Tuesday 19th April 1983 was about to become etched in my mind for the rest of my life. But the signs leading up to the Hammersmith Odeon gig had not been good. Dazzle Ships had been totally panned by the press and wasn't selling in the same quantities as Architecture and Morality, Genetic Engineering only just scraped into the Top 20 while even worse, the sure-fire hit Telegraph released only two weeks earlier hadn't even got into the Top 40!
With assorted friends and sister, we got the train down to London. My sister and I had even kitted ourselves with sober shirts and diagonally striped ties in deference to the band. Although I'd seen OMD in 1980, what was different this time was that they were now an established band...the expectations for a good show were now much higher. A couple of the party admitted they were worried having not liked some of the more difficult material from the Dazzle Ships album. Me? I'd heard Kraftwerk's Radio-Activity album a few years earlier so Dazzle Ships was not a complete artistic shock. But I couldn't bear Time ZonesÉsurely they weren't going to do the entire album? Then I thought, even if they did, it barely clocks in at half an hour so they'll have to fill up one hour with stuff from the first three brilliant albums!
As we arrived, one of the first surprises was the merchandising. What was this? A pocket sized tour programme with a Boys Own war story and the tour not being called the Dazzle Ships Tour but the Dazzle Ships Live Presentation? An enamel badge consisting of three naval flags WITHOUT the band's name on? This was a clear sign that the Dazzle Ships theme was going to continue through 'everything'! I bought a tour programme and a poster, not realising the significance the latter would have later.
I took my seat M18, we had good seats in the middle of the theatre. We sat through support act Cocteau Twins but this was too much. Two shoegazers with distorted guitars, a weird bird with a funny voice and a tape machine that seemed to play the same drum beat! I didn't get it at the time... again another sign. The best things come to those who wait. And some artists may make the listener work hard for their enjoyment, but the long term enrichment can be high. As we waited for OMD, a familiar tune to my ears hit the speakers... 66 & Fading!! I started cheering but no-one else followed. They'd obviously not bought the Telegraph single. Or if they had, they hadn't bothered to flip it over!! But I knew the band were about to take the stage! The lights suddenly went off and Radio Prague bugled through the speakers! The whole audience got on their feet and roared! Dazzle Ships may not have sold well but it was like every remaining OMD fan in London was in Hammersmith Odeon that night. The curtain opened to reveal a stage design that I could only describe as a masterpiece. Primarily the brainchild of Ken Kennedy from Peter Saville Associates, it looked like the deck of a warship. The drum riser was the tallest I've ever seen. The digitised World Map from the inner gatefold album cover was there at the back with the sine wave projecting over it.
Then Dazzle Ships blasted out! It was deafening, the bass notes of Andy's 'BLUE' sample vibrated against my chest. Loud Hi-Fi systems were not owned by the masses in those days. Luckily I had one but I'd never imagined it would sound like this! The synchronised light show was also amazing.
