Secret Messages (song)
1983 single by Electric Light Orchestra
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"Secret Messages" is a song recorded by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) and is the title track (and opening track) of the 1983 album Secret Messages. Parts of the music video featuring a radio telescope were filmed at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire, England.
3:35 (Single edit)
4:51 (Double album version)
| "Secret Messages" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Single by Electric Light Orchestra | ||||
| from the album Secret Messages | ||||
| B-side | "Buildings Have Eyes" | |||
| Released | 26 August 1983[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1983 at Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum, the Netherlands | |||
| Length | 4:44 (Album version) 3:35 (Single edit) 4:51 (Double album version) | |||
| Label | Jet | |||
| Songwriter | Jeff Lynne | |||
| Producer | Jeff Lynne | |||
| Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Secret Messages track listing | ||||
10 tracks
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| Music video | ||||
| "Secret Messages" on YouTube | ||||
Composition
The song begins with strange effects and a backmasked voice (saying "welcome to the show") followed by a burst of morse code, before the song proper begins with a staccato keyboard part followed by drums and drum machines and guitar.[2][3] The song and album were recorded in response to the backmasking controversy at the time, in which certain groups were claiming that rock artists were including hidden subliminal messages on their songs and albums.[2]
Reception
Commercial performance
The single peaked at 48 in the UK Singles Chart[4] and at number 14 in the Irish Singles Chart.[5]
Chart history
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Irish Singles Chart[6] | 14 |
| Polish Singles Chart[7] | 5 |
| UK Singles Chart[4] | 48 |
