#45 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: "If You Leave" by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (1986)

Ahoy 80's fans! We are at #45 of the Countdown! And the song is...If You Leave, by 80's English synth-pop group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). Also commonly abbreviated and known as OMD, this group originated out of the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England back in 1978, which presently consists of members Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Malcolm Holmes, and Martin Cooper. McCluskey and Humphreys were the founding members of the band and are considered the 'core members' to this very day. If You Leave was a single recorded specifically for the John Hughes classic 80's film soundtrack to his film Pretty in Pink, and it was used mainly for the final scene of the movie. It would be OMD's biggest hit in the USA, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that year, at the same time it would only reach #46 on the UK Singles Chart. I don't really have a whole heap more of information on OMD, although I do remember that they did some more soundtrack work for some other 80's John Hughes movies including the iconic Weird Science, and I haven't yet quite decided if I will feature more of their hits on this countdown, maybe, but maybe not, we shall see....