Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD)

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are one of the earliest, most commercially successful, and enduring synth pop groups. Inspired most by the advancements of Kraftwerk and striving at one point “to be ABBA and Stockhausen,” they’ve continually drawn from early electronic music as they’ve alternately disregarded, mutated, or embraced the conventions of the three-minute pop song. Outside their native England, OMD are known primarily for “Maid of Orleans” and the Pretty in Pink soundtrack smash “If You Leave,” yet they scored 18 additional charting U.K. singles in the ’80s alone. These hits supported inventive albums such as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (1980), Architecture & Morality (1981), and commercial suicide-turned-cult classic Dazzle Ships (1983). After roughly a decade of silence, OMD returned in the mid-2000s to add to their legacy as much as tend to it. Their lengthy second life has been highlighted by a sixth U.K. Top Ten album, The Punishment of Luxury (2017), and a box set, Souvenir (2019), coinciding with their 40th anniversary.