Dazzle Ships (album)

Dazzle Ships
Studio album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Released	4 March 1983 (1983-03-04)
Recorded	1982
Studio	Gramophone Suite (Liverpool) White House (Chertsey) Mayfair (London)
Genre	Electronic musique concrète experimental avant-pop
Length	34:43
Label	Telegraph (Virgin)
Producer	Rhett Davies Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark chronology
Architecture & Morality (1981) Dazzle Ships (1983) Junk Culture (1984)
Singles from Dazzle Ships
"Genetic Engineering" Released: 11 February 1983 "Telegraph" Released: 1 April 1983

Dazzle Ships is the fourth studio album by English electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released on 4 March 1983 by Virgin Records (under the guise of the fictitious Telegraph label). Its title and cover art allude to a painting by Vorticist artist Edward Wadsworth based on dazzle camouflage, titled Dazzle-ships in Drydock at Liverpool.

The follow-up album to OMD's commercially successful Architecture & Morality (1981), Dazzle Ships marked a departure in sound for the group, who contended with writer's block and record company pressure to duplicate their previous release. The album is noted for its experimental content, particularly musique concrète sound collages, and the use of shortwave radio recordings to explore Cold War and Eastern Bloc themes. It also concerns itself with the rise of technology in society. The record spawned two singles: "Genetic Engineering" and "Telegraph".

Dazzle Ships met with largely negative reviews and, despite reaching the top five of the UK Albums Chart, was regarded as a commercial flop. It nevertheless came to be recognised as a "cult classic", and an inspiration for many artists across electronic, rock and hip hop music. The music press gradually reversed its opinion of Dazzle Ships, praising the record as an underrated and misunderstood work, and an album ahead of its time.