OMD – CountUp

Every Friday I post the Top 5 of one of my classic hit music charts based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from either 15, 25, 30, or 35 years ago this weekend (rotating each week).

It’s the 4TH Friday of the month, so I go back 35 years ago. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday September 28TH 1986:

“Stuck With You” – Huey Lewis And The News
“Pretty In Pink” – The Psychedelic Furs
“(Forever) Live And Die” – Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
“You Can Call Me Al” – Paul Simon
“Brand New Lover” – Dead Or Alive

35 years ago next month – October 1986 – I saw Huey Lewis And The News (supported by Bruce Hornsby And The Range) LIVE in concert in London England at the historic Hammersmith Odeon. 9 days later I saw Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD) LIVE in concert in Oxford England at the Apollo. They were two great concerts, and they were my 3RD and 4TH concerts ever in my life (at age 19).

OMD is my favorite electronic pop act of all-time, and “(Forever) Live And Die” is my favorite song from them. It was the lead single from perhaps my favorite album / cassette of all-time – “The Pacific Age”. I actually got to see OMD LIVE in concert again – nearly 33 years later in August 2019 in Fort Lauderdale Florida (just up the road from me). I sat near the front row (far-left corner), and me and a bunch of fellow concert-goers (all strangers) were singing and dancing so actively that during “Dreaming” Andy McCluskey came over and cheered us on from the stage as he sang and danced. It was an awesome sight to see and experience !

OMD

2 years ago here on RETRO I wrote about that concert experience. Read all about it.

It’s halftime my friends. I’ll be back on Sunday and Monday with 2 more blog posts for this weekend. Enjoy your Saturday. Thanks for going RETRO with me !

Every Friday I post the Top 5 of one of my classic hit music charts based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from either 10, 15, 20, or 30 years ago this weekend (rotating each week).

It’s the 5TH Friday of the month, so it’s a SPECIAL this week.

Last night I was at the Broward Center For The Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale Florida for a nearly 4-hour concert event with Berlin, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD), and The B-52s.

When I was 19-years-young – and living, working, and playing in England – I saw both Berlin and OMD LIVE in concert. Berlin opened for Frankie Goes To Hollywood in Birmingham shortly after the peak of their worldwide success with “Take My Breath Away”. OMD headlined their own tour in support of their new album at the time “The Pacific Age”. I saw them in Oxford on October 28TH 1986. It was a wild a crazy night !

It was a fun night last night at the show – some 33 years later. I won’t write about Berlin and The B-52s. They both performed great sets of their hits of the past 40 years. But I was there to see one of my favorite pop-dance acts of all-time – OMD. I would’ve gone to a show with just them performing.

OMD

I was up on my feet singing and dancing for their entire 55-minute set. Here’s their setlist:

“Enola Gay” (1980)
“Secret” (1985)
“Tesla Girls” (1984)
“History Of Modern (Part 1)” (2010)
“(Forever) Live and Die” (1986)
“If You Leave” (1986)
“Joan Of Arc (Maid of Orleans)” (1982)
“Talking Loud And Clear” (1984)
“So In Love” (1985)
“Dreaming” (1988)
“Locomotion” (1984)
“Electricity” (1979)

There was definitely one dude who was singing and dancing louder than me at the show, and that was the lead singer / lead dancer of OMD – Andy McCluskey. The dude is 60, but he still dances like he’s 20 and it’s 1979. Andy is well known for dancing like a total new wave maniac. It almost appears as if he’s experiencing rapid-fire out-of-control arm and leg convulsions, but it’s pure art, and I think he pretty much invented the style some 40 years ago. At 60 he’s in great shape, and he still performs all of those manic dance moves with great precision.

I don’t go to clubs and dance anymore (because I’m 52 and fragile), but during my heyday I pretty much danced like Andy McCluskey. I pretty much learned how to dance like him – from him – at that original 1986 concert in Oxford. It was my 4TH-ever concert, and it was one of the greatest concert experiences of my entire lifetime. I’m glad that I got to relive just a little bit of my youth last night some 33 years later. My Fitbit shows that during the time that OMD was performing I was experiencing “very intense” action.

Here’s a song that they did not perform last night. I wish they had because I would have gone totally ballistic and taken over the small dance area that was right in front of my row that was up against the left-edge of the stage. Andy occasionally came over to that area to let us sing into the microphone. In return we showed him our dance moves. LOL.

Oh by the way – I’m in this music video from 1986:

It’s halftime my friends. I’ll be back on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday with 3 more blog posts for this weekend. Enjoy your Saturday and your Labor Day holiday weekend here in the U.S.A. Thanks for going RETRO with me !