The BBC described "Enola Gay" as a "long-lasting hit"; the song's cumulative physical and download sales have exceeded 5 million copies. It has been described – along with 1986's "If You Leave" – as OMD's signature song. The track continues to be associated with LGBT culture; "Rolling Stone" critic Rob Sheffield wrote in 2020 that it is "about both coming out and nuclear destruction". "Gigwise" writer Josh Williams named "Enola Gay" as one of the most impactful songs to be featured in TV drama series "It's a Sin" (2021), which focuses on a group of gay men who lived during the HIV/AIDS crisis in the UK. Williams said, "It's clear to see why a young gay or bisexual male can place a different meaning on a lyric about dropping the nuclear bomb through coming out to their own families."