She's Leaving

"She's Leaving"
Single by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
from the album Architecture & Morality
B-side	"The Romance of the Telescope"
Released	17 June 1982 (1982-06-17)
Studio	The Manor, Shipton-on-Cherwell, Oxfordshire, England
Genre	Synth-pop
Length	3:22
Label	Virgin
Songwriter(s)	Andy McCluskey Paul Humphreys
Producer(s)	OMD Richard Manwaring
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark singles chronology
"Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)" (1982) "She's Leaving" (1982) "Genetic Engineering" (1983)
Music video
"She's Leaving" on YouTube

"She's Leaving" is a song by English electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released in June 1982 as the fourth and final single from their third studio album, Architecture & Morality . In order to avoid exploiting the album, the single was only released in the Benelux region. ^[1]

History

"She's Leaving" was written in January 1981, and an early version was played in France and Canada during OMD's tour in spring that year. ^[2] They made multiple attempts to record the song, but they "got really bored with it quickly" so these were abandoned. ^[3] After discovering an old version recorded at their studio The Gramophone Suite in Liverpool that the band had forgotten about, they tried again to record the song, this time similarly to the old version. Recorded at The Manor, the song was slowed down and simplified, leading to the final recorded version. ^{[3] [2]}

Noted for its simplicity, the song only features a drum machine, bass guitar, Vox Jaguar organ and a Korg M-500 Micro Preset synthesiser. ^[4] It was the first time the band had recorded a 'story-telling' type song; it has been noted as reminiscent of the Beatles' "She's Leaving Home". ^{[5] [6]}

The band's label Dindisc (an imprint of Virgin) suggested releasing "She's Leaving" as the fourth single from Architecture & Morality. However, the band rejected this idea, not wanting to overexploit the album. Lead singer Andy McCluskey later admitted they regretted not releasing the song as a single, putting it down to being young and pretentious. ^[7] In September 1981, prior to the album's release, Ian Cranna of Smash Hits had noted that "She's Leaving" "would make an excellent single", and Classic Pop retrospectively described it as "the great OMD single that never was". ^{[8] [9]}

"She's Leaving" was given a small-scale release as a single in the Benelux region in June 1982. The release was permitted there as the album was top of the charts in both Belgium and the Netherlands at the time. ^[4] The B-side was "The Romance of the Telescope (Unfinished)", which had previously been used as the B-side to "Joan of Arc". ^[10] A promotional video was also filmed whilst the band performing for Dutch television programme TopPop . ^[11] However, the single failed to chart.

References

1. "Q & A". omd.uk.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
2. "OMD DISCOGRAPHY | ALBUMS 1980 - 98". www.omd-messages.co.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
3. "Winter 1981". www.omdweb.com. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
4. "Architecture and Morality - OMD". timstwitterlisteningparty.com. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
5. Dimery, Robert (2011). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Octopus. ISBN   978-1-84403-714-8.
6. Lindores, Mark (15 November 2023). "OMD – the albums". Classic Pop. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
7. Lindores, Mark (4 September 2022). "Making OMD: Architecture & Morality". Classic Pop. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
8. "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark" (PDF). Smash Hits . 3–16 September 1981. p. 14. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
9. Pop, Classic (25 August 2021). "Top 15 Electropop Albums". Classic Pop. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
10. "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - She's Leaving". 45cat. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
11. OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) - She's Leaving • TopPop. TopPop. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2025– via YouTube.