OMD Albums
ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK
sleeve
CATALOGUE DIDC 2
FORMAT CASSETTE
LABEL DINDISC
RELEASE DATE 22/02/80
CHART 27
SLEEVE DESIGN Peter Saville & Ben Kelly
CURRENT VALUE £2-5
TRACK LISTING WRITERS PRODUCER RECORDED
BUNKER SOLDIERS Humphreys/McCluskey Chester Valentino & OMD The Gramophone Suite, Liverpool
ALMOST Humphreys/McCluskey Chester Valentino & OMD The Gramophone Suite, Liverpool
MYSTEREALITY Humphreys/McCluskey Chester Valentino & OMD The Gramophone Suite, Liverpool
ELECTRICITY McCluskey/Humphreys Chester Valentino & OMD Cargo Studios, Rochdale
THE MESSERSCHMITT TWINS Humphreys/McCluskey Chester Valentino & OMD The Gramophone Suite, Liverpool
MESSAGES Humphreys/McCluskey Chester Valentino & OMD The Gramophone Suite, Liverpool
JULIA'S SONG Humphreys/McCluskey/Kneale Chester Valentino & OMD The Gramophone Suite, Liverpool
RED FRAME/WHITE LIGHT Humphreys/McCluskey Chester Valentino & OMD The Gramophone Suite, Liverpool
DANCING Humphreys/McCluskey Chester Valentino & OMD The Gramophone Suite, Liverpool
PRETENDING TO SEE THE FUTURE Humphreys/McCluskey Chester Valentino & OMD The Gramophone Suite, Liverpool

NOTES

This release featured the sleeve design used for the final batch of albums.

'Bunker Soldiers' features a chorus that actually spells out the title 'BUNKER SOLDIERS' as random letters and the same letters translated into numbers.

'Almost' also featured as the B-side to the single 'Electricity' and the album version was used on the third release of the single.

'Mystereality' features saxophone by Martin Cooper.

'Electricity' is the same version featured on the third single release.

'The Messerschmitt Twins' takes its title from a nickname for Andy and Paul. The phrase popped into Andy's head during the night prompting him to write a song about it. It was actually while researching Messerschmitts that Andy spotted a reference to the Enola Gay leading to fresh inspiration.

'Messages' is the original version and not the Mike Howlett produced single version.

'Julia's Song' dates back to Andy and Paul's time in The Id and features lyrics by Julia Kneale who was also in The Id at the time.

'Red Frame/White Light' was inspired by a telephone box used by the band outside The Railway Inn public house on the Wirral.

'Dancing' is an experimental piece whose unusual sound was created using Dalek I Love You's Kawai synth.

'Pretending To See The Future' was written about being in the music industry and specifically about signing a record deal.

 

TRIVIA

Chester Valentino was a pseudonym for OMD's then-manager Paul Collister.

The inspiration for the sleeve design actually came from a metal grid on a shop door in London's Covent Garden.