【The End of the World】A new voice from Liverpool - OMD

(New Wave/New Romance 80's Graduation Class Series)

This team of OMD has been on the road for more than 40 years!

Their debut single "Electricity" was published in 1979, and in 2019 a special re-release of the 40th anniversary edition, and the back of the song "Almost" found Vince Clarke to do a new remix.

OMD's full name is Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, probably the longest-named band I know. They are a band from Liverpool. Except for the Beatles, you can know one more team, in fact, the other team itself Echo and the Bunnyman, who also followed for many years, is also from Liverpool.

OMD is a four-piece band, but most of the time I only see two main members, Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey, especially the record jackets and promotional photos, the other two only show up in concerts, and occasionally in photos Inside. The band's creativity and musical style are under the control of Humphreys and McCluskey. The two of them have definitely known each other since Wei, and have always been classmates at the same school, but they didn't communicate in particular. Even in junior high school, everyone formed a band with their classmates, but both Play each. In one conversation, everyone didn't really enjoy the popular Dalu rock music style at that time. After each had a little slapstick, they opened the topic. It turned out that everyone liked electronic music, especially the German avant-garde bands. After falling in love and seeing each other late, everyone started to communicate, and tried to organize their own new band, vowing to make a career.

They love electronic music that is dark and cold with some experimental flavor. At that time, everyone was young and new, with average skills, no experience, and no resources to buy musical instruments or recording equipment. They just collected old equipment abandoned by others, or Buy second-hand, and then do it yourself. The first song "Electricity" was written under this circumstance.

They often linger at a venue dedicated to independent musicians, and they also encounter some independent music companies that are preparing to make a big splash. One of them is Factory Records. They passed the Demo to the company's founder Tony Wilson and got it. Opportunity to publish a single. It was later learned that Tony Wilson was not very keen, but his wife tried hard to lobby. And once in a lifetime, Virgin Records also intends to enter the independent music market, especially opening another brand Dindisc, which is recruiting talents. Mrs. Wilson knew the person in charge and actively recommended OMD to her. At that time, the market was looking for new sounds, especially electronic music, so the two sides hit it off and OMD signed the contract.

They immediately received an income of about 30,000 pounds, an astronomical amount for two big boys who had just turned 20, and could buy a lot of things. After thinking about it, they finally decided to build a recording studio for themselves. So that money became trivial again, and it was mostly second-hand or older equipment. In the end, their debut album was recorded in their own studio.

They had two good singles, which did well locally, but didn't hit the international market until their third "Enola Gay". This song obviously has more pop elements, even if it is about anti-war, but the tune is brisk, which is different from the electronic music style they have always loved. The manager at the time hated this song so much that he wanted to prevent it from being published as a single, and even threatened to cut off from the band if he insisted on releasing it! And this kind of disputes between members due to differences in music routes has become the norm.

In the 1980s, the band produced several hit songs one after another and became famous. The most impressive one is "Locomotion", which is a deep memory of the college days. By the time they were invited by director Chris Hughes to write a new song for the movie Pretty in Pink, "If You Leave" would definitely push them to the top. It's a pity that Humphreys can't stand these popular works that are too popular. They have long since moved away from their original intentions and decided to break up. However, the impact was not great. At that time, McCluskey wrote most of the songs and was very familiar with it. The next album "Sugar Tax" was even higher, and it was recognized by fans as the top masterpiece.

In the 1990s, everything was business as usual, but grades began to decline. Moreover, the trend of music has changed. Grunge Rock developed in Seattle, and Guitar Pop also has Guitar Pop in England. They all pay more attention to the sound of guitar, so how can all-electronic music be transformed? Finally, in 1996, McCluskey announced that the band was suspended, and he turned to work behind the scenes, writing songs for others, and the biggest beneficiary was Atomic Kitten of the all-girls class.

Until 2006, a German TV station approached McCluskey to explore the possibility of reorganizing OMD for TV performances. He and Humphreys hadn't been in touch for a long time, so a phone call brought the front line up again. Martin Cooper and Malcolm Holmes also returned to the team for a round of retreat and practice. Everyone regained the happy mood when they cooperated and rekindled their ambitions. The response to the concert in Germany was also a great help. OMD2.0 will be closed. To this day, it has been nearly 16 years since they reappeared in the arena. They have three very good albums, and they still have a certain popularity in touring concerts. Compared with many of their peers who rose together in the 1980s, they will definitely stand the test of time.

McCluskey said in an interview: "We didn't change the world, we didn't create world peace, we didn't invent any new drugs, save millions of patients, we just wrote songs, just a few minutes of songs, Touching some people, getting their approval, and becoming a part of their lives. This little satisfaction is also a reward in life for us." After the 40th anniversary edition of "Electricity", the record company also special Released a seven-disc box set of their 40th anniversary album "Souvenir", including their latest 40th single "Don't Go". In 1979, they wrote "Electricity". In 2022, the two partners are still working together seamlessly. Looking back on their music career, they have won a lot of recognition and influenced many younger generations. It's really a bit of a husband to ask for, no wonder some people say They are the Beatles in the Syn-Pop world.