Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD) continue their 40th anniversary celebrations with the announcement of a special world tour. Starting in October in Portugal, stretching through to February 2020 finishing in Paris, the band will be joined by both Martin Cooper and Stuart Kershaw. UK dates below, with VIP pre-sale on March 12th and general sale March 14th – 9:00am:
October
Weds 23rd Belfast Ulster Hall
Sat 26th Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
Sun 27th York Barbican
Mon 28th Hull Arena
Weds 30th Gateshead Sage
Tues 31st Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
November
Fri 1st Manchester Apollo
Sun 3rd Sheffield City Hall
Mon 4th Liverpool Empire
Tues 5th Birmingham Symphony Hall
Thurs 7th Leicester De Montfort Hall
Fri 8th Bath Pavilion
Sat 9th Oxford New Theatre
Mon 11th Guildford G Live
Tues 12th Portsmouth Guildhall
Weds 13th Watford Colosseum
Fri 15th Cambridge Corn Exchange
Sat 16th Ipswich Regent
Sun 17th Bexhill De La Warr Pavilion
Tues 19th Bournemouth Pavilion
Weds 20th London Eventim Apollo
Today’s announcement comes as part of another exciting instalment of the band’s 40th anniversary celebrations which first saw the reissue of their first four classic albums on 180g vinyl, mastered at half speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road and housed in their original iconic die cut sleeves designed by the legendary Peter Saville.
“Electronic music is our language,” Andy McCluskey says. “It’s how we talk.”
“We’re at our best when we’re in a room together, working,” Paul Humphreys adds. “That’s when the sparks and ideas happen. It’s the same now as it ever was.”
The band were formed in 1978 by teenage friends Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys. They quickly became electro-pioneers with a string of hit albums released throughout the 1980’s, eventually selling over 25 million singles and 15 million albums across their career to date, establishing them as electronic synthesiser pioneers and one of Britain’s best-loved pop groups.
Last year OMD also played two acclaimed concerts at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in October. Both shows sold out and featured orchestral arrangements of many of OMD’s biggest hits, with The Times’ four star review describing the arrangements as “working perfectly with the orchestra and demonstrating how uncompromising OMD have been“. It also went on to say that the band “rejected every rock’n’roll cliché going and made the Philharmonic Hall seem like their spiritual home.” The shows coincided with the anniversary of OMD’s first ever gig which took place at legendary Liverpool club Eric’s in October 1978.
The celebrations also spawned a must-read special 40th anniversary book which tells the story of OMD from the garage beginnings right through to the latest sell out tours. Featuring memories from band members, other musical artists that they have influenced, famous admirers and loyal fans.
As part of their world tour, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark will also join The B-52’s and Tom Tom Club for a run of US dates in the August & September. They are also set to release a definitive singles collection aptly entitled ‘Souvenir’ later this year. More info is set to follow.
WORLD TOUR DATES:
October
Tues 15th Portugal, Lisbon Aula Magna
Weds 16th Portugal, Porto Casa da Musica
Sat 19th Spain, Madrid Riviera
Mon 21st Spain Barcelona Apolo
Tues 24th Ireland, Dublin Olympia
November
Mon 25th Germany, Rostock Stadthalle
Tues 26th Germany, Dresden Kulturpalast
Thurs 28th Germany, Leipzig Haus Auensee
Fri 29th Germany, Berlin Tempodrom
Sat 30th Germany, Hamburg Grosse Freiheit
December
Mon 2nd Germany, Saarbrücken Saarlandhalle
Tues 3rd Germany, Stuttgart Liederhalle
Thurs 5th Germany, Düsseldorf M.Electric-Hall
Fri 6th Germany, Frankfurt Jahrhunderthalle
February 2020
Mon 3rd Poland, Krakow Studio
Tues 4th Poland, Warsaw Progresja
Fri 7th Norway, Oslo Rockefeller Musichall
Sun 9th Sweden, Stockholm Berns
Mon 10th Sweden, Malmo KB
Weds 12th Denmark, Copenhagen Vegas
Fri 14th Belgium, Brussels Ancienne Belgique
Sat 15th Netherlands, Utrecht Tivoli
Sun 16th France, Paris La Cigale
For more information on OMD, visit www.omd.uk.com and ticket information can be found HERE.