AndyAndy McCluskey - Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark 
Original Band Member
George Andrew "Andy" McCluskey (born 24 June 1959

, Heswall, Wirral, England) is the lead singer, bass guitarist, and primary songwriter for the band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). 

He met Paul Humphreys at Great Meols Primary School, in Elwyn Road, and played with him in several bands, including Hitlerz Underpantz, VCL XI and The Id. McCluskey then attended Calday Grange Grammar School in West Kirby. McCluskey briefly joined Dalek I Love You as their lead singer, but left because he wanted to sing his own songs. McCluskey teamed up with Humphreys again to form OMD in the late 1970s. They were successful, especially in their native United Kingdom where they had several hit singles. They are best known in the United States for their song "If You Leave" from the Pretty in Pink soundtrack album.

Humphreys and the rest of the band split with McCluskey in 1989, with McCluskey retaining the OMD name. He released three more albums under the band's moniker including their biggest selling album, Sugar Tax (1991). Due to the diminishing sales of the following two albums Liberator (1993) and Universal (1996) he disbanded the group.


Atomic Kitten and The Genie Queen
In 1998, McCluskey founded the UK pop group Atomic Kitten. Their song "Whole Again", co-written by McCluskey, was his first UK No.1, and he and his fellow songwriters were nominated for the Ivor Novello Award for excellence in songwriting. In 2002, the band sued to terminate the songwriting/production agreement between themselves and McCluskey.

More recently, McCluskey formed White Noise Records and publishing label where he tried to recreate the formula of Atomic Kitten with Liverpool girl group, The Genie Queen. He also bought a recording studio, The Motor Museum, in Liverpool.

OMD Reformation
McCluskey and Humphreys reformed OMD for a performance on German TV in June 2005, with the promise of more gigs to follow. 2007 saw the first tour of the reformed OMD, including Martin Cooper and Malcolm Holmes, commemorating the twenty-sixth anniversary of the release of their masterpiece album Architecture & Morality. The album itself was remastered and re-released to coincide.

The band released a CD and DVD of their triumphant Hammersmith Apollo (London) live gig from the 2007 reunion tour in the spring of 2008 before undertaking a short tour to celebrate thirty years as a band in the autumn of 2008, concluding at London's historic Roundhouse venue on 7 October 2008. A compilation of their singles and videos, Messages: Greatest Hits, was released to coincide with the tour. On 20 September 2010 Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark released their 11th studio album History of Modern, their first in 14 years.

Bass technique
McCluskey is right-handed, but originally learned to play bass guitar on a left-handed model. As a result, he plays with the strings "upside down" (i.e., with the lowest-pitched string on the bottom and the highest-pitched one on top), counter to normal practice.
above info from Wiki

Trivia
His favorite songs are "Thank You Girl" by The Beatles, "Telstar" by The Tornados, "Pyjamarama" by Roxy Music, "Atmosphere" by Joy Division, "Starman" by David Bowie, "Autobahn" by Kraftwerk, "Riot Van" by Arctic Monkeys, "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee" by Ms Dynamite, "Sunday Morning" by Velvet Underground & Nico and "Silver Machine" by Hawkwind. (Source: BBC Radio 2 "Tracks of My Years"). 

Personal Quotes
I wake up some nights and think 'Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark'? What a stupid name! Why did we pick that one?
above info from imdb 


 
Credit   
 
1980  Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark [Bonus Tracks] Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Bass, Arranger, Keyboards, Programming, Vocals, Electronic Percussion, Voice Bag
 1980   Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Bass, Arranger, Composer, Keyboards, Programming, Vocals, Electronic Percussion, Voice Bag
 1980  Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Bass, Arranger, Composer, Keyboards, Vocals, Electronic Percussion, Rhythm Programming, Group Member
 1980  Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Bass, Guitar, Percussion, Arranger, Keyboards, Programming, Vocals, Voices
 1980  Organisation [Bonus Tracks] Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark  Organ, Synthesizer, Percussion, Guitar (Bass), Programming, Vocals, Electronic Percussion, Treated Piano, Interviewee
 1980   Organisation Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Organ, Synthesizer, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Composer, Guitar (Bass), Keyboards, Programming, VocalsElectronic Percussion, Treated Piano
 1980  Organisation Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Organ, Synthesizer, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Guitar (Bass), Keyboards, Programming, VocalsElectronic Percussion, Treated Piano
 1981  Architecture & Morality [Bonus Tracks/Bonus DVD] Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Organ, Synthesizer, Bass, Guitar, Percussion, Reeds, Programming, Vocals, Mellotron, Liner Notes, Electronic Percussion
 1981  Architecture & Morality [Bonus Tracks] Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Organ, Synthesizer, Bass, Guitar, Percussion, Reeds, Programming, Vocals, Mellotron, Electronic Percussion
 1981   Architecture & Morality Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Composer
 1981  Architecture & Morality Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Organ, Synthesizer, Bass, Guitar, Percussion, Keyboards, Programming, Vocals, Mellotron
 1981   Architecture & Morality Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Organ, Synthesizer, Bass, Guitar, Percussion, Reeds, Composer, Programming, Vocals, Mellotron, Electronic Percussion
 1983  Dazzle Ships [Bonus Tracks] Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Group Member
 1983   Dazzle Ships Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Guitar, Composer, Keyboards, Vocals
 1983  Dazzle Ships Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
 1984  Junk Culture Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark  Synthesizer, Bass, Guitar, Percussion, Keyboards, Vocals, Multi Instruments, Emulator, Fairlight, Latin Percussion, Fairlight CMI
 1985  Crush Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark  Guitar, Guitar (Bass), Keyboards, Vocals, Group Member
 1986  Pacific Age Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark  Guitar (Bass), Keyboards, Vocals
 1986   Pretty in Pink Original Soundtrack   Composer
 1988  Best of OMD [UK Bonus Tracks] Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark    
 1988   Dreaming [UK #2] Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark    
 1988  In the Dark: The Best of OMD Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark    
 1989  Cloudcuckooland The Lightning Seeds   Keyboards
 1989   Cloudcuckooland The Lightning Seeds   Keyboards
 1989  Merge Arthur Baker & the Backbeat Disciples   Keyboards, Vocals
 1991  Then You Turn Away Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Engineer
 1992   Absolute Music, Vol. 13 Various Artists   Composer
 1992  London Weekend [Bonus Tracks] Another Sunny Day   Composer
 1993   Dream of Me (Based on Love's Theme) [#1] Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Producer
 1993   Dream of Me (Based on Love's Theme) [#2] Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Producer
 1993   Everyday Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Producer
 1993  Liberator Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark  Programming, Producer
 1994  Esperanto Elektric Music   Vocals
 1995  Loaded, Vol. 1 Various Artists   Producer
 1996   New Romantics [EMI 1996] Various Artists   Composer
 1996   Now, Vol. 34 [UK] Various Artists   Composer, Producer
 1996   Now, Vol. 34 [UK] Various Artists   Producer
 1996   This Is the 80's [Alex] Various Artists   Composer
 1996   Universal [Single w/ Heaven Is] Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Producer
 1996   Universal [Single w/ King of Stone] Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Producer
 1996  Universal Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Producer, Mixing
 1996   Walking on the Milky Way [w/ Joan of Arc] Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Producer
 1996   Walking on the Milky Way [w/ Matthew Street] Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Producer
 1998   Club Hits '98-99 Various Artists   Composer
 1998  OMD Singles [Bonus Disc] Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark  Producer
 1998  OMD Singles Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark  Producer
 1999  Esperanto Plus Elektric Music   Vocals
 1999   Now: 1980 [2 CD] Various Artists   Composer
 1999   Now: 1982 [2 CD] Various Artists   Composer
 1999   Now: 1984 [2 CD] Various Artists   Composer
 2000   Maybe Baby Original Soundtrack   Composer
 2000   Smash Hits 2000 Various Artists   Composer
 2001   I Love Ibiza [EMI] Various Artists   Composer
 2001  Messages: Modern Synthpop Artists Cover OMD Various Artists   Band
 2001  Modern Rock: Love Songs Various Artists   Keyboards
 2001   Navigation: The OMD B-Sides Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark  Bass, Composer, Keyboards, Vocals, Producer
 2001   New Woman Various Artists   Composer
 2001   Not Another Teen Movie Original Soundtrack   Composer
 2001   Now Dance 2001, Vol. 2 Various Artists   Composer
 2001   Now, Vol. 48 [UK] Various Artists   Composer
 2001  Right Now [Japan Version 1] Atomic Kitten   Keyboards, Programming
 2001  Right Now Atomic Kitten   Keyboards, Programming
 2001   Smash Hits Summer 2001 Various Artists   Composer
 2002  Feels So Good [Canada] Atomic Kitten   Keyboards, Programming, Producer
 2002  Feels So Good [France] Atomic Kitten   Keyboards, Programming, Producer
 2002  Feels So Good [Japan Bonus CD] Atomic Kitten   Keyboards, Programming, Producer
 2002   Feels So Good Atomic Kitten   Composer, Keyboards, Programming, Producer
 2002  Feels So Good Atomic Kitten   Keyboards, Programming, Producer
 2003   Original 80's Album Various Artists   Composer
 2003   Original 80's Album Various Artists   Composer
 2004   Beautiful: 40 Timeless Love Songs [BMG International] Various Artists   Composer
 2004  Clubber's Guide To Ibiza 2004 Various Artists   Composer, Writer
 2004  Greatest Hits Atomic Kitten   Guitar, Keyboards, Programming
 2004  Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the '80s Undergroun Various Artists   Synthesizer, Bass, Vocals
 2004   Original Electro Album, Vol. 2 Various Artists   Composer
 2005  Access All Areas: Remixed and B-Sides Atomic Kitten   Guitar, Keyboards, Programming
 2005  Cradle Atomic Kitten   Composer
 2005  Justified: The Best of Natalie Browne Natalie Browne   Composer
 2005  Mad About the Boy. Vol. 7 Various Artists   Composer
 2005  Original '90s Album Various Artists   Composer
 2005   Original '90s Album Various Artists   Composer
 2005  Renaissance, Vol. 1: The Mix Collection Sasha & John Digweed   Producer
 2005  Renaissance: The Mix Collection, Vol. 1 Sasha & John Digweed   Composer, Producer
 2005  Retro: Active, Vol. 4 Various Artists   Composer
 2006  Collection: Autumn 2006 Various Artists   Composer, Producer
 2006  Maria Lawson Maria Lawson   Producer
 2006  Sleepwalking, Pt. 1 Maria Lawson   Producer
 2006  Sleepwalking, Pt. 2 Maria Lawson   Producer
 2007  Original Electro-Pop Box Set Various Artists   Composer
 2007  RMF Najlepsza Muzyka: Na Impreze Various Artists   Composer
 2008  100% 80's Various Artists   Composer
 2008  80's Top 100 Various Artists   Composer
 2008  Divas [Sony] Various Artists   Composer
 2008  Messages: OMD Greatest Hits Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Producer
 2008  Pure Hits [Emd] [3 Discs] Various Artists   Composer
 2008  This Is 1983 Various Artists  Composer
 2008  This Is 1984 Various Artists  Composer
 2008  This Is 1996 Various Artists   Composer
 2008  Top of the Pops 1984 Various Artists   Composer
 2008  Top of the Pops 1991 Various Artists   Composer
2008  Top of the Pops 1996 Various Artists   Composer
 2009  Anthems: Electronic '80s Various Artists   Composer
 2009  Charts Pur: Pop & Wave Various Artists   Composer
 2009   Charts Pur: Pop & Wave Various Artists   Composer
 2009  Credit to the Edit, Vol. 2 Greg Wilson   Composer
 2009  Golden Instrumentals, Vol. 4 Various Artists  Composer
 2009  Original Hits: Eighties Various Artists   Composer
 2009  Original Hits: Number 1's Various Artists   Composer
 2009   Ü30 Party: Simply the Best Various Artists   Composer
 2009   Ü30 Party: Simply the Best Various Artists   Composer
 2010  Now That's What I Call the 00s Various Artists   Composer
    Bedroom Tapes, Vol. White Virgins   Producer
    Original Hits: 80s Pop Various Artists   Composer

above info taken from allmusic

 

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OMD Albums

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