"Sailing on the Seven Seas" is a song by English electronic music band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released on 18 March 1991 by Virgin as the first single from their eighth studio album, Sugar Tax (1991). 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 co-founder 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 (OMD had previously covered "I'm Waiting for the Man" as a B-side to 1980 single "Messages"), 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

Richard Riccio of the St. Petersburg Times described "Sailing on the Seven Seas" as "fabulous... a rollicking foot-stomper in its original version, and a haunting late-night dance track in remixed [B-side] form." MTV Europe ranked it the 21st-greatest song of 1991, while KROQ placed it 54th. 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". Classic Pop listed "Sailing on the Seven Seas" among the "Top 20 Comeback Singles" in history. Humphreys described the track as "a great, kind of a weird pop song". Original OMD drummer Malcolm Holmes, who also had no involvement in the song, said, "I loathe the track – I do. But it charted and it did the business." After returning to the band, Holmes commented, "'Sailing on the Seven Seas' is a great thing to play as a drummer. When I started to play it, it became something else to me... so I don't really see the song as how I did in those days.

Versions and B-sides

The song was released as a 7-inch single version and in an extended version for the 12-inch 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 Navigation: The OMD B-Sides (2001). "Sugar Tax" also features as a B-side on the later single release "Then You Turn Away". A 12-inch 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 "Dancing on the Seven Seas". Although uncredited, many of the remixes were the work of Phil Coxon.

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history