Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

From The Id to Dindisc

Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys formed The Id in 1977 and, after it broke up, started a side project called VCL XI that became Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark in September 1978; the debut gig was at Eric's Club in Liverpool that October. "Electricity" came out on Factory in 1979, and a seven-album deal with Dindisc followed. They supported Gary Numan, then reached the top ten with Organisation (1980, "Enola Gay") and Architecture & Morality (1981), which was number 3 in the UK, number 1 in the Netherlands and sold more than four million copies worldwide. Dazzle Ships (1983), Junk Culture (1984), Crush (1985, whose "So in Love" was their first Hot 100 entry at 26) and The Pacific Age (1986) followed, and "If You Leave" appeared in the film Pretty in Pink. They supported Depeche Mode at the Rose Bowl on June 18, 1988 before a crowd of more than 60,000.

In 1989 Humphreys, Cooper and Holmes left to form The Listening Pool, and McCluskey kept the name for Sugar Tax (1991, UK 3), Liberator (1993) and Universal (1996) before retiring it at the end of that year. The classic line-up reunited in 2006, played with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in June 2009, and made History of Modern (2010), English Electric (2013), The Punishment of Luxury (2017, UK 4) and Bauhaus Staircase (2023, UK 2). They played the Royal Albert Hall on May 9, 2016, performing Architecture & Morality and Dazzle Ships in full. The 2019 box set Souvenir - The Singles 1979-2019 was nominated for a 2021 Grammy for best historical album, and PopMatters (John Bergstrom) gave it 9 of 10, calling the band one of the great, and essential, modern pop bands.

McCluskey also writes and produces for others, notably Atomic Kitten. Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys has cited the band as an influence, and setlist.fm counts "Souvenir" in 571 setlists.