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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARKUK pop duo: Andy McCluskey, bass and vocals (b '60), Paul Humphreys, synths (b '61), both from West Kirby, Merseyside. They met at school, grew up in '70s listening to Kraftwerk and Can; formed group called Equinox, later the Id '77, then OMD '78, played first gig at legendary Liverpool Eric's during burgeoning 'second wave of Merseybeat'. Contemporaries were Teardrop Explodes, Echo and the Bunnymen, Wah! First OMD single 'Electricity' on Joy Division's Factory label; subsequent singles 'Red Frame, White Light' and 'Messages' '80 were minor UK hits, incl. on LP Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark '80. Breakthrough came with hypnotic 'Enola Gay' (named after the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb '45): no. 8 UK '80, subsequently no. 1 in several countries in Europe. Organisation '80 featured unlikely cover of Chris Montez's 'The More I See You'. Top ten hits 'Souvenir' and 'Joan Of Arc' '81 established them as a top concert draw, though hypnotic rhythms with backing tapes led to criticism of remote austerity. Architecture And Morality '81 saw them firmly in pop mainstream, though musical infl. still came from a largely uncommercial direction; Dazzle Ships '83 incl. ambitious 'Genetic Engineering', while Junk Culture '84 was more overtly pop, with hits 'Talking Loud And Clear', infectious 'Tesla Girls'. Crush '85 was a disappointment; they were heard in soundtrack of hit US film Pretty In Pink '86; album The Pacific Age '86 incl. hit 'Forever (Live and Die)'. Humphreys left '89; McCluskey carried on with Sugar Tax '91, his best seller yet with hit singles 'Sailing On The Seven Seas' and 'Pandora's Box'; Liberator '93 had no hit single and didn't do as well. He later said that they had been too serious, 'so determined to be free of pop clich‚ and keep our feet on the ground that we were really boring', but also that 'I can't abide not having hit singles'. Album Universal '96 had its single 'Walking On The Milky Way': 'It's about growing up.' |