Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark [OMD]: If You Leave (1986)

If You Leave was recorded for the film Pretty in Pink, a film I did see when it was released, but never again. I don't know if I could deal with the anguish of my passing youth if I had to see it again. Maybe it's best that it lives on in faded memory.

This UK 12" single wad released on April 28, 1986.

The band wrote "If You Leave" after John Hughes decided to change the ending to Pretty in Pink after poor test audience reactions. Hughes had asked the band for a song for the new ending two days before they were due to begin a tour, and "If You Leave" was written and recorded in under 24 hours as a result. The song was deliberately written at a tempo of 120 BPM, to match the speed of "Don't You (Forget About Me)", which the dancers in the scene had initially danced to. Despite this songwriter Andy McClusky later noted that an editing error meant that the dancing appears out of sync regardless. The original ending featured another OMD song, "Goddess of Love", which was released on The Pacific Age later in 1986. [source]

This release contains the extended version of If You Leave, plus 88 Seconds in Greensboro, a truly awesome OMD tune (even though it deals with the Greensboro Massacre), and a live version of Locomotion:

If You Leave (Extended Version)
88 Seconds in Greensboro
Locomotion (Live Version)