OMD (GB)

About

Also known as: O.M.D, O.M.D., OMD, OMitD, Orchestral Maneouvers in the Dark, Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark, Orchestral Manoeuvre In The Dark, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the D, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), Orchestral Manoevre in the dark, Orchestral Manoevres in the Dark, Orchestral Manouvres in the Dark, Orchestral Manœuvres in the Dark

Few bands did more to shape the sound of the early 1980s than Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Formed in Meols, Merseyside in 1978 by Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, OMD built their reputation on a mix of minimalist electronics and surprisingly catchy pop, earning the tag "original synth pop duo" and becoming Britain's first performing two piece synthesizer band. Their 1980 anti war single "Enola Gay" broke them across Europe, while Architecture and Morality a year later delivered three hit singles and cemented their status. Some journalists went as far as calling McCluskey and Humphreys the "Lennon and McCartney of synth pop". After Humphreys left in 1989, McCluskey kept the name going through the early 1990s dance pop era before OMD eventually dissolved in 1996. He went on to co found and write for Atomic Kitten, while Humphreys formed the duo Onetwo. The pair reunited in 2006 and steered things back toward the experimental edge of their early catalog. By 2015 they had settled into their most stable lineup, with Martin Cooper and Stuart Kershaw rounding out the group. Forty million records sold worldwide tells its own story.