![omd enola gay hiroshima omd enola gay hiroshima](https://retropopmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Orchestral-Manoeuvres-in-the-Dark-Enola-Gay.jpg)
![omd enola gay hiroshima omd enola gay hiroshima](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/music/2020/08/07/omd_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqBe6O56qrl4zbRlMQqI7UBFVse9JsN00kzbUr3IXHaGo.jpg)
The bass accompaniment of the song is supplied by a Roland SHO9. ‘Enola Gay’ had originally been composed on the trusty Korg Micro-Preset, which had become OMD’s particular workhorse of choice.
![omd enola gay hiroshima omd enola gay hiroshima](https://cdn.britannica.com/99/100999-050-7ADF64E3/Enola-Gay-bombing-mission-Tinian-Mariana-Islands-August-1945.jpg)
Paul Collister (then OMD’s manager), on hearing Andy playing the tune in the studio, described it as “pop crap”. Not everyone was so positive at the time however. They could never decide between credibility and commerciality… we always said they didn’t know whether they wanted to be Joy Division or Abba!”.
![omd enola gay hiroshima omd enola gay hiroshima](https://c8.alamy.com/compfr/w0d6xd/l-enola-gay-qui-a-laisse-tomber-la-bombe-sur-hiroshima-le-6-aout-1945-est-presentee-au-national-air-and-space-museum-a-dulles-virginie-le-4-aout-2006-photo-d-upi-roger-l-wollenberg-w0d6xd.jpg)
“They’d been telling me about ‘Enola Gay’ for months!” commented Carol Wilson in Messages, “and then when they brought it in, I loved it! But just to wind me up, they said they didn’t want to release it. It isn’t an anti-nuclear song, nor is it a celebration… and certainly, the way the lyrics are delivered, it isn’t at all positive: ‘You should have stayed ay home yesterday/This kiss will never fade away’”. “I wasn’t interested in the politics of it or the morals of it. “The idea that a Superfortress, which wasn’t really a fantastic plane by modern standards – it was all riveted together and pretty poky – could drop an atomic bomb and kill so many people, was intriguing” commented Andy in the OMD biography Messages. Andy had already developed a fascination with military aircraft and the morbid decision by the mission pilot to name the plane after his mother was an aspect that struck his imagination. It remains a controversial episode of the Second World War and debate still continues today on the moral issues that revolve around the decision to drop an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima in 1945. While researching the history of the Messerschmitt aircraft in the process of writing that particular song, Andy had chanced upon an article discussing the Enola Gay. ‘Bunker Soldiers’ is one such track, while ‘The Messerschmitt Twins’ is another. OMD had already toyed with inspirations that had sprung from a curious interest in war themes. Paul’s mum was at work at the time, while Paul was involved in the rebuilding of Hoylake outdoor swimming pool in order to claim his dole money. ‘Enola Gay’ (along with ‘Motion And Heart’) had been written by Andy in the back room at Paul’s mum’s house in the week before the first album had been released. ‘Enola Gay’ actually dated back to the era of OMITD, in particular a period where Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys were penning new material (much of OMITD’s content actually dates back to the days of The Id). Yet, in the midst of all this solemnity, was a pop song which seemed curiously out of place with its broody neighbours. The death of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis earlier that year had also overshadowed the songwriting process at the time – which had lent inspiration to the funereal tones of ‘Statues’. The album owes some of its inspiration, in part, to Joy Division’s second album Closer – an album that Peter Saville had played constantly and which had subsequently seeped into the writing of OMD’s darker album. From the ‘garage punk’ aesthetics that had dominated their debut album, Organisation instead featured gothic, broody tones and soundscapes. The release of OMD’s second album Organisation in 1980 had seen a shift in OMD’s sound. ‘Enola Gay’ remains a classic OMD song, yet its evolution has taken it through some turbulent skies. `Enola Gay, it shouldn't fade in our dreams away.It’s one of OMD’s most iconic songs and gained them their first UK Top Ten – as well as their first international hit single. It could be regarded as an anti-nuclear or even an anti-war protest song but the overriding message conveyed through the lyrics is not to forget about such events in our past: The song's release coincided with Margaret Thatcher's - British Prime Minister at that time - controversial decision to allow US nuclear missiles to be stationed in Britain. The line, `Is mother proud of little boy today,' makes reference to the bombs codename `Little Boy' and probably hints at the writer's need to vent his spleen on the subject. Recurring lines highlight the exact timing of the drop and how the operation was carried out just like any other ordinary day. The lyrics clearly express McCluskey's opinion on the matter with the line, `It shouldn't ever have to end this way,' letting us know his feelings on the dropping of the bomb. The bomb, the first used in an act of war, was carried by an American B-29 plane named Enola Gay and her mission in 1945 effectively ended World War II. Written by OMD frontman Andy McCluskey, this track was released in 1980 and tells the story of the plane that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.