Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark — Tesla Girls

JUL 01 1984 · 12:00

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark — Tesla Girls (1984) Director: Simon Milne Era: Mid-Period Synth-Pop / New Wave Peak (1984) - Prime era of UK electronic pop crossover, bridging post-punk austerity and glossy MTV-era production; OMD navigating commercial pressures while retaining art-pop sensibility on Junk Culture campaign. High curatorial value as a well-documented, director-confirmed 1984 promo that crystallises the synth-pop era's aesthetic and commercial tensions. The video's documented satirical intent, on-record band commentary, and subsequent cultural placement in Weird Science make it an unusually well-sourced artefact for archival and scholarly study. Its moderate brightness, fast edit rhythm, and theatrical staging are quantitatively consistent with the period's studio-promo conventions, offering a measurable benchmark for mid-budget UK electronic pop videos of the era. Context: Released in August 1984 as the third single from Junk Culture, 'Tesla Girls' arrived at a pivotal moment for OMD: following the commercial disappointment of the avant-garde Dazzle Ships (1983), the band had pivoted toward accessible synth-pop. The video, shot in early July 1984, embodies the tension between artistic intent and commercial obligation — Virgin Records demanded an MTV-compatible promo for the US market, yet McCluskey subverted the brief by building a satirical parody of American pop-video tropes. The song title itself, referencing Nikola Tesla via the suggestion of Canadian designer Martha Ladly, grounds the video in OMD's enduring science-and-technology lyrical thread, even as the visuals court mainstream appeal. The single later appeared in John Hughes's film Weird Science (1985), cementing its cultural footprint in the transatlantic pop landscape of the mid-1980s. Director notes: The promo was directed by Simon Milne and filmed during a break from the Junk Culture tour in early July 1984. The video was conceptually driven by band member Andy McCluskey, whose intent was to lampoon the style of American music videos that Virgin Records had pressured OMD to emulate in pursuit of the US market. McCluskey later reflected that the video 'got close to what we wanted' but acknowledged the era's limitations in executing the satirical vision smoothly. The video attracted controversy at the time of release, with some media outlets describing it as 'sexist,' a charge the band disputed on the grounds of its parodic intent. The shoot took place on a studio set using theatrical props referencing domestic electrical goods — a direct nod to the song's lyrical theme of women and Tesla-era electrical appliances.