OMD would return with a new line-up and explore the dance-pop genre: Sugar Tax (1991) and its initial singles were sizeable hits. 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. 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.
The band achieved broader recognition via their album Architecture & Morality (1981) and its three singles, all of which were international hits.Īlthough retrospectively reappraised, the experimental Dazzle Ships (1983) eroded European support. OMD released their debut single, Electricity, in 1979, and gained popularity throughout Europe with the 1980 anti-war song Enola Gay. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic band formed in Wirral, Merseyside in 1978. Spawned by earlier group The Id, the outfit is composed of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals), along with Martin Cooper (various instruments) and Stuart Kershaw (drums) McCluskey is the only constant member.
