VIRGIN · BFE 38543

5 pressings $10+ Choose →

1. A1 Radio Prague 1:18
2. A2 Genetic Engineering 3:42
3. A3 ABC Auto-Industry 2:06
4. A4 Telegraph 2:57
5. A5 This Is Helena 1:58
6. A6 International 4:26
7. B1 Dazzle Ships (Parts II III & VII) 2:21
8. B2 The Romance Of The Telescope 3:26
9. B3 Silent Running 3:33
10. B4 Radio Waves 3:44
11. B5 Time Zones 1:49
12. B6 Of All The Things We've Made 3:23

Running order of the main release. Pressings may split it differently.

• 1:19 Radio Prague
• 3:28 Of All The Things We've Made
• 2:22 Dazzle Ships (Parts II, III And VII)

OMD's fourth studio album, first released on 4 March 1983. Peter Saville had seen the painting Dazzle Ships In Drydock At Liverpool (1919) by the painter Edward Wadsworth and was struck by the image. Dazzle Ships were World War 1 warships that had been painted in fractured and disjointed lines to confuse the enemy as to their exact size and distance. Wadsworth himself supervised the dazzle painting of many ships. After suggesting the idea and title to Andy, Saville carried the theme over to the sleeve design. The initial sleeve was a gatefold which opened to show a map of the world with a series of holes that revealed the inner sleeve. This featured a yellow triangle against a pink background with a pink triangle against a yellow background on the reverse. Although OMD had now switched to parent company Virgin following the collapse of the DinDisc subsidary, there was a feeling that OMD would benefit from appearing to maintain an independent position. This led to Dazzle Ships (and the subsequent singles) being issued on a made-up subsidiary label called Telegraph.