40 Years of OMD: Exhibition Launch Event at the BME, Liverpool

Thursday 10th October 2019

One of the many reasons I love Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark so much is that the group's two core members, Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, are so entertaining to listen to when they are interviewed. And reliably so too; in fact initially I wasn't going to bother writing a report of the event because it's such a given that the duo always deliver an entertaining evening. Even when they're not actually performing!

However so many people have been asking for details of the event that it was becoming pleasantly unavoidable to jot down at least a little of what went on.

But first a little bit of background for those who are unsure. As part of OMD's 40th Anniversary celebrations, the British Music Experience (a museum-cum-interactive-archive dedicated to the history of UK music, housed in the Cunard Building by Liverpool's waterfront) is now temporarily home to an exhibition of items from all points of OMD's career. Last night - the opening night - was advertised as a private launch event with highly limited ticket availability, that would also include a Q&A session with McCluskey and Humphreys.

And despite the BME admitting earlier in the year how unprepared they were for the speed at which tickets for the event would sell out (the original batch went within minutes), it was clear from the moment we arrived that they were certainly not unprepared for the event itself; in fact the first thing I noticed upon entering the building was just how much effort had gone into the event's organisation. Not just the exhibition (although obviously that was one of the main reasons we were all there) but also little things: adorning the bar/seating area with original OMD vinyl; having the band's music playing over the speakers throughout the evening; the shop being well-stocked with new merchandise.

Perhaps things like this should have be taken for granted as part of the event considering it was in aid of the specific exhibition, but that didn't make these things any less effective in making us, as attendees, feel as if we were witnessing a genuinely special part of the band's career.

Which we were, I suppose. And not only were we there to see the new merchandise in the shop, but also to see lots of things are quite old! Gig posters, tape recorders, jumpers, jackets, synthesisers, handwritten lyrics, tape recorders, records, even Martin Cooper's semaphore flags (that Andy and Paul apparently couldn't believe he hadn't already purposefully set on fire considering how much he hated having to wave them about!)- you name it, it was probably there. Some of the items (the Pacific Age denim jacket and Maid of Orleans jumper in particular) were so rare it left even some of the most 'hardcore' OMD fans agape at their near-pristine condition after all these years, and of course the collection of Andy's never-before-seen handwritten lyrics gave us an insight into the origins, or perhaps original concepts, of certain tracks.

I could go into great detail of the contents of the exhibition cases for another three paragraphs here at least, but what I would really advise is to come and see it for yourself if you can. 'A must-see for fans' is an overused phrase when it comes to artists branching out into visual media, but it is more than appropriate on this particular occasion.

As I said though, the exhibition was only part of what we were there to see, and in a way perhaps couldn't be appreciated beyond just looking what was there due to the high concentration of excitable fans in a relatively small space. But the Q&A was soon upon us, and as I mentioned earlier Andy and Paul were on as good a form as ever. The majority of questions were actually from audience members, so aside from the usual about how the pair met, recording techniques and windmill dancing, topics such as further volumes of unreleased material, plans for the future and reflections on the past were also covered. I won't write too many specific details about the discussion here, as I know the whole thing was filmed for the 'Messages' site and will soon be available to view online- but I shall disclose the undoubtedly fascinating (!) information that despite my voice (or what's left of it) being torn to shreds by a delightful dose of what I've been informed is probably 'Fresher's flu', I managed to croak out a question to Andy and Paul about the idea of OMD having a less successful career in the long term if 'Dazzle Ships' had been a huge critical success. (Yes, I'm a nerd) (No, I don't really care).

And thinking about it in hindsight, it is probably those last remarks (ie. my very poor attempts at making my writing somewhat humorous) that from the audience's perspective, sums up most of the evening:

'Yes I'm a nerd. No, I don't really care'.

Yes, from an outsider's perspective, trotting off to Liverpool to look at some flags and clothes and bits of paper and then hearing some people talk about them might seem a bit odd. But to us, those flags and clothes and records and posters and bits of paper being made available to us at all is all part of the experience of being an OMD fan.

So if you can, get yourself to the Cunard Building and see this exhibition- even if you weren't able to make it to the opening night and the Q&A, it is certainly worth the visit.