Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys of Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
ELECTRONIC new wave trailblazers Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark will headline the first night of Futuresound’s third summer of Live At York Museum Gardens concerts.
The Wirral synth-pop duo of Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys will be joined on OMD’s Summer Of Hits bill on July 9 bill by two fellow Eighties’ synth-pop luminaries, Sheffield’s Heaven 17 and Kirkby’s China Crisis, and rising singer-songwriter Andrew Cushin.
“It’s gonna be lovely playing outdoors,” says McCluskey, 67, fresh from OMD’s 22-date February and March tour showcasing their 2023 UK top two-charting album Bauhaus Staircase. “The biggest difference quite simply is playing in daylight. We have a lot of lights and LED screens behind us, so it will have a different feel just because of the daylight. It won’t be dark until quite late in the show.”
The contrast with the indoor experience will come one night earlier at Bradford Live. “A lot of people in Yorkshire were frustrated that York sold out so quickly, so the promoter asked us to play Bradford,” says Andy, who is looking forward to performing at the new £55 million Bradford venue – in the former Odeon cinema – for the first time.
Roll on to the next night in York. “There’s a party element to playing outdoors, though you’re playing with the lottery of the weather in Britain.” Good news for these upcoming Orchestral manoeuvres in the not so dark: the weather forecast predicts sunny intervals with a gentle breeze – while Futuresound concert promoter Rachel Hill advises bringing Factor 50 sun cream.
Choosing the set list will be straightforward. “We’ve advertised the shows as the Summer Of Hits tour, as you’re going to get 18 hits regardless, but obviously in York we’ll have some great acts with us,” says Andy. “Heaven 17 are stunning live, as are China Crisis, both with amazing frontmen [Glenn Gregory and Gary Daly respectively], so that means we have to keep it tighter in York, playing for 90 minutes [to meet the 10.30pm curfew].
“We specifically asked to have Heaven 17 and China Crisis on the bill. At the beginning of March, I was on an Eighties’ rock cruise, out of Port Canaveral, cruising around the Caribbean, doing two 90-minute shows and the rest of the week as holiday, taking all the WAGs with us! Heaven 17 were there for that one – and we go way back with the China Crisis boys, who’ve done a couple of tours with us over the years.”
Formed by childhood friends McCluskey (vocals and bass) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards and vocals) in 1978, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark emerged in the pioneering early days of synth pop, when the proto-machinery was more erratic in its behaviour in making their electronic craft work.
Contrast with 21st century technology. “The digital age has transformed everything,” says Andy. “For me, as the singer, one of the best things now is the in-ear monitor, where you can hear everything so clearly. You don’t need so many speakers on stage; you don’t need it to be so loud, and the sound guy doesn’t have to fight with that.
“You don’t have to keep changing your synths. Everything is loaded into the digital keyboard, so there’s a lot less work for the keyboard player and the songs sound perfect every night.”
Is perfection good for live music, Andy? “Absolutely! We love it. We’re happy with how our records sounded, so that’s how we try to re-create them live on stage, as why would you want to mess with treasured memories. Why change them? Let people treasure those memories,” he says.
“I don’t understand how bands can go on stage and say to themselves ‘I’m so bored how this song sounds after playing it 1,000 times’. Don’t mess with your songs!”
Casting an eye over five decades of OMD, Andy says: “It’s quite remarkable to look back, and what I’m always reminding myself is that we’ve had a lot of hit singles doing the music just the way we wanted to. No-one was telling us how to record them or writing songs for us. We’ve been a 48-year rolling accident!
“I should have gone to Leeds to study Fine Art; Paul should have done a British Telecom apprenticeship in London [but turned it down]. Instead we created a band with a crazy name for a dare for one gig, and here we are, still together 48 years later.
“The broader picture is that what we’re blessed with is how we’re in a post-modern era where nothing is out of fashion any more – which is nice for us older musicians, where if you’re considered an icon, people will still come and see you, and if people saw those songs as the soundtrack of their lives back then, they’re still the soundtrack to their lives.
“In many ways, songs act as little memory pegs, upon which hang several different memories. One of the great things about being a songwriter is that you may not solve poverty or end warfare, but you create these little three-minute vignettes that become reference points for the most touching moments in people’s live, like your songs being played at funerals.
“That’s the greatest compliment that someone can give you, that something you created has become a memory for an entire family.”
Futuresound presents Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s Summer Of Hits featuring Heaven 17, China Crisis and Andrew Cushin, Live at York Museum Gardens, July 9, gates open at 5pm. SOLD OUT.
