Julia's Song is the title of a song recorded by Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark and by their former incarnation The Id. The music was written by Humphreys/McCluskey while the lyrics were written by Julia Kneale, a friend of the group in their formative years.
The track has gone through several mutations and versions over the decades, and the song has remained a fan and a live favourite throughout the band's career.
Early versions[]
The song was first performed and recorded by The Id, an early formation of OMD. The track was included on the Street To Street - A Liverpool Album released by Open Eye records in 1979.[1] The album track was played by John Peel on national Radio 1 in August 1979, with the DJ remarking that the group had in fact already become OMD (Peel also wrote the sleevenotes for the LP release).[2] The same recording was later included on the The ID CD released in 2002.
Lyrics[]
Julia Kneale has said of the lyrics:
"...I wrote a weird poem on a tiny scrap of paper at an Id band rehearsal (I was vocalist with Andy. There were 8 of us originally in the band). I was always and still am writing stuff. ‘Julia’s Song’ is about the superficiality of looks and how we need to see beyond all that crap as we get older and develop a more altruistic spiritual side to ourselves.”[3]
1980 version[]
The song was a staple part of the OMITD live sets during 1979 (see eg. Leigh, 27 August 1979), and was one of the four songs recorded for the group's first Peel session in August.
A definitive version was eventually recorded for inclusion on their debut album, side 2 track 2. The guitar playing on the track is credited to Dave Fairbain and percussion to Malcolm Holmes.
Julia's Song continued to be a fan favourite and was a regular feature of the group's live sets in the early 1980s. The lyrics were featured in the Request Spot page of Smash Hits in August 1982.
Re-recorded version[]
In 1984 the song was re-recorded in a radically different version, using most notably brass instruments, played by the Weir Brothers, a heavier bass and drum sound and featuring a new vocal and revised lyrics (the line "nearing the end with your grandmother's friend is something to do when it rains" is omitted). The new version was issued as the B-side to the single Talking Loud and Clear in the summer of 1984, with two mixes, noted as a single 'Extended Version', on the 12".
The song was successively performed live in this new version as the line-up included the aforementioned Weirs.
Dub version[]
A 'dub version', or the first part of the 'extended version', was released as a stand-alone 10" single for Record Store Day 2015. The cover was a re-visitation of the Junk Culture artwork, while the B-side was 10 to 1, a song that had featured on the Junk Culture deluxe edition, issued earlier in the year, as a previously unreleased track.
Legacy[]
More recent live performances have reverted to the original version of the song. As with earlier performances, the repetitive bassline is usually played on stage by Martin Cooper.
Availability[]
| Version | Available on | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Id |
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| Peel session | ||
| Album version | ||
| 1984 re-recorded version |
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| Dub version |
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| live versions |
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External links[]
- MusicBrainz (song)