OMD - LOCOMOTION

Released: April 2, 1984

Charts:  UK: #5 

Released on April 2, 1984 as the lead single from their fifth album, “Junk Culture”, “Locomotion” captured a brighter, more radio-friendly energy—while still retaining the band’s signature melodic synth work. The song became one of OMD’s biggest European hits, reaching #5 in the UK Singles Chart, as well as charting highly across Ireland, Belgium, and the Netherlands, and peaking at #14 in Germany. 

Musically, features a prominent marimba-like synth line, bouncing rhythm, and layered harmonies, delivering a sound that feels light on the surface but carries a subtle melancholy underneath—classic OMD. Lyrically, it’s a reflection on movement, distance, and perhaps even emotional disconnection—using “locomotion” both as a literal and metaphorical theme. 

“Locomotion” was a crucial turning point for OMD after the ambitious but commercially divisive “Dazzle Ships”. Where “Dazzle Ships” had leaned heavily into avant-garde electronics and political sampling, “Locomotion” marked a return to a more polished, accessible synthpop formula. The song’s buoyant production feels like a sonic contrast to the weightier, more cerebral textures of their previous work. With its crisp handclaps, bright melodic synths, and playful harmonies, “Locomotion” felt like the group recharging and reimagining themselves for the mid-’80s pop landscape. 

“Locomotion” was recorded during the final week of sessions in Montserrat, with additional drum overdubs added later at ICP Studios in Brussels. The track combined a steel drum rhythm by Paul Humphreys, a bass line and piano part from the band’s manager Gordian Troeller, and a bass line created using the Fairlight CMI sampler. It was mixed and completed with brass arrangements by Tony Visconti at Wisseloord Studios in the Netherlands.

The official music video was directed by Jean-Pierre Berckmans and filmed in Ostend and Brussels, Belgium, where the band was living at the time. Frontman Andy McCluskey recalled the humorous challenge of trying to mimic a Caribbean cruise while filming on a sailing ship in Ostend Harbour at 2 a.m., with visible cold breath as he sang. Belgian model Anne Beyens also appears in the video.