Top Ten Real Event Songs: 88 Seconds in Greensboro (#9)

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Monday morning to you all. I'd never say "happy Monday," unless it was evening and/or a three-day weekend! To start the working week off I have another song about an event that actually happened. Here's today's piece of history in song. #9: 88 Seconds in Greensboro - OMD Leave it to the Brits to tell America about its ugly history. The "Greensboro massacre" is probably something most Americans don't know about, or remember. I have to say it wasn't the smartest idea in the world: a group of Communist Workers' Party members held a rally in Greensboro which they dubbed a "death to the Klan" rally. If you're marching around, yelling "death to the Klan" in the south, you might not expect a warm welcome. Here's a shocker for you: the Klan showed up. With guns. And they started shooting. In less than two minutes five protesters were dead or dying. Here's another shocker for you: nobody was ever convicted, despite the fact that there is footage of the shooting taking place. Enter Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, or OMD, the great synth-rock band of the 80s. Not one to shy away from unsavory things in the past in their songs ("Enola Gay," anyone?), they recorded "88 Seconds in Greensboro" about the massacre. As to why you've either never heard of this or don't remember it: it occurred two days before our embassy in Iran was overran and the hostage crisis began. 88 Seconds in Greensboro Written by Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey (credited to OMD) Recorded by Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark From Crush, 1985 Based on the Greensboro, North Carolina anti-Klan shootings November 3, 1979 They're heading for a shallow grave: