-recorded single version, which would later appear on the band's compilation albums, as "a far more stunning reworking". Colleague Dave Thompson concurred, writing, "The result was glorious, with the song boasting a more bittersweet atmosphere and a stronger emotional feel, fed by the even lusher keyboards. There's a new brightness and crispness to the overall sound as well, emphasized by the prominent rhythm. Where the original 'Messages' brooded, the more sharply defined recut brings a touch of anger and self-reproach that its predecessor lacked."