Enola Gay (song)
Encyclopedia
"Enola Gay" is a song by British synthpop
band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
(normally abbreviated to OMD). It was written by frontman Andy McCluskey
, and appears on the band's second album, Organisation
(DinDisc/Virgin
, 1980). It was released as a 7" single on 26 September 1980. "Enola Gay" reached number 8 in the UK chart
and topped the charts in Portugal and other European countries. An early version with a slightly different arrangement appears on the group's Peel Sessions 1979–1983 album.
In 1998 David Guetta
& Joachim Garraud
and Sash!
made remixed versions of the song for the intended second disc of The OMD Singles
. The second disc was dropped, and eventually only the Sash! remix appeared on The OMD Remixes EPs. In 2003 the double disc version was released in France only, which included the remixed versions by Guetta and Garraud as well. The Guetta and Garraud remixes were released on a limited 12" to promote the compilation album.
A live performance of this song, recorded at the Guildhall
in Portsmouth
, England on , is featured in the film Urgh! A Music War
.
, the USAAF
B-29 Superfortress
bomber that carried "Little Boy
", the first atomic bomb to be used in an act of war, dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima
on 6 August 1945, killing more than 100,000 of its citizens. The name of the bomber itself was chosen by its commanding pilot, (then) Col Paul Tibbets
who named it after his mother, Enola Gay Tibbets (1893–1983), who herself had been named for the heroine of the novel Enola; or, Her fatal mistake
.
is an allusion to both the nickname of the uranium bomb, as well as the fact that pilot Paul Tibbets
named the aircraft after his mother. The phrase:
refers to the precise time of detonation over Hiroshima at 8:15am JST.
The song was also released during a major controversy surrounding then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
's decision to allow US nuclear missiles to be stationed in Britain.
. The still photo from the album cover is taken from the video.
|-
(many of their songs are covers) with the music of "Enola Gay" and self-penned Spanish lyrics, with the title "Manolo es Gay" (Manolo Is Gay).
Serbia
n punk rock band KBO!
recorded a version on their 2001 cover album
(Ne) Menjajte Stanicu ((Do Not) Change The Station). Also in 2001, the indie synthpop
band The Faint
covered the song on Messages: Modern Synthpop Artists Cover Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.
The song was covered several times in 2007
. Swedish artist Sommarkillen made a cover of the song called "Sommartjej" with new Swedish lyrics; the Danish electro-pop trio, Oliver North Boy Choir (formerly called Pierre) also recorded it. This track was posted on many MP3 blog
s. In June 2007, José Galisteo
released his cover of it on his debut album, Remember. German techno
group Scooter
also covered the song on their 2007 album Jumping All Over the World
. There was also a 2007 dance version (with multiple remixes) of the single recorded by a French band Digital Air.
film Waltz with Bashir
, directed by Ari Folman
, which documented the experiences of Folman as a young soldier in the 1982 Lebanon War
. The track also features on the Max Richter
soundtrack
of the film.
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a synthpop group whose founding members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England...
(normally abbreviated to OMD). It was written by frontman Andy McCluskey
Andy McCluskey
George Andrew "Andy" McCluskey is the lead singer, bass guitarist, and primary songwriter for the band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark ....
, and appears on the band's second album, Organisation
Organisation (album)
-2003 remaster:# "Enola Gay" – 3:33# "2nd Thought" – 4:15# "VCL XI" – 3:50# "Motion and Heart" – 3:16# "Statues" – 4:30...
(DinDisc/Virgin
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
, 1980). It was released as a 7" single on 26 September 1980. "Enola Gay" reached number 8 in the UK chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and topped the charts in Portugal and other European countries. An early version with a slightly different arrangement appears on the group's Peel Sessions 1979–1983 album.
In 1998 David Guetta
David Guetta
Pierre David Guetta , known professionally as David Guetta , is a French house music producer and DJ. Originally a DJ at nightclubs during the 1980s and 1990s, he co-founded Gum Productions and released his first album, Just a Little More Love, in 2002. Later, he released Guetta Blaster and Pop Life...
& Joachim Garraud
Joachim Garraud
Joachim Garraud, was born in 1968 in Nantes, is a French DJ, but he is also a remixer and producer. He is the producer of stars such as Geyster, Paul Johnson, Deep Dish, David Bowie, OMD, Kylie Minogue, Mylène Farmer, Cassius, Belamour, Kid Vicious, Saffron Hill and Culture Club.Known for his many...
and Sash!
Sash!
SASH! is a German DJ / producer team, fronted by Sascha Lappessen , who works in the recording studio with Ralf Kappmeier and Thomas "Alisson" Lüdke. They have sold over 18 million albums worldwide and earned more than 65 Gold and Platinum awards.-History:Sascha Lappessen, Thomas "Alisson" Lüdke,...
made remixed versions of the song for the intended second disc of The OMD Singles
The OMD Singles
The OMD Singles is a singles compilation album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, released in 1998. It reached #16 in the UK charts. Originally, the compilation was to include a second disc of new remixes; however, this idea was abandoned due to budget limitations. The few remixes that were...
. The second disc was dropped, and eventually only the Sash! remix appeared on The OMD Remixes EPs. In 2003 the double disc version was released in France only, which included the remixed versions by Guetta and Garraud as well. The Guetta and Garraud remixes were released on a limited 12" to promote the compilation album.
A live performance of this song, recorded at the Guildhall
Portsmouth Guildhall
Portsmouth Guildhall is the biggest events venue in the Hampshire city of Portsmouth in England. The building, completed in 1890, was designed in the neo-classical style by architect William Hill, who had earlier been responsible for the design of the town hall in Bolton...
in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, England on , is featured in the film Urgh! A Music War
Urgh! A Music War
Urgh! A Music War is a British film released in 1982 featuring performances by punk rock, New Wave, and post-punk acts, filmed in 1980. Among the artists featured in the movie are Magazine, The Go-Go's, The Fleshtones, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, XTC, Devo, The Cramps, Oingo Boingo, Dead...
.
Title
The song is named after the Enola GayEnola Gay
Enola Gay is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, mother of the pilot, then-Colonel Paul Tibbets. On August 6, 1945, during the final stages of World War II, it became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb as a weapon of war...
, the USAAF
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
bomber that carried "Little Boy
Little Boy
"Little Boy" was the codename of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 by the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets of the 393rd Bombardment Squadron, Heavy, of the United States Army Air Forces. It was the first atomic bomb to be used as a weapon...
", the first atomic bomb to be used in an act of war, dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
on 6 August 1945, killing more than 100,000 of its citizens. The name of the bomber itself was chosen by its commanding pilot, (then) Col Paul Tibbets
Paul Tibbets
Paul Warfield Tibbets, Jr. was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force, best known for being the pilot of the Enola Gay, the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb in the history of warfare. The bomb, code-named Little Boy, was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima...
who named it after his mother, Enola Gay Tibbets (1893–1983), who herself had been named for the heroine of the novel Enola; or, Her fatal mistake
Enola; or, Her fatal mistake
Enola; or, Her fatal mistake is an 1886 book written by Mary Young Ridenbaugh. It is notable for being the inspiration, indirectly, for the naming of the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber airplane which dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima...
.
Lyrics
The lyrics to the song reflect on the decision to use the bomb and ask the listener to consider whether the bombings were necessary ("It shouldn't ever have to end this way"). The phrase:- "Is mother proud of Little Boy today?"
is an allusion to both the nickname of the uranium bomb, as well as the fact that pilot Paul Tibbets
Paul Tibbets
Paul Warfield Tibbets, Jr. was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force, best known for being the pilot of the Enola Gay, the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb in the history of warfare. The bomb, code-named Little Boy, was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima...
named the aircraft after his mother. The phrase:
- "It's 8:15, and that's the time that it's always been"
refers to the precise time of detonation over Hiroshima at 8:15am JST.
The song was also released during a major controversy surrounding then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
's decision to allow US nuclear missiles to be stationed in Britain.
Music video
The music video begins by showing sped-up footage of clouds passing through the sky. After the opening riff, which is shown as just the keyboardist's hands playing it whilst being animated using digital rotoscoping, it shows a transparent video image of McCluskey vocalising and playing a bass guitarBass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
. The still photo from the album cover is taken from the video.
1980 original release
Unusually, the 12" single contained no additional material or alternative mixes, only the same tracks as on the 7".2003 remix 12"
Chart positions
| Chart (1980/1981) | Peak position |
Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|---|
| BPI British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... : Silver |
||
| Australian Kent Music Report Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998... Singles Chart |
47 | |
| French Singles Chart | 1 | |
| Ireland (IRMA Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... ) |
14 | |
| Italy (FIMI) | 1 | |
| Portuguese Singles Chart | 1 | |
| US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard) | 34 | |
|-
Cover versions
Spanish pop-rock group Los Petersellers included in their second LP Contra la amenaza del Dr. Thedio (1997) a coverCover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
(many of their songs are covers) with the music of "Enola Gay" and self-penned Spanish lyrics, with the title "Manolo es Gay" (Manolo Is Gay).
Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n punk rock band KBO!
KBO!
KBO! is a Serbian punk rock band from Kragujevac. They are one of the first hardcore punk acts on the former Yugoslav punk scene. Since the very beginning, the band accepted the DIY ethic by forming their own record label KBO! Records, through which they have released all their official releases...
recorded a version on their 2001 cover album
Cover Album
-Tracklisting:#Misono to Utaou! Animedley I # #...
(Ne) Menjajte Stanicu ((Do Not) Change The Station). Also in 2001, the indie synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
band The Faint
The Faint
The Faint is an American indie rock band. Formed in Omaha, Nebraska, the band consists of Todd Fink, Jacob Thiele, Dapose, Joel Petersen and Clark Baechle. The Faint was originally known as Norman Bailer and included Conor Oberst...
covered the song on Messages: Modern Synthpop Artists Cover Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.
The song was covered several times in 2007
2007 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2007.-January:*January 1 - George Shearing is knighted for services to music in the Queen's New Year Honours List. Evelyn Glennie becomes a Dame...
. Swedish artist Sommarkillen made a cover of the song called "Sommartjej" with new Swedish lyrics; the Danish electro-pop trio, Oliver North Boy Choir (formerly called Pierre) also recorded it. This track was posted on many MP3 blog
MP3 blog
An MP3 blog is a type of blog in which the creator makes music files, normally in the MP3 format, available for download. They are also known as "musicblogs" or "audioblogs". MP3 blogs have become increasingly popular since 2003...
s. In June 2007, José Galisteo
José Galisteo
José Antonio Galisteo García was a contestant in the fifth season of the Spanish reality television series Operación Triunfo, where he placed sixth in a field of 18...
released his cover of it on his debut album, Remember. German techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
group Scooter
Scooter (band)
Scooter are a German hard dance band founded in Hamburg, who have sold over 25 million records and earned over 80 gold and platinum awards. Scooter are considered the most successful single-record German act with 23 top ten hits. The band is currently composed of members H.P. Baxxter, Rick J....
also covered the song on their 2007 album Jumping All Over the World
Jumping All Over the World
Jumping All Over the World is the thirteenth studio album by German techno group Scooter, released in Germany in 2007. Five singles have been released from it: "The Question Is What Is the Question?", "And No Matches", "Jumping All Over the World", a remix of "I'm Lonely" and a new version of "Jump...
. There was also a 2007 dance version (with multiple remixes) of the single recorded by a French band Digital Air.
Waltz with Bashir
The song was featured in the critically acclaimed 2008 IsraeliIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
film Waltz with Bashir
Waltz with Bashir
Waltz with Bashir is a 2008 Israeli animated documentary film written and directed by Ari Folman. It depicts Folman in search of his lost memories from the 1982 Lebanon War....
, directed by Ari Folman
Ari Folman
Ari Folman is an Israeli film director, screenwriter and film score composer.-Biography:Ari Folman was born in Haifa to Holocaust survivors. His wife is also a film director...
, which documented the experiences of Folman as a young soldier in the 1982 Lebanon War
1982 Lebanon War
The 1982 Lebanon War , , called Operation Peace for Galilee by Israel, and later known in Israel as the Lebanon War and First Lebanon War, began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces invaded southern Lebanon...
. The track also features on the Max Richter
Max Richter
Max Richter is a German-born British composer.-Biography:Richter studied composition and piano at University of Edinburgh, the Royal Academy of Music and with Luciano Berio in Florence. After finishing his studies, Richter co-founded the contemporary classical ensemble Piano Circus...
soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
of the film.