History Music / OrchestralManoeuvresInTheDark

** "Enola Gay", an upbeat song about [[UsefulNotes/AtomicBombingsOfHiroshimaAndNagasaki the bombing of Hiroshima.]]

* TrainSong: "Locomotion", obviously.

* LyricalDissonance: "Enola Gay", an upbeat song about [[UsefulNotes/AtomicBombingsOfHiroshimaAndNagasaki the bombing of Hiroshima.]]

* ShoutOut: "Pandora's Box" is about the actress Louise Brooks; "Joan of Arc" and "Maid of Orleans" are titular shout-outs to Joan of Arc (and both singles have sleeve art to match, the former even using her actual signature), though they don't seem to be about her, as such.

* TrainSong: "Locomotion", obviously.

They split in the late 80s, with FaceOfTheBand [=McCluskey=] retaining the name and releasing three more albums, which were actually reasonably successful, while the rest of the former members formed issued one, not so successful, album as The Listening Pool. After a bit of a hiatus, during which [=McCluskey=] masterminded the early hits of Music/AtomicKitten, among other things, the classic lineup reformed and has toured and recorded new material to some acclaim.

* NewSoundAlbum / LighterAndSofter: After the panning given to the dark and angsty ''Dazzle Ships'', the band responded by making ''Junk Culture'', an album of jolly pop songs.

* GenreRoulette: Not usually, but ''Crush'' is all over the place in stylistic terms, with everything from straight synthpop ("Secret"), to rock ("88 Seconds in Greensboro") to avant-garde ("Crush"), to BaroquePop ("La Femme Accident") to some weird pop + rockabilly + horn section mash-up ("Bloc Bloc Bloc").

* DooWopProgression: "Enola Gay"

* PrecisionFStrike: "Garden City", "Crush"
* RockstarSong: "Walking On The Milky Way"

** OMD has made several to Kraftwerk
*** Andy and Paul have both admitted that "Electricity" is a sped-up version of Kraftwerk's "Radioactivity"
*** The song "VCL XI" off the album ''Organisation'' is a really obscure one, referring to a label of a drawing of a vacuum tube on the back cover of the ''Radio-Activity'' album, though the original is written "VCL 11"
*** The title of ''Organisation'' might be a reference to the pre-Kraftwerk band Organisation, too
*** The vocoded introduction of "Radio Waves" is a shoutout to the vocoded introduction to "Autobahn"
*** OMD covered "Neon Lights" on the ''Sugar Tax'' album

->''Enola gay, you should have stayed at home yesterday,\\

Oho Enola gay, it shouldn't ever have to end this way.''

Oho Enola gay, it shouldn't ever have to end this way.''\\

* CaptainErsatz: They couldn't get permission to use a real EdwardHopper work on the cover of ''Crush'', so an in-the-style-of painting was commissioned instead.
* CoverVersion: Music/VelvetUnderground's "Waiting For The Man"

'''Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark''' are a {{Synthpop}} group formed in the Wirral, UK, in the mid-70's by Andy [=McCluskey=] and Paul Humphreys.

Their real fondness was for bands like {{Music/Kraftwerk}} and Music/{{Neu}}. Their first three albums were filled with very intellectual stuff but had one or two hit singles each, keeping the record company happy (''very'' happy with ''Architecture and Morality'', which was an international hit album and spawned three hit singles, two [[ShoutOut about]] JoanOfArc). Their fourth just had the weird stuff with no hits. The record company had a little word with them, and subsequent albums were entirely written to the hit formula.

'''Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark''' were a {{Synthpop}} group formed in the Wirral, UK, in the mid-70's by Andy [=McCluskey=] and Paul Humphreys.

They split in the late 80s, with FaceOfTheBand [=McCluskey=] retaining the name and releasing three more albums, which were actually reasonably successful, while the rest of the former members formed issued one, not so successful, album as The Listening Pool. After a bit of a hiatus, during which [=McCluskey=] masterminded the early hits of AtomicKitten, among other things, the classic lineup reformed and has toured and recorded new material to some acclaim.

* SimilarlyNamedWorks: ''Architecture And Morality'' famously has "Joan Of Arc" and "Joan Of Arc (Maid Of Orleans)". Both were released as singles, the latter being retitled "Maid Of Orleans (The Waltz Joan Of Arc)". Also "Apollo" from ''Junk Culture'' and "Apollo XI" from ''Sugar Tax'' are completely different songs.

Their real fondness was for bands like {{Music/Kraftwerk}} and Neu!. Their first three albums were filled with very intellectual stuff but had one or two hit singles each, keeping the record company happy (''very'' happy with ''Architecture and Morality'', which was an international hit album and spawned three hit singles, two [[ShoutOut about]] JoanOfArc). Their fourth just had the weird stuff with no hits. The record company had a little word with them, and subsequent albums were entirely written to the hit formula.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark were a Synthpop group formed in the Wirral, UK, in the mid-70's by Andy [=McCluskey=] and Paul Humphreys.

* ''Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark'' (1980)

* CoverVersion: VelvetUnderground's "Waiting For The Man"

* PachelbelsCanonProgression: "Walking On The Milky Way"

* LyricalDissonance: "Enola Gay", an upbeat song about the bombing of Hiroshima.

* NewSoundAlbum: After the panning given to the dark and angsty ''Dazzle Ships'', the band responded by making ''Junk Culture'', an album of jolly pop songs.

* GreenAesop: "Electricity"

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark were a Synthpop group formed in the Wirral, UK, in the mid-70's by Andy Mc Cluskey and Paul Humhpreys.