Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (English for " orchestral maneuvers in the dark " ) - short OMD - is a British pop band and is one of the most important representatives of synth pop and the New Wave.
Band History
The British band was founded in 1978 by Andy McCluskey (born 24 June 1959, Heswall ) founded ( in Liverpool born February 27, 1960) and Paul Humphreys. During their first UK tour in 1978 they were cheerleaders for Gary Numan. The first single called Electricity appeared in 1979 at Factory Records, produced by Martin Hannett under the pseudonym Martin Zero. In 1980 the first album Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark on Dindisc. From the first- messages were released (also as 10 ") and Red Frame, White Light as singles. Especially in these first releases were heard very clearly that OMD has been heavily influenced by Kraftwerk. Particularly Electricity pointed musically, lyrically and conceptually strong parallels to the album Radioactivity by Kraftwerk.
The successful single Enola Gay was extracted from the published in the autumn of the same year following album organization. The first edition of the UK pressing includes under the title The Unreleased '78 Tapes a 7 " earlier with interesting, sometimes quite experimental recordings of live performances.
The end of 1981 followed Architecture & Morality, which contained the hits souvenir and Maid of Orleans ( The Waltz Joan of Arc ). The latter reached number 4 in the UK charts and was in Germany even four weeks at number one - it was 1982, the best-selling in Germany single record. The song was primarily in Southeast Asia for weeks in the charts and was in the radio stations " up and down play ." Worldwide became the title of the best-selling and most played single of the year 1982. At this time supplemented Martin Cooper ( born October 1, 1958) and Malcolm Holmes ( born July 28, 1960) the group.
On the B- sides of single releases of Architecture & Morality pieces that were included in barely modified version on the following LP Dazzle Ships in spring 1983 already appeared. Stylistically strict and experimental, this album of great commercial success of its predecessor was denied. The single releases Genetic Engineering and telegraph reached only moderate chart positions. Endpoints of this first period of OMD formed as a consequence the pieces The Avenue as a B- side of the maxi-single and Locomotion ( The Angels Keep Turning ) The Wheels of the Universe, a single-sided single, which supplement a special edition of the follow-up album junk Culture was. This failure corresponds to the success of guitar -oriented music whose protagonists Big Country and U2 were, and in the case of Simple Minds ( waterfront ) and Ultravox ( One Small Day) and even The Human League (The Lebanon ) led to a re-orientation, a abandonment of the use of electronic tone generator is disclosed. In addition, Dazzle Ships dared thematically and stylistically the closest approach to power plant, which OMD meantime had also personal contact.
With the album Junk Culture sold from April 1984, OMD reinvented, using musical motifs of Latin American music and technically through the use of the Fairlight computer that between 1981 and 1984 after early use in Kate Bush, Ph.D., Mike Oldfield and ABC had the production and way of composing electronic music changed radically. Another band members Graham & Neil Weir brothers were 1984-1988 ( The Weir Brothers) here, even though they were originally intended only as a live amplification of the band.
The mid-1985 and published by Stephen Hague ( who worked later for the Pet Shop Boys as producer) produced LP Crush turned even more clearly from the more experimental precursor albums from. OMD was now a pop band that had with the single So in Love success.
The only major hit single of the group in the U.S. was If You Leave from the soundtrack of the movie Pretty in Pink, the court reached 4 in the U.S. singles chart. After the last joint album The Pacific Age (1986 ), the Single ( Forever ) Live and Die was successful with a top ten placement in Germany, McCluskey and Humphreys could not agree on a common musical course. It was followed by the last common single Dreaming and a best-of album in the spring of 1988. Then left Paul Humphreys and the other two musicians, the band and founded a project called " The Listening Pool " (1993 ) and a label called Telegraph Records, which however, it soon became insolvent. Andy McCluskey received the naming rights to " OMD ". The Pacific Age showed signs of a return to more experimental forms, and it is significant that was released on the B - side of the Maxi version of the last common single Dreaming with the piece Gravity Never Failed a piece from the time of recording of Architecture & Morality the first time.
Andy McCluskey took after a three year hiatus, making a comeback under the name of OMD that was surprisingly successful (even for him). In live performances, Andy was accompanied by a band: on keyboards Nigel Ipinson ( MAY 1970) and Phil Coxon ( born July 1, 1963) and on drums Abe Juckes ( born April 7, 1971). The album Sugar Tax (1991 ) with the Singles Sailing on the Seven Seas, Pandora 's Box and Call My Name and the Kraftwerk cover Neon Lights sold so well that McCluskey 1993 another album recorded: Liberator. Meanwhile, declining sales prompted McCluskey to a musical change of course with the album Universal ( 1996), whose single Walking on the Milky Way could take place at least 17 of the UK singles chart. Two of the pieces were contributed by Karl Bartos, for its project " Elektric Music " McCluskey wrote and sang a piece in 1993. The meager sales of the album in autumn 1998 led ultimately to the dissolution of the band. In the same year, followed by another best -of album (The OMD Singles ) and a remix single, which, however, was not published in Germany. The last official album was navigation (2001 ), a B-side anthology.
In 1997, McCluskey was involved in the founding of the group Atomic Kitten, whose producer, he was in the following.
Paul Humphreys is now working with Claudia Bridges ( former singer of propaganda ) as Onetwo together, and privately the two are a couple.
In 2005, years in the cast came OMD Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Malcolm Holmes and Stuart Kershaw first time back together for a gig. The occasion was the recording of the RTL show Die ultimative Chart Show - The most successful artists of the 80s. For a given environment in the recording interview Andy and Paul announced that further collaboration is planned. In a BBC interview Andy said that among other things, his children were to blame, as they had now as largest OMD fans asked him repeatedly why he did not do again " so great music " as in the 1980s, along with Paul.
On their official website OMD gave early January 2006 that the band in 2008 in their original cast (Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Mal Holmes and Martin Cooper) would produce a new album.
In December 2006, OMD next to, inter alia, John Miles and Mike Oldfield guest at the Nokia Night of the Proms, which toured twelve German cities. In the corresponding album there are two songs played live band.
In spring 2007 the band a successful European tour occurred in the original cast; in Germany alone there were nine concerts (among Hamburg, Cologne, Berlin, Leipzig, Munich, Mainz). The tour was split into two different concert programs: once under the name of Architecture & Morality (here the complete success of this album was played, more titles, was a special addition) and once under the name The Best of OMD ( here are the hits from all years - including the 1990s - played).
In autumn 2007, it was announced that all other tours were canceled due to cancer of the wife of Andy McCluskey until further notice.
In September / October 2008 OMD toured England with the opening act China Crisis.
On 7 December 2009, the double-disc appeared Electricity - featuring a performance of The Energy Suite. The two-part live concert was recorded with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in June 2009. The Energy Suite for the first time contains the compositions Andrew McCluskey to a common art project with Peter Saville and Hambi. The Energy Suite was heard previously only in an exhibition in Liverpool in 2008 and should not be made accessible to a wider audience originally.
On 17 September 2010, the studio album History of Modern was released. The first single If You Want It appeared previously as a download, 7 " vinyl single, CD single and CD maxi on September 6.
With English Electric OMD published in April 2013 her twelfth studio album. It could be consulted in advance in full length as a free online stream.
Discography
→ Main article: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark / Discography
Studio albums
Awards
RSH Gold