"If You Leave" is a 1986 song by the British synthpop group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. It was recorded for the soundtrack to the film Pretty in Pink, in which it is played prominently during the final scene. Along with 1980's "Enola Gay", the track has been described as the band's signature song. "If You Leave" is the group's highest-charting single in the United States, where it reached number 4 on the BillboardHot 100 chart in May 1986. The song was also a Top 5 entry in Canada and New Zealand, and charted at number 15 in Australia. A distinguishing track of the 1980s, it has had an enduring presence on radio.
Composition
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 ", which the dancers in the scene had initially danced to. Despite this, singer Andy McCluskey later noted that an editing error meant 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.
Reception and legacy
Ian Cranna in Smash Hits wrote that "If You Leave" is "false and contrived and seems to last about 3 years". On the other hand, Chicago Sun-Times journalist Dennis Hunt asserted that the track "is too good to be ignored". Retrospectively, Alfred Soto of The Village Voice said it "starts promisingly" and features "admirably straightforward" lyrics, but concluded: "Gradually the annoyances become menaces. The parts are garish, overstated; it's a cluttered mix." Trouser Press called the song a "dull ballad" that "was thankfully omitted from OMD's subsequent album, The Pacific Age". Conversely, Stereogum critic Ryan Leas considered the track to be among "the best songs of the '80s", and described its intro/chorus synthesizer melody as "one of the best sounds ever". Andrew Unterberger in Stylus Magazine said that the "gorgeous" song makes the final scene of Pretty in Pink "one of the best in cinematic history". AllMusic journalist Mike DeGagne named "If You Leave" as the best track from Pretty in Pink, adding that "its adult feel and smooth transition from stanza to chorus makes it most memorable song". Hugo Lindgren in The New York Times Magazine argued that the stateside popularity of "If You Leave" – as well as that of the similarly pop-oriented Crush – "obscured OMD's legacy as musical innovators" from US audiences, and marked a shift toward "making music for whoever signed the checks". Listeners in OMD's native UK – where the band had gained an audience with edgy, experimental music – were particularly resistant to the track, which peaked at no. 48 on the UK Singles Chart. Frontman Andy McCluskey commented: "It's a blessing to have such a big hit, but a shame that it overshadows so many other good songs for the US audience. We have many European fans who hate the song." Entertainment Weekly journalist Dana Falcone described "If You Leave" as a "now-classic tune" and "OMD's best-known song to Americans". The track has been included in various "greatest songs" listings; KOOL-FM named it the third-best new wave song of the 1980s, while Time Out ranked it the 10th greatest track of 1980s cinema.
"If You Leave" was featured in the compilation albumLost & Found: Reconstruction.
Cover versions
"If You Leave" was covered by pop-punk band Good Charlotte for the soundtrack of Not Another Teen Movie, a parody on teen movies like Pretty in Pink.
A cover version by Nada Surf was used on an episode of The O.C. It is played as a tribute to the John Hughes film Pretty in Pink where the original OMD version of the song appeared. It was released on .
LMP covered the song on their album A Century of Song.
In 2001, "If You Leave" was covered by Seattle synthpop band Dyed Emotions on the OMD tribute compilation "Messages: Modern Synthpop Artists Cover Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark".
