"We needed a name that would show people immediately that we weren't a punk band." Paul Humphries

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are often regarded as cheerful electro-pop companions to The Human League or Depeche Mode - and, like them, lingering on, past their prime. They can be gimmicky and insubstantial, certainly, but OMD have a brilliant knack for catchy singles, and the music on the albums of their first seven years was constantly ambitious and brimming with ideas.

OMD were formed by Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphries in 1978, out of the fragments of an unwieldy eight-piece called The Id (OMD's first album consisted entirely of songs by The Id). Andy and Paul were drawn to music-making by the radical possibilities of synthesizers. Eno was an influence, but it was to Kraftwerk that they owed their greatest debt, taking up the Germans'project of creating an aesthetic for the technological age through the exact and pure sound of analogue synths. However, OMD's approach to science and technology was historically reflective rather than futuristic: radio, radar and atom bombs were their abiding images.

The first two albums - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Organisation - were released in quick succession in 1980. Both were packed full of crisp, bright electro-pop, but sound a little tinny compared to the band's string of immaculately produced early 80s albums: Architecture and Morality (1981), Dazzle Ships (1983), Junk Culture (1984) and Crush (1985). These were the real fruits of partnership between McCluskey and Humphries, which was beginning to break down by the time of Pacific Age (1986), a rather weak epilogue.

Humphries went on to form The Listening Pool -with long-standing OMD touring/session musicians Malcolm Holmes (percussion) and Martin Cooper (saxophone) - though with little commercial success. McCluskey meanwhile revived OMD (now down to the initials) as his solo project, producing the rather bland Sugar Tax (1991) and Liberator (1994); with a further album,Universal, appearing in 1996. Another McCuskey solo outing, this showed a return to the more comfortable floaty moods of OMD's heyday, with melody and atmosphere triumphing over raw electronica.

Dazzle Ships (1983; Virgin). This austere evocation of modern alienation is the classic OMD album. Excellent use of samples and incredible synths on strong, melodic and above all highly intelligent pop music.

Dave Castle

RUSSIAN PAGE |  PLAYLISTS | FEATURED ARTISTS  |  FEATURED LABELS |  ABOUT US  |  LINKS  |  MAIL