From Electricity to Bauhaus Staircase: OMD in Five Eras
We've made fourteen studio albums since 1980. Here is our story in five eras, from Factory singles to Bauhaus Staircase.
1979 to 1981: Electricity
The start. "Electricity" came out on Factory Records in 1979, then "Messages" on DinDisc in 1980. That year brought two albums, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Organisation, with "Enola Gay" among the singles. Architecture & Morality followed in November 1981.
1983 to 1986: Dazzle Ships to The Pacific Age
Four albums in four years. Dazzle Ships (1983), Junk Culture (1984), Crush (1985) and The Pacific Age (1986), with singles like "Locomotion", "So in Love", "If You Leave" and "(Forever) Live and Die".
1989 to 1996: Andy carries the name
A new line-up. Paul and the others left in 1989. Andy kept the OMD name and made Sugar Tax (1991), Liberator (1993) and Universal (1996), with "Sailing on the Seven Seas", "Pandora's Box", "Stand Above Me" and "Walking on the Milky Way". The band ended in 1996.
2006 to 2017: Back together
Reformed. In 2006 Andy, Paul, Malcolm Holmes and Martin Cooper got back together. Then came History of Modern (2010), English Electric (2013) and The Punishment of Luxury (2017). In 2019 the Classic Pop Reader Awards named us Group of the Year and Live Act of the Year.
2019 to now: Souvenir and Bauhaus Staircase
Forty years. For our 40th anniversary we put out Souvenir, a box set with all forty singles, a new track called "Don't Go", and 22 unreleased recordings, live shows and DVDs. It was nominated for a Grammy for Best Historical Album. Our 14th studio album, Bauhaus Staircase, came out on 27 October 2023 and reached no. 2 in the UK.
Which era is yours?
Our discography design puts the album covers together in one grid, so you don't have to choose.