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Originally based in the area of Liverpool, UK, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark were formed in 1978, with Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey making up the core members. Playing together in school, they later added Paul Collister, soon joining Factory Records for their debut single, “Electricity.” Impressing with this debut effort, they soon signed to Virgin Records subsidiary, DinDisc, deciding to utilise the record advance to create their own studio.
At the turn of the decade, their debut full-length, “Organisation” appeared, bolstered by the Top Ten single, “Enola Gay.” A steady string of successful albums followed, “Architecture & Morality” (1981), “Dazzle Ships” (1983) and “Junk Culture” (1984), all full of experimentation of the new wave sound that brought them several hit singles in the UK. Turning to a more pop-oriented vibe, “Crush” managed to break the charts across the Atlantic, with the single, “So In Love” reaching number 26 and “If You Leave” number four in 1986. “The Pacific Age” also piqued the interest of American fans but failed to impress at home.
By 1991, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark had lost much of their lineup, with McCluskey continued on, releasing “Sugar Tax” that same year. “Liberator” followed in 1993 and “Universal” in 1996 before the band went on an extended hiatus to embark on different projects.
Fast forward ten years and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark returned to their full lineup, performing live to great support, eventually writing new material in 2009. Their European fancies remained in droves and their new album, “History of Modern” in 2010 sold successfully, most notably in Germany. “English Electric” in 2013 also landed to great aplomb in the UK, peaking at number 12 and number eight in the US on the Dance/Electronic Albums Chart.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) have a surprisingly compelling live show considering they are an older band playing a somewhat austere brand of synth-pop that one might think would translate somewhat poorly to a live show.
Many people in the audience are older, since the band was at its peak when this style of music was in vogue in the 80’s. However, most of the fans have long sense abandoned the gothic fashions often associated with this type of music! As a band that plays primarily electronic music, the band uses a large amount of synthesizers and similar musical instruments, some which are vintage, and others which are more modern.
The band uses a large amount of lights and other staging elements to compensate for the lack of stage presence that this type of music is often associated with. Although some people would consider this kind of music to be somewhat boring in a live setting, the audience actually gets pretty into it, with a few nostalgic and brave people dancing to the band’s more poppy numbers.
Seeing OMD live is an introspective and thoughtful experience, but also a surprisingly energetic experience with more crowd participation than one might think, considering the nature of the band’s music.
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