"Sailing on the Seven Seas" is a 1991 single by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark released from their album Sugar Tax. Along with 1981's "Souvenir", it is the band's highest-charting UK hit to date, peaking at number three on the UK Singles Chart. It also charted at number three in Austria and Sweden, number five in Ireland and number nine in Germany. The single was the first to be released by OMD without original member Paul Humphreys, who had left to form his own band The Listening Pool. The song pays homage to various rock groups. The Velvet Underground song "Sister Ray" is directly referenced, and the line "people try to drag us down" is similar in melody and lyrical content to the opening line of The Who's "My Generation"; singer Andy McCluskey also noted that the track includes "Glitter Band-style" drumming.
Reception and legacy
ranked "Sailing on the Seven Seas" the 21st greatest song of 1991. In a retrospective review, AllMusic critic Dave Thompson wrote that OMD "sail giddily through the musical past", delivering "a glorious musical mélange, an inspired melding of synth pop soar, 2-Tone yore, and glam rock roar, the anthemic chorus to the fore with a fist-in-the-air punch that shouts out for more". Colleague Ned Raggett called it the "one definite redeeming number" from parent album Sugar Tax, observing "glam-styled beats underpinning a giddy, playful romp that showed McCluskey still hadn't lost his touch entirely". Humphreys said of the track: "I was surprised that it got so high in the charts, although I think it's a good song." Original drummer Malcolm Holmes, then also estranged from OMD, commented: "I loathe the track – I do. But it charted and it did the business." The song has been included on every OMD compilation album since its release, and remains a live staple.
The song was released as a 7" single version and in an extended version for the 12" release. The extended version was more oriented to the electronic dance music market in vogue at the time. Another mix entitled "Dancing on the Seven Seas" was also included on a special collector's edition CD single. The regular CD single featured another remix entitled "Floating on the Seven Seas" and the "Larrabee Mix" of "Sailing on the Seven Seas", similar to the original single version but mixed at Larrabee Studios in North Hollywood, California. Two other new songs were included as B-sides or bonus tracks on the CD single: "Burning" and "Sugar Tax". Despite its title, "Sugar Tax" did not feature on the album of the same name. Both tracks feature on the B-sides compilation album . "Sugar Tax" also features as a B-side on the later single release "Then You Turn Away". A 12" promo single released in the US features further remixes, namely "Drowning on the Seven Seas", "Raving on the Seven Seas" and 'Mix 1' and 'Mix 2' of "Sailing on the Seven Seas". Although uncredited, many of the remixes were the work of Phil Coxon.
