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Originally based in the area of Liverpool, UK, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark were formed in 1978, with Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey making up the core members. Playing together in school, they later added Paul Collister, soon joining Factory Records for their debut single, “Electricity.” Impressing with this debut effort, they soon signed to Virgin Records subsidiary, DinDisc, deciding to utilise the record advance to create their own studio.
At the turn of the decade, their debut full-length, “Organisation” appeared, bolstered by the Top Ten single, “Enola Gay.” A steady string of successful albums followed, “Architecture & Morality” (1981), “Dazzle Ships” (1983) and “Junk Culture” (1984), all full of experimentation of the new wave sound that brought them several hit singles in the UK. Turning to a more pop-oriented vibe, “Crush” managed to break the charts across the Atlantic, with the single, “So In Love” reaching number 26 and “If You Leave” number four in 1986. “The Pacific Age” also piqued the interest of American fans but failed to impress at home.
By 1991, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark had lost much of their lineup, with McCluskey continued on, releasing “Sugar Tax” that same year. “Liberator” followed in 1993 and “Universal” in 1996 before the band went on an extended hiatus to embark on different projects.
Fast forward ten years and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark returned to their full lineup, performing live to great support, eventually writing new material in 2009. Their European fancies remained in droves and their new album, “History of Modern” in 2010 sold successfully, most notably in Germany. “English Electric” in 2013 also landed to great aplomb in the UK, peaking at number 12 and number eight in the US on the Dance/Electronic Albums Chart.
The group’s name was actually taken from a reference in the “A Clockwork Orange” novel (The Heaven Seventeen was the name of a fictional pop band within the story), but before Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware founded this group they clocked in time as two of the three core members of the New Wave act Human League. During their formative stages The Human League weren’t exactly viewed as a New Wave band (at least in the general sense), but were rather associated with experimental electronica and at times punk.
The Human Leagues‘ lead singer Paul Oakley wanted to take a step in a more pop oriented direction, while Marsh and Ware wanted to work with the sound they had been developing on their 1st two albums. The rift between the members only grew with time and by 1980 Marsh and Ware left the Human league to form Heaven 17. The line up for their new project was completed once photographer Glenn Gregory filled the vacancy for vocalist. Their early recordings were characterized by heavy use of drum machines and analog synthesizers, but also included contributions by session musicians, integrating the sounds of more traditional instrumentation such as the grand piano.
Heaven 17 crashed into the public’s attention with their catchy, but lyrically controversial debut single “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang”. The track was pulled from BBC Radio 1’s rotation on account of it’s politically left overtones; however, many of those that managed to get ahold of it latched on and eagerly anticipated the band’s next offerings.
The wait was answered in September 1981 with the release of their studio debut “Penthouse and Pavement”, while the album was by no means a commercial hit, it sold modestly well and established a devout cult following. It has since been recognized as a crucial artifact of the synth pop genre and has gone on to appear in the book, “1001 Albums You Must Listen to Before You Die”.
The group still struggled to make it into the UK top 40 with their follow up single “Let Me Go”, but went well beyond their mark with the release of the track “Temptation”. This single climbed to no. 2 on the UK Singles chart and set the stage for their breakthrough sophomore album “The Luxury Gap”. The album included an additional three hit singles “Crushed By the Wheels of Industry”, “Let Me Go”, and “Come Live With Me” and eventually reached platinum status within the UK.
Heaven 17 never managed to achieve the commercial success they touched with their 2nd studio album; however, they were still going strong with their 3rd full length release “How Men Are”. It peaked on the UK Albums Chart at no. 12, went Gold and also introduced a modified sound for the group, emphasizing acoustic instruments and string sections into their previously synth dominated mix.
Also during this time Heaven 17 were immersed in the work of their production company B.E.F. (British Electronic Foundation), putting out cover albums such as “Music of Quality & Distinction Volume One” and helping produce Tina Turner’s classic version of the song “Let’s Stay Together” (which has been attributed to reviving her career).
In 1986 Heaven 17 made their concert debut on the UK pop/rock music program, the Tube and the following November released their 4th studio album “Pleasure One”. Though the album charted in the UK top 100 ranking at no. 86, it was a significant drop from their previous no. 12 position, which they achieved with “How Men Are”. Their 1988 follow up “Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho” did not do any better on the UK charts; however, it landed at no. 46 on the German Albums Chart and featured the western guitar influenced single “The Ballad of Go Go Brown”.
Heaven 17 released only 1 studio album in the 1990s, “Bigger Than America”. The album did not garner commercial success, but it did earn favorable reviews with the critics, in particular their standout single “Designing Heaven”. Ware spent the majority of this decade operating the production company BEF and producing albums for the likes of Marc Almond, Erasure, and Terence Tent D’Arby.
The band’s follow up “Before After” came out in 2005 through Ninthwave Records and did reasonably well on a commercial level, peaking at no. 6 on the Billboard Magazine Club Play Charts. The next Heaven 17 release “Naked as Advertised” was their 1st release not to include Marsh and was a compilation of reworked Heaven 17 and Human League songs. The band still continues to release material and tour on occasion.
After signing a record deal with Virgin Records, China Crisis released their debut album “Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms, Some People Think It’s Fun to Entertain” in December 1982. The album shot up the UK Albums charts to number 21 and was later certified Silver. Their career thereafter would go on to grow exponentially, with their sophomore efforts “Working with Fire and Steel – Possible Pop Songs” going to number 20 in the UK Charts and being certified Gold. “Wishful Thinking” was the biggest song from the album, managing to secure a place at number 9 in the UK charts.
It was “Flaunt the Imperfection” that was released in 1985 that catapulted the band to new levels of success making it to number 9 in the UK Albums charts. The album featured singles such as “Black Man Ray” which went to number 14 in the UK Chart and “King in a Catholic Style” which went to number 19 in the UK.
China Crisis followed their previous success by working with producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, on their album “What Price Paradise” which was later released in 1986. The album featured the song “Arizona Sky” which was the first single release from the band. It was the song “Best Kept Secret” that went to number 36 in the UK Singles Chart. Their following album “Diary of a Hollow Horse” released in 1989 was the fifth studio album by the band, unfortunately, it didn’t match the commercial success of previous records, but it still managed to achieve number 58 in the UK Albums Chart.
The band made a comeback in the 2000s with many national tours of the UK, including one in 2013.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) have a surprisingly compelling live show considering they are an older band playing a somewhat austere brand of synth-pop that one might think would translate somewhat poorly to a live show.
Many people in the audience are older, since the band was at its peak when this style of music was in vogue in the 80’s. However, most of the fans have long sense abandoned the gothic fashions often associated with this type of music! As a band that plays primarily electronic music, the band uses a large amount of synthesizers and similar musical instruments, some which are vintage, and others which are more modern.
The band uses a large amount of lights and other staging elements to compensate for the lack of stage presence that this type of music is often associated with. Although some people would consider this kind of music to be somewhat boring in a live setting, the audience actually gets pretty into it, with a few nostalgic and brave people dancing to the band’s more poppy numbers.
Seeing OMD live is an introspective and thoughtful experience, but also a surprisingly energetic experience with more crowd participation than one might think, considering the nature of the band’s music.
Heaven 17, a new wave synthpop band out of the UK. Two of the original members were in the Human League! Not automatically a head turner as far as music goes but I was interested enough to see their concert when they played as a duo.
Immediately I realized this was not the synthpop I expected. They were lively, upbeat, very eighties pop. This was not gothic or low in tone. It was a fun band having fun with synthetic music and vocals. Their lead vocalist, Glenn Gregory, was lively, upbeat, and had clear fun with the music and the fans without hesitation. It was a wonderful start to a wonderful live show. Then the bass came in. What a wonderful sound and bass riff. I am an amateur bass player and as soon as I heard what they were doing with bass I was floored.
I could not believe a band like this was putting so much funk into their music, synthetic or otherwise. They kept up the tempo and the pace. They kept up the fun. The audience was into it and loving it. They used a variety of sounds and instruments to create unique sounds and a fun show for all involved. I would highly recommend seeing a show by Heaven 17 to anyone that is remotely interested in doing so.
I had the most beautiful concert experience I can remember while watching China Crisis live for the first time. The beauty in what China Crisis does in their simple precision. They simply write beautiful lyrics and have a knack for coming up with catchy elegant pop music to back it up.
The stage setup was sparse, intentionally, so we as the crowd would focus on the individuals playing the music on stage. The focus at the concert was on the music, not on the theatrics of the actual performers. It was very entrancing, the effect in the darkened theater was akin to having a private performance for each member of the audience.
The music itself was so uplifting and poppy that I instantly fell in love with it. It was pure ear candy. "Wishful Thinking" was a particularly engrossing, you could tell that the band had a real affection for that particular song the way to put their hearts and soul into the performance.
After the initial performance these guys came out for not one but two encores - that's home much they appreciate their fans! Great show, highly recommended that you check them out if they come to an area near you!
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