Earlier this month, Los Angeles City Council officially declared Nov. 7 as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Day. Councilmember Monica Rodriguez introduced the resolution, and three members of the quartet attended the hearing at Los Angeles City Hall to receive the proclamation.
In delivering the proclamation, Councilmember Rodriguez cited OMD’s “poetic lyricism, emotional depth, and innovative use of synthesizer hooks in place of a vocal chorus” as hallmarks of the groundbreaking band’s music. And she said a few things about what it meant to her personally.
OMD’s “themes of melancholy, alienation, and defiance” mirrored the experience of young Angelenos, and particularly the Latin American community growing up between cultures in Los Angeles in the 1980s and beyond, Rodriguez said.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are clearly having a moment. I would say they have never been bigger or better than they are right now, and their relentless drive to make new music — and good and thoughtful new music — has led them to this place. The OMD Day was timed for a visit by the band to Southern California to perform two sold-out shows at the House of Blues Anaheim on Nov. 9 and 10, dates that heralded a prized spot at the 2025 Corona Capital Music Festival on Nov. 15 — an incredible week in the life of OMD.
Many Americans were first introduced to the band through “If You Leave,” the song Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys hurriedly recorded for the soundtrack of Pretty in Pink because the ending of the movie changed and director John Hughes asked the Brits for something new. With little time to spare, Andy and Paul recorded the demo in Los Angeles in about 24 hours — 40 years ago!
At House of Blues Anaheim, OMD performed “If You Leave” early in the show, both galvanizing the excited audience for each night but also demonstrating that they have a complex and substantive body of music that stretched beyond that the song that initially opened many American doors for them.
Watch the official music video for “If You Leave” by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Day on YouTube:
It defies belief that OMD were inactive for 10 years from 1996-2006 due to creative differences, but it’s plain to see the revitalized band returned in the 21st Century with something to say. The band opened their Anaheim shows with “Isotype” from their 2017 album, The Punishment of Luxury. They soon presented the irresistibly catchy title track from History of Modern (2010), and they also performed three songs from Bauhaus Staircase, their two-year-old 14th studio album, which they introduced to US audiences in a 2023 House of Blues Anaheim performs that followed their turn at the Darker Waves music festival of that year. Those most recent songs fit comfortably among OMD classics with “Kleptocracy,” “Veruschka,” and “Look at You Now” (in the encore) resurfacing OMD themes of disaffection and heartbreak.
The first very sold-out night of House of Blues appeared to be packed with Gen X faces although some younger folks were in attendance. The second night, which reached sold-out status slowly up to doors (for the 3,300-person venue), drew a great deal of younger fans, speaking to OMD’s power to communicate across generations. Both nights, people tended to react to the shows’ well-crafted high points: the romantic pining and martial pounding of the one-two coupling “Joan of Arc” and “Joan of Arc (Maid of New Orleans)” as well as the main set capper “Enola Gay,” instantly recognizable, endlessly interesting, and wonderful.
Over time, I’ve woken up to how much audiences truly love “Secret,” one of the rare songs where Paul sings lead vocal. People really go crazy for it! And OMD wisely scheduled the songs for their House of Blues encores.
Watch the official music video for “Secret” by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark on YouTube:
OMD truly withstands the test of time because of the four men who comprise the band, in my opinion. Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys became confirmed video stars and romantic musical leads in the 1980s despite being tech geeks. Today, both men are father figures — Andy as a showman with sarcastic bite and Paul as a stoic gentleman. Synthesist Martin Cooper also is a perfect picture of composure but you can see that he’s clearly enjoying himself and pleased to be selling out big spaces some 45 years after joining the band. Drummer Stuart Kershaw brings grit and swagger to the mix, relishing the moments he can drive the drums home and smiling through the quieter rhythms.
Although OMD have been here a while — “Electricity” is usually introduced with a touch of whimsey describing Andy and Paul have been writing songs together for many years now — they have the drive, the energy, and the style to be here still for quite some time to come. And like Councilmember Rodriguez, those of us who might have have felt alienated, melancholic, and well defiant are all the better for their music.
Here are some photos of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark performing live at House of Blues Anaheim on Nov. 9, 2025. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.
Here are some photos of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark performing live at House of Blues Anaheim on Nov. 10, 2025. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.
