Sailing on the Seven Seas

"Sailing on the Seven Seas" is a song by English electronic music band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released as the first single from their eighth studio album, Sugar Tax, on 18 March 1991. Along with 1981's "Souvenir", it is the band's highest-charting UK hit to date, peaking at number three on the UK Singles Chart. It also charted at number three in Austria and Sweden, number five in Ireland and number nine in Germany. The single was the first to be released by OMD without co-founder Paul Humphreys, who had left to form his own band The Listening Pool.

"Sailing on the Seven Seas"
Single by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
from the album Sugar Tax
B-side"Burning"
Released18 March 1991 (1991-03-18)[1]
GenreSynth-pop
Length3:45
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)Andy McCluskey, Stuart Kershaw
Producer(s)Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark singles chronology
"Brides of Frankenstein"
(1988)		 "Sailing on the Seven Seas"
(1991)		 "Pandora's Box"
(1991)
Music video
Sailing on the Seven Seas on YouTube

The song pays homage to various rock groups. The Velvet Underground song "Sister Ray" is directly referenced (OMD had previously covered "I'm Waiting for the Man" as a B-side to 1980 single "Messages"), and the line "people try to drag us down" is similar in melody and lyrical content to the opening line of The Who's "My Generation";[2] singer Andy McCluskey also noted that the track includes "Glitter Band-style" drumming.[3]

Reception and legacy

Richard Riccio of the St. Petersburg Times described "Sailing on the Seven Seas" as "fabulous... a rollicking foot-stomper in its original version, and a haunting late-night dance track in remixed [B-side] form."[4] MTV Europe ranked it the 21st-greatest song of 1991,[5] while KROQ placed it 54th.[6] In a retrospective review, AllMusic critic Dave Thompson wrote that OMD "sail giddily through the musical past", delivering "a glorious musical mélange, an inspired melding of synth pop soar, 2-Tone yore, and glam rock roar, the anthemic chorus to the fore with a fist-in-the-air punch that shouts out for more".[7]

Humphreys described the track as "a great, kind of a weird pop song".[8] Original OMD drummer Malcolm Holmes, who also had no involvement in the song, said, "I loathe the track – I do. But it charted and it did the business."[9] After returning to the band, Holmes commented, "'Sailing on the Seven Seas' is a great thing to play as a drummer. When I started to play it, it became something else to me... so I don't really see the song as how I did in those days.[10]

Versions and B-sides

The song was released as a 7-inch single version and in an extended version for the 12-inch release. The extended version was more oriented to the electronic dance music market in vogue at the time. Another mix entitled "Dancing on the Seven Seas" was also included on a special collector's edition CD single. The regular CD single featured another remix entitled "Floating on the Seven Seas" and the "Larrabee Mix" of "Sailing on the Seven Seas", similar to the original single version but mixed at Larrabee Studios in North Hollywood, California.

Two other new songs were included as B-sides or bonus tracks on the CD single: "Burning" and "Sugar Tax". Despite its title, "Sugar Tax" did not feature on the album of the same name. Both tracks feature on the B-sides compilation album Navigation: The OMD B-Sides (2001). "Sugar Tax" also features as a B-side on the later single release "Then You Turn Away".

A 12-inch promo single released in the US features further remixes, namely "Drowning on the Seven Seas", "Raving on the Seven Seas" and 'Mix 1' and 'Mix 2' of "Sailing on the Seven Seas". Although uncredited, many of the remixes were the work of Phil Coxon.[11]

Track listings

7-inch and cassette single[12][13]

  1. "Sailing on the Seven Seas"
  2. "Burning"

12-inch single[14]

A. "Sailing on the Seven Seas" (extended version)
B. "Floating on the Seven Seas"

CD single[15]

  1. "Sailing on the Seven Seas"
  2. "Floating on the Seven Seas"
  3. "Sailing on the Seven Seas" (Larrabee mix)
  4. "Sugar Tax"

Special-edition CD single[16]

  1. "Sailing on the Seven Seas" (extended version)
  2. "Burning"
  3. "Dancing on the Seven Seas"
  4. "Big Town"

Charts

References
  1. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 16 March 1991. p. 19.
  2. Wallace, Wyndham (October 2019). "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: Souvenir". Classic Pop. No. 57. p. 86.
  3. "Seven Tracks: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark". Clash. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  4. Riccio, Richard (23 August 1991). "Sugar Is Sprinkled with Gems". St. Petersburg Times. p. 94 (Audio Files, p. 21). Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  5. "Top 100 of 1991". MTV Europe. 30 December 1991.
  6. "Top 106.7 Songs of 1991". KROQ-FM. 31 December 1991. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  7. "Sailing on the Seven Seas" review at AllMusic
  8. "Paul Humphreys". Neil McCormick's Needle Time. 21 February 2017. Vintage TV.
  9. "Electropop (no. 5: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark)". Top Ten. 7 April 2001. Channel 4.
  10. "MAL HOLMES Interview". 31 October 2010.
  11. "OMD Q&A". omd-messages.co.uk.com. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  12. Sailing on the Seven Seas (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Virgin Records. 1991. VS 1310, 113 790.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. Sailing on the Seven Seas (UK cassette single sleeve). Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Virgin Records. 1991. VSC 1310.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. Sailing on the Seven Seas (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Virgin Records. 1991. VST1310, 613 790.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. Sailing on the Seven Seas (UK CD1 liner notes). Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Virgin Records. 1991. VSCDT 1310, 663 790.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. Sailing on the Seven Seas (UK CD2 liner notes). Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Virgin Records. 1991. VSCDX 1310.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 209.
  18. "OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – Sailing on the Seven Seas" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  19. "OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – Sailing on the Seven Seas" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  20. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 21. 25 May 1991. p. 23. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  21. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  22. "OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – Sailing on the Seven Seas" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  23. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Sailing on the Seven Seas". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  24. "OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – Sailing on the Seven Seas". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  25. "OMD: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  26. "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  27. "Jahreshitparade Singles 1991". austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  28. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles – 1991" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 51/52. 21 December 1991. p. 21. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  29. "Top 100 Singles-Jahrescharts – 1991" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  30. "1991 Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London. 11 January 1992. p. 20. ISSN 0265-1548.
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