STILL LIFE – THE STORY OF THE LISTENING POOL

In 1989, the classic four-piece line-up of Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark split up. Following a well-publicised legal tussle, singer Andy McCluskey took the OMD name, while the remaining members formed The Listening Pool. Barry Page tells the story. In … Read More

SUGAR RUSH – The Story of ‘Sugar Tax’

It’s a long long way… Thirty years ago, OMD scored back-to-back top 10 hit singles for the first time since their commercial and artistic peak in the early 1980s, but it was a success that was achieved without three of … Read More

The Story Of If You Leave

Like time was standing still… Straddling the gap between OMD’s Crush and The Pacific Age albums, OMD’s phenomenally successful single ‘If You Leave’ was a bit of an oddity. It embraced the smoother, more organic (and certainly more US-friendly) style … Read More

Club 66: 88 Seconds in Greensboro

We won’t forget… ‘If You Leave’ is one of OMD’s more unusual releases, emerging as a standalone single in 1986 on the back of its inclusion in the film Pretty In Pink, where it served as the soundtrack to that … Read More

The Year In Review – 2020

A tough year… 2020 hasn’t exactly been a good year with the advent of the Covid-19 crisis, live gigs effectively being written off and the OMD community suffering some tragic losses. But it’s also the year that’s marked some special … Read More

ORGANISATION: These Games You Play

A vision fading fast… Today marks the 40th Anniversary of Organisation, OMD’s second album release and also the album that showed the band taking a more serious step into music as a business – as well as changing some significant … Read More

Hambi Haralambous 1951 – 2020

“I realised what a great honour it was to be creating images and visuals for songs that millions of people had already heard and loved…” One of the most vital locations in Liverpool’s music community of the 1990s was the … Read More

ENOLA GAY 40th Anniversary

This kiss you give, it’s never going to fade away… It’s one of OMD’s most iconic songs and gained them their first UK Top Ten – as well as their first international hit single. ‘Enola Gay’ remains a classic OMD … Read More

OOBERFUSE & HIBARI – Enola Gay

This kiss you give, it’s never going to fade away… Although the history of the 20th Century is littered with significant events, there’s probably few that can match the scale and impact of the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. It … Read More

Listening Party: Architecture & Morality

My feelings still remain… During a turbulent time for the music industry, Tim Burgess seems an unlikely herald for bringing people together over the love of albums. Better known for his involvement with rock outfit The Charlatans, Burgess has been … Read More

Florian Schneider 1947 – 2020

The lights in the electronic music community dimmed suddenly this week when the news broke of the passing of Kraftwerk’s Florian Schneider. Born in 1947, Schneider originally began his musical journey while studying in Düsseldorf. Delving into the experimental music … Read More

MAID OF ORLEANS : An Orphan On A Wave

Religious fervour… As one of OMD’s classic singles, ‘Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans)’ is perhaps the oddest release that emerged from the Architecture & Morality sessions as a potential single. There are few chart-topping singles that open with such … Read More

The Year In Review – 2019

OMD at 40… 2019 marked the year that OMD really kicked it up a gear in terms of 40th Anniversary celebrations. As well as launching an extensive tour, the release of the Souvenir box set helped to capture the band’s … Read More

THE LOST LIBERATOR

“If I had a complaint about Sugar Tax it was that there was nothing weird on it, so I thought this one would be edgier. But I seem to have written my poppiest album ever – even if, as usual, … Read More

From OMD to YMO: Japanese Manoeuvres

OMD’s Pacific Age With OMD celebrating their 40th Anniversary, it’s also perhaps an opportunity to appreciate the global appeal of the synth-pop pioneers. Japan is no stranger to the world of electronic music, a country which produced iconic technopop outfit … Read More

The New Recruit

1979 seemed like an auspicious year for OMD. With the release of their debut single ‘Electricity’ and their support slot for Gary Numan, the band were on the way to becoming an established part of the UK music scene. But … Read More

Club 66: 4-Neu

Hearts will break… In 1983, when OMD released the first single from their then-forthcoming album Dazzle Ships, no one was quite prepared for what they were about to hear. Even by the unwieldiness of its title, ‘Genetic Engineering’ was a … Read More

The Year In Review – 2018

OMD on manoeuvres… Since the band’s reformation, it seems as if OMD have been packing in more and more every year since. It was also a year of particularly special landmarks. Here’s the Messages review of 2018… 2018 kicked off … Read More

Pretending To See The Future

New OMD Book explores the electropop outfit’s legacy OMD have a new book out in November which tracks the band’s extensive history and musical career. It includes input from the band members as well as contributions from the fan community. … Read More

On A Ship To Nowhere – Universal Revisited

An in-depth look at OMD’s tenth studio album With rave reviews – and a top five placing – for their latest album The Punishment Of Luxury, a near sell-out UK tour, plus long-overdue recognition for their pioneering synth-pop work, it’s … Read More

The Year In Review – 2017

2017 was a special year for OMD with a brand new studio album and plenty of live performances that took the band around the globe. Here’s the Messages review of 2017… The biggest news was the announcement of OMD’s latest … Read More

The Red Frame/White Light Saga

‘Red frame white light! Six three two three double o three!’ Those are the immortal words uttered by Andy McCluskey in Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s second single ‘Red Frame/White Light’, released in February 1980 and taken from their eponymous … Read More

Birmingham 100 10th Anniversary

Marking a classic date in OMD concert history Today marks the 10th Anniversary of the event that came to be known as the ‘Birmingham 100’ – an event which saw a reformed Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark playing together on … Read More

Ikutaro Kakehashi 1930 – 2017

The passing of Roland’s founder marks the end of an era… Ikutaro Kakehashi was a visionary whose work in the world of electronic music has helped to shape and hone it into a revolution that continues into the modern era. … Read More

Liberator Revisited

“I thought this one would be edgier, but I seem to have written my poppiest album ever!” – Andy McCluskey If you were to poll a cross section of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark fans asking them to rank their … Read More

The Punishment Of Luxury

With the release of English Electric there was speculation that the 2013 album could well be OMD’s final release. Following on from 2010’s History Of Modern (which marked OMD’s first studio album since reforming), English Electric boasted a clarity of … Read More

The Year In Review – 2016

2016 proved to be a busy year for OMD with the band presenting a variety of approaches to live performances, as well as seeing some anniversaries for classic OMD releases. Along the way, Andy McCluskey guested at events and gave … Read More

Electri_City In Liverpool

The Düsseldorf connection With the launch of Electri_City: The Düsseldorf School of Electronic Music , author Rudi Esch has been busy promoting the publication and arrived in Liverpool this month to chat to Andy McCluskey about the book, Düsseldorf’s musical … Read More

The Launch Of Liberator

Heaven is the girl The design of a record sleeve can be a difficult and time-consuming process in which initial inspirations can falter when executed as visual ideas. This was probably never more true than when applied to the sleeve … Read More

Club 66 : Annex

Give me what I want… The Organisation album had given Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys a fresh canvas to work on. The sombre soundscapes that dominated their second album were a world away from the ‘garage punk’ stylings of their … Read More

The Definitive ENOLA GAY Guide

Despite its troubled beginnings, OMD’s ‘Enola Gay’ has remarkably seen very little variation from its original incarnation to final release. While the song has had its own unique history, the classic Organisation cut has avoided the complicated evolution that tracks … Read More

The Recording History Of ENOLA GAY

Looking back at a synthpop classic… It’s one of OMD’s most iconic songs and gained them their first UK Top Ten – as well as their first international hit single. ‘Enola Gay’ remains a classic OMD song, yet its evolution … Read More

Now That’s What I Call OMD

OMD’s compilation classics… As a popular musical outfit, it’s of little surprise that OMD should be a band that has enjoyed a presence on countless compilation albums over the years. Along the way, some of the band’s appearances have been … Read More

OMD And The Art Of War

“Though khaki uniforms are universal Your propaganda is losing appeal” Despite the horrors of armed conflict, it’s probably not surprising how influential war has been on popular culture. Outside of the likes of cinema and literature, music has drawn from … Read More

From Dazzle To DVD

The Museum Of Liverpool performance, which took place in October 2014, marked a very special event in OMD’s concert history. The combination of an installation art piece, newly released OMD music, Dazzle-themed films and finally an intimate OMD concert made … Read More

The Definitive TESLA GIRLS Guide

Exploring an OMD classic During OMD’s post-Dazzle Ships writing period, confidence was at an all time low for Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys. Although they had returned to writing following the Dazzle Ships tour, they were unsure if what they … Read More

OMD Discography

If you have an interest in the long musical history of OMD, then we direct you to the first part of our OMD DISCOGRAPHY which has just gone live. This Discography covers OMD’s single releases from 1979 to 1984 and … Read More

A Tentative Pre-Gig Moment

The Gothic Years… A pensive moment for Andy McCluskey prior to going on stage back in November 1980. It had been a very good year for OMD with two hits singles and two hit albums, but the concept of the … Read More

Northern Exposure

Atlantic manoeuvres… OMD had struggled to get a foothold of the American market during their early years – a feat that many UK and European bands had to contend with. Despite this, record label DinDisc were keen to send them … Read More

My Feelings Still Remain

My intention… 1981 was a stellar year for OMD with the phenomenal success of ‘Souvenir’ – their highest chart hit up to that point. An inevitable appearance on the legendary UK music show Top Of The Pops only helped to … Read More

To The Best Of Our Ability

Efficient and logical… Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys pause to reflect during the shooting of the promo video for ‘Genetic Engineering’ in 1983. Up to this point they had enjoyed an unimaginable success with Architecture & Morality, but unwilling to … Read More

A Band At Work

Studio Life After signing to the DinDisc label, OMD’s manager Paul Collister negotiated an advance so the band could construct their own studio in the heart of Liverpool. The idea of their own studio, inspired in part by Kraftwerk’s own … Read More

The Romance Of Record Store Day

With OMD once again participating in Record Store Day this April, it’s probably a good time to look at the event and to explore what it means for shops, bands and indeed the fans themselves. Record Store Day originally began … Read More

The Video World Of JUNK CULTURE

OMD’s video history explored A significant item in the arsenal of any popular music combo is the promotional video – a medium that came into its own in the 1980s during the heyday of the likes of MTV and VH1. … Read More

Club 66: Wrappup

Every little now and every little then… OMD’s 1984 album Junk Culture enjoyed a curious period of writing and hopping from studio to studio. With their creative batteries exhausted by Dazzle Ships and their confidence deflated by criticism of the … Read More

THE GAMES – Circus Minimus

Circus Games The release of the album Circus Minimus by The Games sheds light on one of many of the lost bands that emerged from the Wirral and Liverpool music scene of the late 70s/early 80s. OMD are perhaps Wirral’s … Read More

STEVE HOLLAS ON BUILDING A BASS GUITAR

Steve Hollas, formerly of The Id, (whom Messages interviewed previously) has written about the process of constructing a bass guitar. The article, which is posted on the www.weescribble.com site documents the building of the guitar which Steve had worked on … Read More

OMD Q&A : MISCELLANEOUS

The Questions & Answers section of the Official OMD Website proved to be a popular feature in which queries about OMD’s record releases and career could be answered directly by Andy McCluskey or by site administrator and OMD archivist Paul … Read More

OMD Q&A : VIDEOS

The Questions & Answers section of the Official OMD Website proved to be a popular feature in which queries about OMD’s record releases and career could be answered directly by Andy McCluskey or by site administrator and OMD archivist Paul … Read More

OMD Q&A : INSPIRATION

The Questions & Answers section of the Official OMD Website proved to be a popular feature in which queries about OMD’s record releases and career could be answered directly by Andy McCluskey or by site administrator and OMD archivist Paul … Read More

OMD Q&A : PRODUCTION

The Questions & Answers section of the Official OMD Website proved to be a popular feature in which queries about OMD’s record releases and career could be answered directly by Andy McCluskey or by site administrator and OMD archivist Paul … Read More

OMD Q&A : SONGS

The Questions & Answers section of the Official OMD Website proved to be a popular feature in which queries about OMD’s record releases and career could be answered directly by Andy McCluskey or by site administrator and OMD archivist Paul … Read More

OMD Q&A

The Questions & Answers section of the Official OMD Website proved to be a popular feature in which queries about OMD’s record releases and career could be answered directly by Andy McCluskey or by site administrator and OMD archivist Paul … Read More

ANDY McCLUSKEY Q&A 1998

From the OMD archives… In 1998 during the very early days of the Official OMD Website, fans were invited to submit questions to Andy McCluskey for a Questions and Answers session. This was the year in which the OMD Singles … Read More

THE YEAR IN REVIEW – 2013

Looking back at OMD’s 2013… 2013 was a significant year for OMD with the release of their 12th studio album English Electric. It was an album that was going to surprise both critics and fans alike who, throughout the post-History … Read More

ELECTRONIC SOUND Magazine launches…

This week sees the launch of Electronic Sound, a new iPad only format monthly publication from the team behind Electronic Magazine. The debut issue features an exclusive interview with Andy McCluskey discussing English Electric as well as Andy’s commentary on … Read More

Video for METROLAND revealed

OMD take a train… The video for ‘Metroland’ (the debut single from the forthcoming album English Electric) has been revealed. The video is an animated train journey that features nods to the 1984 promo video for OMD’s previous single ‘Locomotion’ … Read More

OMD Discography

Behind the scenes, Messages has been hard at work developing and revising an in-depth OMD Discography. This extensive archive is designed to cover every UK OMD record release and features new high resolution scans of the sleeve artwork, lyrics, promotional … Read More

Video for ATOMIC RANCH revealed

The next animated video taken from the forthcoming OMD album English Electric has been revealed, this time for the track ‘Atomic Ranch’. As with ‘Decimal’, the video has been produced by German animator Henning Lederer and is the second of … Read More

ENGLISH ELECTRIC In Profile

What Does The Future Sound Like? English Electric is OMD’s twelfth studio album and follows on from 2010’s History Of Modern release. The album reached No. 12 on the UK Album Chart and also enjoyed favourable press and critical reviews. … Read More

2012 The Year In Review

Looking back at OMD’s 2012… The focus throughout 2012 has been the writing and recording of the new OMD album English Electric, but that’s not to say that other OMD news has been lacking this year… As part of a … Read More

ENGLISH ELECTRIC sleeve art

Bold visuals for new OMD album With the forthcoming tour dates announced and the OMD engine once again slowly grinding into action, here’s a glimpse of the artwork that’s going to be adorning OMD’s new album release (Note: the sample … Read More

2011 – The Year In Review

Looking back at OMD’s 2011… 2011 was a busy year for OMD following on from the release of History Of Modern. It was also the year that saw the Messages site feature some great articles, stories and interviews. January saw … Read More

Electricity

Looking at OMD’s classic debut single… ‘Electricity’ emerged as one of the first songs that Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys wrote together. Influenced by German electronic pioneers such as Can, Neu! and Kraftwerk, ‘Electricity’ yielded a simple yet infectious electro-pop … Read More

The Id

The means to an end… Before OMD had paved the way as a pioneering synthpop outfit, the likes of Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys and Mal Holmes had already established themselves through smaller bands based around the Liverpool/Wirral music scene. This … Read More

New Horizons

Sailing on the seven seas… The release of Sugar Tax in 1991 saw the revival of fortunes for OMD. Following the release of the Best Of OMD album in 1988, the band had split under acrimonious circumstances. An agreement that … Read More

Across Every Ocean

Stepping through the door into the world of OMD… and never looking back! When I was asked to write a piece about how I got turned onto OMD as a young American, I thought “that’ll be easy!” But now as … Read More

Club 66: The Avenue

The secret is to fantasize… The saga of Dazzle Ships is only too well known to OMD fans. Here was a band that was proud of the success of Architecture & Morality, yet felt under pressure to repeat themselves with … Read More

Club 66: Almost

A Red Car And A Green Car… It must have been a strange time to be unfolding into a world of music during the 1970’s when your influences were not being dictated by the guitar bands of the late 60s … Read More

OMD Whistle Test

In 2003 the release of volume 2 of the The Old Grey Whistle Test featured a rare OMD TV appearance. Producer Jill Sinclair explains all… OMD’s early television appearances are a rare and intriguing experience. At a time when video … Read More

Peter Saville Design Exhibition

The art of music… Peter Saville remains perhaps one of the most well-known and influential designers in the music industry. An exhibition of his work has helped to reinforce this idea – and also helped redefined the public perception of … Read More

OMD Clarks TV Advert

Electric shoes for me… In 2002 ‘Electricity’ was chosen as the music for one of a series of TV ads for the UK by Clarks Shoes. Messages asked Marketing Manager Ted Hart about the story behind the choice… Why did … Read More

Atomic Kitten

Building a girl group… There was a point during Atomic Kitten’s career when their record company had decided not to pursue a future with the band. It was yet another obstacle on the long road to the Kitten’s success… The … Read More