Home | Songs By Year | Songs from 1985


Secret (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark song)

Buy Secret (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark song) now from Amazon

First, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the song. And once you've experienced the song, tell everyone what you thought about it.

Wikipedia article




"'Secret'" is a 1985 song by English electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released as the second single from their album 'Crush'. Paul Humphreys sings lead vocals on the track. It became their second US 'Billboard' Hot 100 entry, peaking at number 63, and also made number 34 on the UK Singles Chart.

The song was featured in the 1988 movie 'Arthur 2: On the Rocks' and on its soundtrack album; it was also re-released to radio in the US as the follow-up to 'The Best Of OMD' track "Dreaming", approximately one month prior to the movie's premiere. Though it received renewed airplay on several US contemporary hit stations, it did not re-chart on the Hot 100.

Reception



Writing in 'Number One', Stuart Husband referred to "Secret" as a "pretty song" and "the Manoeuvres' cutest single for many a moon". Stateside, Bill Merrill of the 'Altus Times' noted the track's "smooth combination of airy vocals and catchy hooks", while 'The Michigan Daily's Beth Fertig called it "strong", "witty" and "playfully silly".

In a retrospective review, Dave Thompson of AllMusic observed an "emotive love song buried in an over-produced behemoth of a backing". Conversely, Thompson's colleague Mike DeGagne lauded the track as one of OMD's best 1980s singles, noting its "adolescent innocence". 'Rolling Stone's Paul Evans described "Secret", and previous release "So in Love", as "flawless singles".

Kevin Hearn of rock group Barenaked Ladies recalled being "in love with the song" and recording a cover version with his high school band. In a poll of 6,852 'Slicing Up Eyeballs' readers, "Secret" was voted the 74th-best track of 1985.

B-sides



The UK B-side "Drift" was an instrumental song written by Paul Humphreys and Martin Cooper. "Drift" has never been released on CD. The US B-Side "Firegun" is a vocal song credited to the whole band that was later released on their 2001 CD compilation 'Navigation: The OMD B-Sides'. "Firegun" was released in the UK as the B-side to the band's successive single "La Femme Accident".

Music video



The video for "Secret", directed by Andy Morahan, shows various vintage black & white film clips, including footage of The Beatles, interspersed with new black & white footage of Humphreys and a woman processed to look like old home movies; additionally there are colour scenes of Humphreys singing. The theme is that a woman deserts her current love interest (McCluskey) to return to the arms of her true love (Humphreys). McCluskey's character observes the two lovers together and, though despondent, gallantly accepts that his love interest should instead be with Humphreys' character, before walking into the distance along the shore. The clip was filmed at Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex.

Live performances



The song was part of the setlist during the 'Crush' tour in 1985 and 1986, although more recently it has largely been performed at gigs in the US. A video recording of a short concert held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands in aid of Greenpeace on 26 October 1985 shows that Humphreys shared the lead vocal with Andy McCluskey.

Track listing



7": Virgin / VS 796 (UK)

# "Secret" 3:54

# "Drift" 4:14

12": Virgin / VS 796-12 (UK)

# "Secret" (extended mix) 6:14

# "Drift" 4:14

7" A&M/Virgin / AM-2794 (US)

# "Secret" 3:54

# "Firegun" 4:36

Initial releases had a bonus disc with:

# "Red Frame/White Light"

# "I Betray My Friends"

Charts



Cover versions



A cover of the song by Laura Watling appeared on the 2001 compilation 'Pretending to See the Future: A Tribute to OMD'.

References in other media



The hit Canadian teen drama 'Degrassi: The Next Generation', which was known for naming episodes in its early seasons after '80s hit songs, named a two-part episode after this song. It was also featured in the 2014 film 'The Skeleton Twins'.

References



Category:1985 songs

Category:1985 singles

Category:Music videos directed by Andy Morahan

Category:Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark songs

Category:Song recordings produced by Stephen Hague

Category:Songs written by Paul Humphreys

Category:Songs written by Andy McCluskey

Category:Virgin Records singles

Buy Secret (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark song) now from Amazon

<-- Return to songs from 1985



This work is released under CC-BY-SA. Some or all of this content attributed to http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1079576044.