Genetic Engineering (song)

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"Genetic Engineering"
Genetic Engineering.jpg
Single by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
from the album Dazzle Ships
B-side "4-NEU"
Released11 February 1983 [1]
Recorded The Manor, Shipton-on-Cherwell, Oxfordshire, England
Genre New wave
Length
  • 3:37
  • 5:18 (12")
Label Telegraph (Virgin)
Songwriter(s) Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys
Producer(s) OMD, Rhett Davies
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark singles chronology
"She's Leaving"
(1982)		"Genetic Engineering"
(1983)		"Telegraph"
(1983)
Music video
"Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Genetic Engineering" on YouTube

"Genetic Engineering" is a 1983 song by English electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released as the first single from their fourth studio album Dazzle Ships . The synthesized speech featured on the track is taken from a Speak & Spell, an educational electronic toy developed by Texas Instruments in the 1970s intended to teach children spelling.

Contents

"Genetic Engineering" reached number 20 on the UK Singles Chart. It was also a Top 20 hit in several European territories, and peaked at number 5 in Spain. In the US it made number 32 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.

Reception and legacy

Smash Hits wrote, "Well worth the wait. OMD's knack of coming up with exhilarating singles has not been affected by their year off... a great tune." [2] Jim Reid in Record Mirror said, "Madly infectious hookline propels a song absolutely dripping with 'moderne' references. A cold record, whose raison d'être lies in the application of studio technology and the manipulation of hackneyed goobledegook. Should be massive – won't touch my turntable again." [3]

In a later piece, God Is in the TV 's Andy Page wrote that "Genetic Engineering" is "surely one of the most inventive and unusual singles ever to reach the [UK] Top 20". [4] Critic Alexis Petridis observed the song's use of "scratchy, trebly guitar... alongside a children's Speak & Spell toy, a clattery rhythm track built out of handclaps and what sound like samples of a typewriter, and a particularly wracked-sounding [Andy] McCluskey vocal: it was simultaneously thrilling and a little cacophonous." [5] Ned Raggett of AllMusic praised the "soaring", "enjoyable" single, asserting, "Why it wasn't a [US] hit remains a mystery." [6] "Genetic Engineering" appeared in Radio X's "25 Best Indie Songs of 1983". [7]

Frontman McCluskey has noted that the song is not an attack on genetic engineering, as many – including radio presenter Dave Lee Travis – have assumed. McCluskey professed to be "very positive about the subject", adding, "People didn't listen to the lyrics... I think they automatically assumed it would be anti." [8]

The Time Frequency's Jon Campbell hailed "Genetic Engineering" as OMD's best track. [9] Covers of the song were released by the indie bands Another Sunny Day and Eggs. [10] Critics have compared the track to "Fitter Happier", [6] [11] [12] a 1997 song by rock group Radiohead (who have cited Dazzle Ships , the parent album of "Genetic Engineering", as an influence). [13] [14] Theon Weber in Stylus saw the Radiohead track as "deeply indebted". [11]

B-side

The song "4-Neu" was featured on the B-side of both the 7" and 12" versions. It was not included on the Dazzle Ships album and remained exclusive to this release until its inclusion on Navigation: The OMD B-Sides (2001), and then on the remastered special edition of Dazzle Ships in 2008. The song continues the band's tradition of including more experimental tracks as B-sides to singles. Its title is a tribute to German krautrock band Neu!, who were an important influence on McCluskey and keyboardist Paul Humphreys prior to OMD. [15] "4-Neu" was never performed live until the special performance of Dazzle Ships at The Museum of Liverpool in November 2014 and at the Dazzle Ships / Architecture & Morality live performances in London and Germany in May 2016. [16]

Track listing

7" vinyl single and 7" picture disc

Side one

  1. "Genetic Engineering" – 3:37

Side two

  1. "4-NEU" – 3:33

12" vinyl single

Side one

  1. "Genetic Engineering" (312mm version) – 5:18

Side two

  1. "4-NEU" – 3:33

Charts

Chart (1983)Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [17] 18
Ireland (IRMA) [18] 11
Spain (AFYVE) [19] 5
UK Singles (OCC) [20] 20
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [21] 32
West Germany (GfK) [22] 20

Promo video

A promotional video for "Genetic Engineering" was directed by Steve Barron, who directed videos for a wide variety of artists in the eighties, such as the Human League, Tears for Fears, and A-ha. The video features a number of genetics-related books, some of which McCluskey would later borrow to read himself. McClusky described the songs music video as not being his "favourite video", but still contained a "couple of interesting moments, with Mally and Martin as the Kray brothers!" The Rolls-Royce used in the clip was owned by comedian Mel Smith. The girl featured in the promotional video is played by actress Joann Kenny. [23]

The promotional video for "Genetic Engineering" was included on the Messages: Greatest Hits CD/DVD release (2008). [24]

Alternative versions and live performances

Apart from the extended '312mm version' the band also recorded the song for a John Peel radio session in 1983. This version was made available on Peel Sessions 1979–1983 (2000).

OMD played the song live on The Tube during its first series in February 1983.

The song was performed live during the Dazzle Ships promotional tour but rarely since then, until more recent performances in 2014 and 2016. [25]

References

  1. ↑ "OMD Discography: Singles 1979-84". Archived from the original on 8 October 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
  2. ↑ "Singles". Smash Hits . Vol. 5, no. 4. 17 February – 2 March 1983. p. 28.
  3. ↑ Reid, Jim (12 February 1983). "Singles". Record Mirror . p. 23.
  4. ↑ Page, Andy (12 May 2016). "OMD – Architecture & Morality and Dazzle Ships Live – Royal Albert Hall, London 09/05/16". God Is in the TV . Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  5. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (3 April 2023). "OMD / Dazzle Ships reviewed". SuperDeluxeEdition. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  6. 1 2 Raggett, Ned. "Dazzle Ships". AllMusic . Retrieved 3 October 2009.
  7. ↑ "The 25 Best Indie Songs of 1983". Radio X. 28 February 2025. Archived from the original on 18 March 2025. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  8. ↑ Stanley, Bob. How to lose 3 million fans in one easy step. The Guardian . 7 March 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  9. ↑ "OMD's Dazzle Ships". Jon Campbell. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024– via Facebook. Archived 10 March 2024 at archive.today . Additional archives: 19 March 2025 .
  10. ↑ Huggett, Stuart (17 May 2016). "OMD's Cold War Album Comes In From The Cold: Dazzle Ships Live". The Quietus . Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  11. 1 2 Weber, Theon (13 March 2007). "On First Listen: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark". Stylus . Archived from the original on 16 March 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  12. ↑ Bergstrom, John (16 April 2008). "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: Dazzle Ships". PopMatters . Retrieved 3 October 2009.
  13. ↑ Earls, John (February 2020). "OMD Interview: 'Stockhausen or ABBA? Can't We Be Both?'". Classic Pop . Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  14. ↑ Wade, Ian (8 April 2013). "Souvenirs: Andy McCluskey of OMD's Favourite Albums". The Quietus . Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  15. ↑ "OMD Discography - Genetic Engineering". omd-messages.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  16. ↑ "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - 4-Neu". setlist.com. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  17. ↑ "OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – Genetic Engineering" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  18. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Genetic Engineering". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  19. ↑ Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. ISBN   84-8048-639-2.
  20. ↑ "OMD: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  21. ↑ "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Chart History (Mainstream Rock Songs)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  22. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – Genetic Engineering" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  23. ↑ "Genetic Engineering". Messages. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  24. ↑ Messages: OMD Greatest Hits - Orchestral Manoe... | AllMusic , retrieved 25 May 2025
  25. ↑ "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Genetic Engineering". setlist.com. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
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