Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search
"Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)"
MaidofNewOrleans.gif
Single by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
from the album Architecture & Morality
B-side
"Navigation"
"Of All the Things We've Made"
Released 15 January 1982
Recorded The Manor, Shipton-on-Cherwell, Oxfordshire, England
Length 4:09
Label Dindisc
Songwriter(s) Andy McCluskey
Producer(s) OMD and Richard Manwaring
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark singles chronology
"Joan of Arc"
(1981) "Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)"
(1982) "Genetic Engineering"
(1983)

"Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans)" is a song by English electronic band Orchestral

Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released in 1982 as the third single from their third
studio album, Architecture & Morality. To prevent confusion with the group's
previous single "Joan of Arc", the song was retitled "Maid of Orleans (The Waltz
Joan of Arc)" for its single release. Both songs are about the French heroine Joan
of Arc and both reached the Top 5 of the UK Singles Chart—although this single was
more successful internationally, topping the charts in several countries including
Germany, where it was the biggest-selling single of 1982. It also reached number 5
in Ireland and number 7 in New Zealand. The single was the last release on the
Dindisc label.

Contents
1 Background
2 Reception and legacy
3 B-sides
4 Track listings
4.1 7" vinyl single
4.2 12" vinyl single
4.3 3" Mini CD single
5 Promotional video
6 Charts
6.1 Weekly charts
6.2 Year-end charts
7 Certifications
8 Sleeves
9 Alternative versions
10 Live performances
11 References
12 External links
Background
"Maid of Orleans" had originally been written by Andy McCluskey on 30 May 1981, the
550th anniversary of Joan of Arc's death. The track has been described by McCluskey
as OMD's "Mull of Kintyre".[1] It is in 6/8 time, and the main theme is played on
the Mellotron (using its "3-Violins" sound). The intro is made of strange noises
and was added later:[2]
The intro was a problem for radio and we did do edited versions where it was
shortened.

The idea came about because we actually had the song recorded but thought the track
started oddly and needed something else to announce its arrival. At the time of A+M
we were making a lot of music that was ambient soundscapes. The natural thing was
to give the song an intro that set up the feel for the main themes to resolve out
of the noises.

It's not meant to "mean" anything specific, just set up a feeling to let the track
grow out of the strange noises. I think that it worked well!

BTW.. for the sound anoraks...most of the noises are melotron [sic] vocal sounds
slowed down/sped up and greatly distorted simply by completely overdriving the old
Helios desk in The Manor Studio. Pink noise and snare drum in lots of reverb.

Reception and legacy

Ian Birch of Smash Hits wrote, "Once again the dreamboat duo come up with a
scintillating intro before settling into a stately canter which becomes more
hypnotic with each listen. It could easily be their 'Mull of Kintyre'."[3] "Maid of
Orleans" became Germany's biggest-selling single of 1982,[1] as well as the 33rd-
biggest seller in the UK that year.[4]

Ned Raggett of AllMusic retrospectively described the track as "epic", concluding,

"With another bravura [Andy] McCluskey lead and a mock-bagpipe lead that's easily
more entrancing than the real thing, it's a wrenching ballad like no other before
it and little since."[5] Critic Garry Bushell called the song "pop genius".[6]

In 1989, Radio Veronica listeners voted "Maid of Orleans" the 60th greatest song in
history.[7] Classic Pop ranked it the 18th-best single of the 1980s, adding that
"as soon as you hear this you remember greatness".[8]

"Maid of Orleans" was recorded by London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1996.[9]

It was used during the climax and closing credits to the final episode of the
second series of BBC television program Ashes to Ashes.

B-sides
The songs on the B-sides are "Navigation" and "Of All the Things We've Made" (12"
and CD single only). Both songs can be found as bonus tracks on the remastered
versions of Architecture & Morality. "Of All the Things We've Made" was added to
their next album Dazzle Ships, released in 1983. "Navigation" was the title track
for the 2001 B-sides compilation album Navigation: The OMD B-Sides. The early 12"
single sleeves list the track "Experiments in Vertical Take Off", but this song was
never written.

Track listings
7" vinyl single
UK: DinDisc DIN 40
Side one

"Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)" (Andy McCluskey) – 4:09

Side two

"Navigation" (Paul Humphreys/McCluskey) – 3:26

12" vinyl single
UK: DinDisc DIN 40-12
Side one
"Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)" – 4:09
Side two

"Of All the Things We've Made" (Humphreys/McCluskey) – 3:31

"Navigation" – 3:26
Two different sleeve designs were issued, firstly a silver coin design, and a
stained-glass design (similar to the 7" picture sleeve) with three different
variations.[10]

3" Mini CD single

Virgin CDT27 released 5 December 1988
"Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)" (12" version) – 4:13
"Joan of Arc" (12" version) (McCluskey) – 3:51
"Navigation" – 3:30
"Of All the Things We've Made" – 3:27
The sleeve erroneously states that there are 12" versions of "Maid of Orleans" and
"Joan of Arc" on the CD single.

Promotional video
For the promotional video, the outdoor shots were made at Brimham Rocks and
Fountains Abbey[11] near Aldfield, North Yorkshire in December 1981 during an
unusually colder winter and the indoor shots at The Manor Studio in Oxfordshire.
The video was directed by Steve Barron and featured Julia Tobin, an actress from
the Royal Shakespeare Company as Joan of Arc.[12] The promo video is included on
the video version of The Best of OMD and on the bonus DVD of the 2007 reissue of
Architecture & Morality.

In 1991, MTV Europe named the video as the 37th best ever made.[13]

Charts
Weekly charts
Chart (1982) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[14] 78
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[15] 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[16] 1
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[17] 32
Ireland (IRMA)[18] 5
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[19] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[20] 1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[21] 7
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[22] 19
Spain (AFYVE)[23] 5
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 4
UK Singles (OCC)[25] 4
West Germany (Official German Charts)[26] 1
Year-end charts
Chart (1982) Position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[27] 6
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[28] 5
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[29] 3
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[30] 3
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 6
UK Singles (OCC)[32] 33
West Germany (Official German Charts)[33] 1
Certifications
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[34] Gold 500,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[35] Gold 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] Silver 250,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Sleeves
The cover was designed by Peter Saville, Carol Wilson and Brett Wickens and was
inspired by a stained glass design by Anton Wolff.

There are more than one sleeve designs for the 12" version. The original sleeve
design featured an embossed coin motif on a silver foil. It was only released for a
limited time, because the band didn't like this design. It was replaced with a
similar stained glass sleeve as the 7" version in several variations.

Alternative versions
There is only one studio recording of the song, identical for both the album and
single releases. A remix entitled Maid of Orleans (Afterhours Mix) by Mulu was
released on the remix disc which accompanied the French edition of The OMD Singles
compilation album in 2003.

Live performances
The song has been performed at live shows on a regular basis since the Architecture
& Morality tour in 1981.[37] A live performance from 1981 was filmed for the Live
at The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane concert in December 1981, initially released on
VHS (1982) and laserdisc (1984) [38] and later on DVD [39]

Maid of Orleans was chosen as one of the songs to be performed with an orchestra
for the Night of the Proms concert tour in December 2006, effectively McCluskey and
Humphreys' first live performances together since the pair had split in 1988. The
performances of Maid of Orleans and Sailing on the Seven Seas were issued on CD.
[40]

Live recordings have been made available on the Walking on the Milky Way CD single
(1996), the Architecture & Morality & More album (2008), Dazzle Ships at The Museum
of Liverpool CD/DVD (2015) and on Architecture & Morality / Dazzle Ships – Live at
the Royal Albert Hall (2016). The song was also performed with The Royal Liverpool
Philharmonic Orchestra in June 2009 as documented by the Electricity DVD release.
[41]

References
Stanley, Bob. How to lose 3 million fans in one easy step. The Guardian. 7 March
2008. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
McCluskey, Andy (20 September 2007). "Maid of Orleans intro". Retrieved 20
September 2007.
Birch, Ian (7–20 January 1982). "Singles". Smash Hits. Vol. 4, no. 1. p. 16.
"The Official Top 50 best-selling songs of 1982". Official Charts. 5 March 2021.
AllMusic Review by Ned Raggett (8 November 1981). "Architecture & Morality -
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 5
November 2016.
Bushell, Garry (4 October 2019). "Bushell on the Blog". Gary Bushell... Online.
Retrieved 1 April 2021.
"Rocklist.net...Radio Veronica (Holland) Top 500". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved
5 November 2016.
"Top 100 Singles of the 80s: 20-16". Classic Pop. March 2014. Retrieved 1 April
2021.
Mitchell, Frank (30 June 1997). "Staples (supplement)". Liverpool Daily Post. ...a
stirring rendition [of 'Maid of Orleans'] by London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
[on 1996's Rock Dreams: Purple Rain].
"OMD - Maid of Orleans". discogs.com. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
"Omd Q&A : Videos – Messages". Omd-messages.co.uk. 8 February 2014. Retrieved 5
November 2016.
 Waller, Johnny; Humphreys, Mike (1987). Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark:
Messages. Sidgwick & Jackson. p. 103. ISBN 0-283-99234-4.
"Top 100 Music Videos of All Time". MTV Europe. December 1991.
Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives,
N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 224. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
"OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of
Arc)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
"OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of
Arc)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
"Top RPM Singles: Issue 4342." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 22
December 2020.
"The Irish Charts – Search Results – Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)".
Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
"Nederlandse Top 40 – Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
Retrieved 22 December 2020.
"OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of
Arc)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
"OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of
Arc)". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
"SA Charts 1965–1989 (As presented on Springbok Radio/Radio Orion) – Acts O". The
South African Rock Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 24 May 2018.
Retrieved 22 December 2020.
Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in
Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
"OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of
Arc)". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
"OMD: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
"Offiziellecharts.de – OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – Maid of Orleans
(The Waltz Joan of Arc)". GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
"Jahreshitparade Singles 1982". austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved 22
December 2020.
"Jaaroverzichten 1982 – Singles" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
"Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1982" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 22 December
2020.
"Jaaroverzichten – Single 1982" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 22 December
2020.
"Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1982". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 7 January
2021.
Rees, Dafydd; Lazell, Barry; Jones, Alan (1983). "The Top 100 UK Singles". Chart
File Volume 2. London: Virgin Books. pp. 80–81. ISBN 0-907080-73-1.
"Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts – 1982" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts.
Retrieved 22 December 2020.
"Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Orchestral Manoeuvr. in the Dark; 'Maid of Orleans')" (in
German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
"Dutch single certifications – Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Maid of
Orleasn" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van
beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 22 December 2020. Enter Maid of Orleasn in the
"Artiest of titel" box.
"British single certifications – OMD – Maid of Orleans". British Phonographic
Industry. 1 February 1982. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
"Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans) by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark". setlist.fm.
Retrieved 18 May 2016.
"Live at The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane". discogs.com. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
"Architecture & Morality (Collector's Edition CD & DVD)". discogs.com. Retrieved
18 May 2016.
"Release - Night of the Proms 2006". musicbrainz.com. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
"Joan of Arc song". musicbrainz.com. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
External links
vte
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Andy McCluskeyPaul HumphreysMartin CooperStuart Kershaw
Dave HughesMalcolm HolmesMichael DouglasGraham WeirNeil WeirPhil CoxonNigel
IpinsonAbe Juckes
Studio albums
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the DarkOrganisationArchitecture & MoralityDazzle
ShipsJunk CultureCrushThe Pacific AgeSugar TaxLiberatorUniversalHistory of
ModernEnglish ElectricThe Punishment of Luxury
Compilation albums
The Best of OMDThe OMD SinglesThe OMD RemixesNavigation: The OMD B-SidesMessages:
Greatest Hits
Live albums
Peel Sessions 1979–1983OMD Live: Architecture & Morality & More
Singles and EPs
"Electricity""Red Frame/White Light""Messages""Enola Gay""Souvenir""Joan of
Arc""Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)""Genetic
Engineering""Telegraph""Locomotion""Talking Loud and Clear""Tesla Girls""Never Turn
Away""So in Love""Secret""La Femme Accident""If You Leave""(Forever) Live and
Die""We Love You""Shame""Dreaming""Brides of Frankenstein""Sailing on the Seven
Seas""Pandora's Box""Then You Turn Away""Call My Name""Stand Above Me""Dream of
Me""Everyday""Walking on the Milky Way""Universal""If You Want It""Sister Marie
Says""History of Modern (Part I)"
Videography
The Best of OMDOMD Live: Architecture & Morality & MoreMessages: Greatest
HitsElectricity: OMD with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Related articles
DiscographyThe IdDalek I Love YouThe Listening PoolOnetwoAtomic Kitten
Authority control Edit this at Wikidata
MusicBrainz release groupMusicBrainz work
Categories: 1980s ballads1981 songs1982 singlesDutch Top 40 number-one
singlesOrchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark songsMusic videos directed by Steve
BarronNumber-one singles in GermanySingle Top 100 number-one singlesSongs about
Joan of ArcSongs based on actual eventsSongs written by Andy McCluskeyUltratop 50
Singles (Flanders) number-one singles
Navigation menu
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
ArticleTalk
ReadEditView history
Search
Search Wikipedia
Main page
Contents
Current events
Random article
About Wikipedia
Contact us
Donate
Contribute
Help
Learn to edit
Community portal
Recent changes
Upload file
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Cite this page
Wikidata item
Print/export
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Deutsch
Italiano
Nederlands
Polski
Svenska
Edit links
This page was last edited on 18 January 2022, at 15:55 (UTC).
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;
additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation,
Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaMobile
viewDevelopersStatisticsCookie statementWikimedia FoundationPowered by MediaWiki