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OMD Biography

Coming out of the late '70s Liverpool scene, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark were among a number of great Liverpool bands with strange sounds and strange names, such as Echo And The Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes.

Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys had been in several 'traditional' bands, but they were both heavily influenced by German synth kings Kraftwerk, and were experimenting with sound, via their little project VCLXI. Naming themselves after an VCLXI song, McCluskey and Humphreys were fortunate to catch the ear of Factory Records boss Tony Wilson.

Their first single, 'Electricity', in 1979, was one of the first notable British synth-dominated singles. This was the year of Gary Numan (who OMD supported at some gigs), and, so the year where synthesizers became mainstream - and not just the instrument of choice for art school nerdy types.

OMD certainly sounded different, with their mix of beautiful, symphonic synthesized music and a strong percussive sound. Their early singles embraced totally uncommercial topics (on the face of it), such as the plane that bombed Hiroshima ('Enola Gay') and 'Joan Of Arc'.

Their third album, 'Architecture and Morality', was bolstered by old friends Martin Cooper (keyboards and saxophone) and Malcolm Holmes (drums), and was a high point for the group, with high class tracks such as 'Joan Of Arc', 'Maid Of Orleans' (Joan Of Arc the subject matter again), and 'Souvenir'. All three were UK top five hits in the early '80s. All three had a mournful, but gorgeously rich sound, and OMD were helping to rewrite a lot of conceptions as to what 'commercial' music was.

'Dazzle Ships' was OMD's next album, in 1983, and because of recent successes, the group were quite experimental with the music, but it failed to reach great heights. From then on, OMD mainly concentrated on dance orientated synth and sweet love songs, with singles such as 'Tesla Girls', 'Locomotion', 'So In Love', 'Secret', 'Talking Loud And Clear', and 'Forever Live And Die'.

OMD began to make inroads into the U.S. market with 'If You Leave', which was written for the 'Pretty In Pink' movie, and released in 1986, but, as often happens, the effort put into breaking new markets often puts a strain on musicians, and the 1988 single, 'Dreaming', was the last, but wonderful, hurrah for McCluskey and Humphreys.

Humphreys, Holmes and Cooper left OMD in 1989, leaving Andy McCluskey to compile the last really acclaimed OMD album, 'Sugar Tax', in 1991, with fellow Liverpool musicians Lloyd Massett and Stuart Kershaw.

OMD have been one of the most innovative and influential groups to come out of the UK, and, listening to their singles, the diversity of their work is amazing.

Copyright © Paul Rance/booksmusicfilmstv.com.

The Best of OMD The kings of synth show here how those instruments should be played. All the tracks on this album are synth with soul, and all the classic OMD songs are included - 'Enola Gay', 'Joan Of Arc', 'Tesla Girls', 'So In Love', and 'Forever Live And Die'. All have that haunting quality, which is the quintessential OMD.

Architecture & Morality

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

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