In November 1995 during an interview with the BBC, Vince Clarke (early Depeche Mode, Yazoo, The Assembly, Ersure) said that it was OMD’s 1979 debut single “Electricity” – a song addressing society’s wasteful usage of energy sources, fairly progressive thinking in 1979 – that inspired him to become a musician.
“When I was 18 or 19 I heard a single called ‘Electricity’ by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. It sounded so different from anything I’d heard; that really made me want to make electronic music, ’cause it was so unique”, he said.
Probably more surprisingly OMD also influenced ZZ Top who shared a studio with them on a 1980 edition of BBC television show Old Grey Whistle Test – and adopted McCluskey’s distinctive “jerky, leg-snapping” dance routine and also played OMD’s self-titled debut album over the PA prior to concerts.
pophole 