Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a new wave group formed in Liverpool in 1978 by core-members Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys. Originally an experimental outfit featuring home-made keyboards, electronic sound effects recorded with the help of their reel-to-reel tape recorder Winston, some bass guitar and voice, the duo gradually moved towards more melodic compositions, releasing their first single 'Electricity' b/w 'Almost' on Manchester's Factory label. The pair were soon snapped up by Virgin subsidiary Dindisc and 1980 singles Messages and even more prominently Enola Gay made Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, by now OMD, a household name with two albums (their eponymous debut and Organisation) to their name within the year. Greater success came almost 12 months later with top 10 singles Souvenir and two songs about the French saint Joan of Arc, all featured on the million-selling album Architecture & Morality, which took the electronic experimental zeitgeist of 1981, mixed with strong melodies and ethereal subject matter, to the upper ranges of the album charts. Their success was however quick to diminish with the follow up Dazzle Ships in 1983 when pop music was already less in favour of experimentalism, albeit still in symbiosis with catchy melodies. Songs about genetic engineering and the demise of the telegraphic system were no longer chart fodder. Some ground was regained in 1984 with Junk Culture and a series of strong singles, followed by Crush in 1985 and The Pacific Age in 1986, although the latter two suffered too much from an over zealous effort to break the US market. A first Greatest Hits collection followed in 1988 although the duo of Humphreys and McCluskey had already called it a day.

In 1991 Andy McCluskey exhumed the cumbersome group name and despite grunge and the return of rock, managed to break the charts again with the album Sugar Tax and the electro-heavy yet catchy singles Sailing on the Seven Seas and Pandora's Box. McCluskey, aided mainly by Stuart Kershaw, tried again with Liberator (1993) and Universal (1995) but things were brought to a grinding halt in the Brit-pop years. Nostalgia eventually won through in 2006 when McCluskey and Humphreys got back together again to perform some live dates as a duo, later touring the Architecture & Morality album in its entirety with former band mates Martin Cooper and Malcolm Holmes. A brand new album History of Modern emerged in 2010 followed by more touring, and another new album English Electric was released to critical acclaim in 2013. A third album of the new OMD-era, with relative tour, is set for release in September 2017.

1979

 * 21 May 1979: OMD's first single Electricity released on Factory records (FAC6)
 * 09 June 1979: Radio One DJ John Peel plays debut single 'Electricity'. He has been given the single by a Factory records representative during a trip to Manchester.
 * 20 August 1979: The group record their first session for Peel, broadcast on 03 September 1979.
 * 27 September 1979: OMITD play the Leigh Valley festival, 'Zoo meets Factory half-way' also featuring Joy Division, Teardrop Explodes and A Certain Ratio.
 * 08 September 1979: OMITD play the Futurama festival in Leeds.
 * 20 September 1979: first major tour begins, as support act to Gary Numan.

1980

 * 15 February 1980: The band begin an extensive tour of the UK starting with Eric's Club in Liverpool. the touring will continue throughout February, March and April moving on to Europe and the US in late May/ early June.
 * 22 February 1980: debut album Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark released.
 * 14 April 1980: Second session for John Peel recorded and broadcast on 21 April 1980. New tracks Enola Gay and Motion and Heart are heard for the first time.
 * 15 April 1980: live performance of Messages and dancing on OGWT
 * 02 May 1980: re-recorded version of album track 'Messages' released as a single
 * 08 May 1980: first appearance on TOTP with 'Messages' at no. 53
 * 29 May 1980: Smash Hits feature 'The Acceptable Face of Synthesisers' and second performance of Messages on TOTP.
 * 28 July 1980: Live gig at Nottingham Playhouse, filmed for the ITV's Rockstage programme. The performance will eventually be released in 2015 on CD and DVD as part of the 'Access All Areas' series.
 * 19 September 1980: live performance of Enola Gay at Portsmouth Guildhall, UK, included on Urgh! A Music War compilation album, released in 1981.
 * 26 September 1980: new single Enola Gay b/w Annex released on Dindisc.
 * 29 September 1980: Third John Peel session recorded, Peel plays Enola Gay single on his show.
 * 06 October 1980: session first broadcast and repeated 03 November 1980.
 * 09 October 1980: Enola Gay performed for the first time on TOTP. The single is at no. 35 in the charts.
 * 24 October 1980: Organisation album released.
 * 01 November 1980: Organisation tour begins.

1981

 * 1981-01 / 04: the group continue to tour the USA, Canada and France. Setlists are a mixture of the first two albums although a new track 'She's Leaving' is also performed.
 * 21 February 1981: BBC Radio One broadcast a short set recorded live at the Paris Theatre on 04 February 1981. Some of the group's equipment was stolen before the gig.
 * 19 March 1981: Smash Hits cover photo. The issue carried a free flexi-disc featuring a live version of Pretending To See The Future for which the lyrics are also printed.
 * 06 August 1981: Smash Hits carries the story that the group have been recording demos for their third album expected in October, and that a new single Souvenir 'should be' out on August 14. It is also reported that Enola Gay is "a monster in Italy as is the Organisation LP in France".
 * 25 August 1981: new single Souvenir enters the UK charts at no. 41, going up to no. 23 the following week.
 * 03 September 1981: OMD perform Souvenir on Top of the Pops for the first time. Apart from Paul Humphreys singing lead vocals for the first time on the show, the line-up also features new member Mike Douglas (playing xylophone!) as well as Martin Cooper (sax), Malcolm Holmes (drums) and Andy McCluskey on double bass.
 * 03 September 1981: Smash Hits interview and feature. A group photo features the McCluskey/Hunphreys/Holmes/Douglas "new line-up". The single is reviewed as "ethereal but rather hollow".
 * 17 September 1981: Souvenir is featured again on TOTP although in a repeat of the 1981-09-03 performance. The single is at its peak position of no.3. Smash Hits also give details of a new tour starting in November "assuming they've completed the new LP they're currently labouring over". It is also reported that Martin Cooper has re-joined the band and that Mike Douglas has formed his own band Godot. (Douglas will be playing live with The Human League within the year).
 * 15 October 1981: new single Joan of Arc (released 09 October 1981?) advertised in Smash Hits "from the forthcoming Dindisc album Architecture & Morality".
 * 20 October 1981: Joan of Arc enters UK charts at no.36.
 * 29 October 1981: OMD appear on TOTP to perform Joan of Arc, now at no.21.
 * 29 October 1981. Smash Hits album review (9/10), advertisment and competition to win Architecture & Morality LPs.
 * 07 November 1981: Architecture & Morality tour begins at Lancaster University.
 * 08 November 1981: (possibly 06 November) Architecture & Morality album released.
 * 12 November 1981: Repeat showing of TOTP perfomance of Joan of Arc. The single is at its peak position of no.5 and will remain there for one more week.
 * 14 November 1981: Architecture & Morality enters the UK album charts at no. 5, climbing to no. 3 a week later (kept off the top spot by Adam & the Ants and Queen).
 * 04 December 1981: concert at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London filmed and recorded and later released on VHS.
 * 25 December 1981: New performance of Souvenir on TOTP Christmas Day show.