WORDS AND IMAGES KEVIN BARRETT
There’s more than a tinge of excitement in the air tonight as we approach Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena for the homecoming of Merseyside’s synth pop juggernauts Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.
In what may be whispered as a possible claim to being the first day of Spring in the city (ok we had a reasonably dry day for a change), the faithful have come out on masse.
And these fans are faithful!
More than a fair few of tonight’s patrons have seen their beloved band rise to fame from the heady days of signing to Factory Records back in 1979, through the highs….and mainly more highs, for the electronic experimental giants.
Getting us underway tonight on supporting duties are Glaswegian glamour stalwarts, new-romantic five-piece, Walt Disco with enough wondrously theatrical panache and flamboyance to electrify this audience.
A seamlessly delightful set from the band, managing to sound as equally fabulous as they look on stage, with offerings from their 2022 spellbinding debut album Unlearning, as well as an outing for new enigmatically slower single “Pearl”.
On tonight’s evidence, Walt Disco would have rubbed shoulders more than fittingly during the early post-punk/new-wave era as tonight’s headliners burst onto the scene.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark released their fourteenth album ‘Bauhaus Staircase’ in October last year via 100% Records, and are currently around halfway through a mammoth tour to showcase the record. Having already ticked off 20 stops crossing all corners of Europe throughout January and February, they will now embark on a further 20 nights navigating the UK.
It was 45 years since OMD’s first gig in Liverpool’s iconic venue Eric’s, now back on the city’s shores with founding members Andy McCluskey & Paul Humphries, along with Martin Cooper & Stuart Kershaw this band’s consistent longevity is something to behold.
A short break from Walt Disco builds the anticipation of tonight’s circa 6,000 capacity crowd before a backdrop of mesmerising electro animation on a mega screen hits us with Evolution of Species from the new album leading us in. The band enters the stage for Anthropocene, and makes no apologies for moving swiftly through Messages, & Tesla Girls, before breaking out their impactful out-and-out protest song Kleptocracy. Proceedings have warmed up quite nicely here.
Humphries takes the leading role for (Forever) Live and Die in what receives one of the biggest cheers of the night, before handing the baton back to McCluskey for the new album’s title track, the scintillatingly powerful Bauhaus Staircase.
Souvenir gets the whole arena on its feet, as a somewhat endearing intro for Joan of Arc to raise the roof of the place.
The more downtempo Veruschka and Helaing see OMD take a precise alignment of the foursome at the front of the stage in a clear ode to the finesse of a big source of their inspiration Kraftwerk.
Normal high-octane service resumes with Don’t Go, and McCluskey’s dance moves are now in full flow, which can only be described on a stage like this as extraordinarily unique, in the kindest possible sense. ‘Mindless nonsense’ as he puts it himself.
The set’s penultimate track Sailing on the Seven Seas is just a brilliant pop song, with the night highlight to follow. Enola Gay will have its 44th anniversary this year, yet is still played, and received with the same adoration and passion as if it was released this year.
Starting the encore with the ethereal Look At You Now, followed by a gorgeous version of Pandora’s Box, before ending with the formative hit Electricity. A rousing send-off is in store for the night in what will be remembered by all who managed to bag a ticket for this wonderful show.
McCluskey recently speculated with a wry hint this could be the band’s final offering in record form, yet after over four and a half immensely successfully decades in the business, and on tonight’s viewing, there’s hope the band will be pleasing the masses for a few more rotations the sun just yet.
Setlist
Evolution of Species (Video visuals)
Anthropocene
Messages
Tesla Girls
Kleptocracy
History of Modern (Part I)
If You Leave
(Forever) Live and Die
Bauhaus Staircase
Souvenir
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans)
Veruschka
Healing
Don’t Go
So in Love
Dreaming
Locomotion
Sailing on the Seven Seas
Enola Gay
Encore
Look at You Now
Pandora’s Box
Electricity
FOLLOW OMD
FOLLOW WALT DISCO
My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago
