Sugar Tax is the title of the eighth studio album by British group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark released in May 1991 on Virgin records. It was their first of the 1990s and the first to be released by Andy McCluskey without fellow founding member Paul Humphreys after the pair had split in 1989. McCluskey therefore wrote all the original tracks on the album either solo (as 'OMD') or with new partners Stewart Kershaw and Lloyd Massett.
Preceded by the hit single Sailing on the Seven Seas, the album entered the UK chart at no.5 the week after its release and reached no.3 in August, fuelled by the success of second hit single Pandora's Box. Two more tracks were released as singles during 1991 although with less success (see Singles section below).
A cover version of the Kraftwerk song Neon Lights also features. McCluskey had been an early fan of the group since seeing them live in 1975, and cites them as one of his main influences. The song Pandora's Box is about American film actress Louise Brooks (1906-1985) while Apollo XI is a dance track which samples archive recordings of the first moon landing in 1969.
A song called "Sugar Tax" was recorded during the sessions but was not included on the finished album. Instead it appears as a bonus track / B-side (see Singles section below).
Sugar Tax was produced by OMD with Howard Gray and Andy Richards on certain tracks.
Personnel[]
uncredited on release
- Andy McCluskey - lead vocals, bass guitar
- Nigel Ipinson - keyboards
- Phil Coxon - keyboards
Tracklisting[]
original LP V2648
- Side One
- Sailing on the Seven Seas
- Pandora's Box
- Then You Turn Away
- Speed of Light
- Was It Something I Said
- Big Town
- Side Two
- Call My Name
- Apollo XI
- Walking on Air
- Walk Tall
- Neon Lights
- All That Glitters
CD: tracks 1-12 as above
Singles[]
UK releases only
UK rel. date 18 March 1991, UK chart peak 03
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UK rel. date 24 June 1991, UK chart peak 07
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UK rel. date 02 September 1991, UK chart peak 07
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UK rel. date 02 September 1991, UK chart peak 07
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External links[]
- Wikipedia
- Discogs
- Musicbrainz
- Discogs
- Sugar Rush: The Story of 'Sugar Tax', Barry Page for electricityclub.co.uk, 07 May 2021