OMD: An Essential Soundtrack of My High School Days

"If You Leave" by OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) ranks way up there with Madonna's Borderline and Cherish as my most favorite songs of the 80s.  Its ambient new wave sound made it so popular during my high school days and it helped that it came from an iconic 80s movie, Pretty in Pink.  I really hope they would perform it in their concert this Monday.  I am still going to check how different their sound has evolved since then.  It has been 36 years since that song placed them securely in the map of the US charts.

Its interesting that five of their songs made it big right smack when I was second and third year high school - possibly the peak of my interest in US pop music.  I already talked about If You Leave.  The second song I love from them is Forever Live and Die which came from their Pacific Age album.

The first song that introduced me to them was So In Love, and I think it was in the December of 1984 and early January of 1985 when the song peaked in the US.  Their follow-up to that Secret, was another big favorite in the dance floor during that time.  It didn't do quite well in the US and the UK, but I'm sure if you play that song here in our 80s clubs, people would remember it.

Finally, the last song that I heard from them, which charted in Billboard was Dreaming, which was similar in sound to all the other four songs I mentioned here.