McCLuskey must have loved Joan of Arc so much that he created two songs about her. The record company thought maybe two tracks with the same name would be a bit confusing. So, it was renamed to first Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans), then to Maid of Orleans (the waltz Joan of Arc). To avoid all confusion, let’s just call it Maid of Orleans.
OMD used a Mellotron for this track. A mellotron is a tape device that can be seen as an early sampler machine. On the outside it looked like a keyboard, but inside the keys controlled taped samples. To activate the sound, press the key. The tape would reset when you let go of the key. I suppose it couldn’t be used very fast.
The mellotron was invented in 1962 and brought to the market a year later. It found its way to the BBC Radiophonic Workshop (Doctor Who) and the Beatles. Bands as late as Oasis have used it, and the last model is from 2007.
