Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Co-founders Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys in 2011
Background information
Also known as	OMD
Origin	Meols, Wirral, Merseyside, England
Genres	Electronic, synthpop, new wave, experimental, post-punk
Years active	1978–1996, 2006–present
Labels	100%, Virgin, Dindisc, Factory, Bright Antenna A&MEpic
Associated acts	The Id, Dalek I Love You, Godot, The Listening Pool, Atomic Kitten, Onetwo
Website	omd.uk.com
Members	Andy McCluskey Paul Humphreys Martin Cooper Malcolm Holmes
Past members	Dave Hughes Michael Douglas Graham Weir Neil Weir Phil Coxon Nigel Ipinson Abe Jukes Stuart Kershaw

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music band formed in Wirral, Merseyside in 1978. Spawned by earlier group The Id, the outfit was founded by Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals); amid rotating line-ups, Martin Cooper (various instruments) and Malcolm Holmes (drums) are the longest-serving additional members. OMD released their influential debut single, "Electricity", in 1979, and gained popularity throughout Europe with the 1980 anti-war song "Enola Gay". The band achieved broader recognition via their seminal album Architecture & Morality (1981) and its three singles, all of which were international hits. Steadily resistant to celebrity status, the group earned acclaim for their adventurous recordings, which combined sonic experimentation and atypical subject matter with musical hooks.

Although retrospectively described as a challenging masterpiece, the avant-garde Dazzle Ships (1983) eroded European support. The band embraced a more straightforward pop sound on Junk Culture (1984), while continuing to experiment via newly acquired digital samplers; this change in direction led to greater success in the United States, and yielded the 1986 hit, "If You Leave". A year after the release of The Best of OMD (1988), creative differences rendered McCluskey the only remaining member of the group as Humphreys formed spin-off band The Listening Pool. OMD would return with a new line-up and explore the dance-pop genre: Sugar Tax (1991) and its initial singles were sizeable hits in Europe. By the mid 1990s, however, electronic music had been supplanted by alternative rock, and both OMD and The Listening Pool disbanded in 1996. McCluskey went on to found, and write multiple hits for girl group Atomic Kitten, while Humphreys performed as half of the duo Onetwo.