Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark are taking centre stage at the British Music Experience

A special exhibition celebrating the 40^th anniversary of Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark (OMD) will take centre stage at Liverpool’s British Music Experience (BME) in October.

In tribute to the legacy of the Wirral synth-pop pioneers who sold an impressive 25million singles and 15million albums, the showcase will open to the public from Friday 11 October.

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Entitled Souvenir: 40 Years of OMD  includes the band’s instruments, stage outfits, prints, posters as well as Andy McCluskey’s personal binders full of ideas, photos and press cuttings.

On display is also the Vox Jaguar Organ on which Paul Humphreys played Electricity, Messages and Enola Gay, and the 1974 Fender Jazz Bass played by Andy on Enola Gay, Messages, Souvenir, Joan of Arc and Tesla Girls.

To complement the artefacts, there will be a short film featuring live footage of the band on the main stage screen at regular intervals throughout the day, and interactives that let you hear how the iconic instruments on display sounded in the original recordings.

The Merch Store will have a great range of OMD items for sale, including t-shirts, prints, limited edition box sets and books.

The exhibition is the latest instalment in the band’s 40^th anniversary celebrations which have included the reissue of their first four classic albums on 180g vinyl, followed by a world tour which starts in Portugal in October and finishes in Paris in 2021.

A special, sold out Q&A session with OMD co-founders Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys will take place the evening before it opens to the public (Thursday 10 October).

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Andy McCluskey, said: “A one-off concert at Eric’s Club in Mathew Street in October 1978 just to satisfy our need to be able to say “at least played our crazy songs live”, turned into a remarkable 40-year odyssey.

“We are honoured to have an exhibition at BME in Liverpool celebrating the journey from a two-piece experimental band with a borrowed tape recorder, through all the hits and world tours. It is incredible to look back at the primitive instruments on display and remember that it was with this miscellaneous collection of decaying junk that we set out to change the world!”

Harvey Goldsmith, CBE, Chair of the Trustees for the British Music Experience said: “We are thrilled to celebrate OMD’s 40 years with this exhibition. This much-loved band formed in Wirral will shine a light on the extremely popular electronic synth music of the ‘80s. A must for all fans.”

The exhibition closes on Jan 5 2020 and visitors can see Souvenir: 40 Years of OMD, when they purchase a general admission ticket for BME which can be bought at the venue, or here.

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