http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/omd-marvel-over-synthpops-growing-fanbase-20130415

OMD Marvel Over Synthpop's Growing Fanbase
British electro veterans remember when they 'couldn't get arrested' in USA

Posted by Roy on Tuesday, 04/16/2013 @ 20:56pm

OMD were always the weirdos who sold millions of records, but never had an image, never got asked for an autograph in public, never were at the big parties, never did Band Aid or Live Aid, never got played on radio (well, after their songs left the charts). That they leave this earth never having been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is pretty much fitting for them.

That said, OMD's first four albums were the perfect blend of experimentation and strong songwriting. Just fantastic records. They got a little poppy in the mid 1980s, but dig into the album tracks and B-sides from their latter 20th century work and you'll find music just as great as their early stuff ("The Avenue", "88 Seconds in Greensboro", "The Native Daughters", "Gravity Never Failed", "Christine" etc). Their 2013 album, 'English Electric', was phenomenal - they really found their footing again after a long hiatus.

Then, there's the influence. Vince Clarke STARTED because of OMD, so you have them to thank for Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Erasure. They influenced Pet Shop Boys, Nine Inch Nails, Saint Etienne, Radiohead, Moby, Talk Talk, The Killers and numerous others. Never will you hear this shouted about in NME or Rolling Stone, though, because OMD just aren't cool enough (not even ironically so). And don't expect to see OMD records listed in too many rags' "Greatest Albums" lists (they're reserved for the same old, predictable names).

If it were about talent, OMD would be in. Sadly it's about brand recognition, industry connections, and a lot of other political BS. Anyway, they've been inducted into my personal hall of fame for over 20 years.

Posted by Nermen on Sunday, 11/13/2016 @ 15:51pm

ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA

Posted by Roy on Sunday, 11/13/2016 @ 19:47pm

Great post, Nermen. I'm especially partial to Dazzle Ships, probably OMD's most experimental and challenging work. It's a synthlover's (I fit that bill like a glove) dream.

I need to catch up with their more recent material ASAP.

Posted by Zach on Monday, 11/14/2016 @ 10:21am

OMD are fooking wonderful. No chance are they ever going to be recognized by the HoF, though.

Posted by Jimmy Jacobs on Sunday, 10/29/2017 @ 23:33pm

OMD:
* influence, check
* talent, check
* sales, check

But not american at all, therein lies the problem.
The HoF is immensely partial to US music.

Posted by Redhead on Sunday, 02/18/2018 @ 13:21pm

There's public cool, and there's music elitist cool. Despite being very influential, OMD are somehow neither. They'll never go in, but that doesn't mean they weren't mindblowingly awesome. Their run of singles and albums from 1979 through 1983 is actually peerless, as far as I'm concerned.

Posted by Moosh on Wednesday, 04/24/2019 @ 18:13pm

Their first four albums - OMD, Organisation, Architecture/Morality and Dazzle Ships - are knockouts. Later albums English Electric and Punishment of Luxury are comparable to those early classics. The rest of their discography is a pretty mixed bag, with good-ish records (Junk Culture, Crush, History of Modern), "meh" ones (Sugar Tax, Universal), and shitty ones (Pacific Age, Liberator). Great live band, influenced a bunch of later groups like St. Etienne, Moby, Leftfield and LCD Soundsystem. I say put 'em in.

Posted by Gustuf on Saturday, 02/29/2020 @ 13:31pm

I should add that it's shocking how OMD have no "essential" albums or songs (besides If You Leave) according to this site. Really, the lauded, multi-million selling Architecture/Morality isn't essential listening, especially for electronic fans? Dazzle Ships, while not as popular, was arguably even more influential. As for singles, do era-defining, multi-million selling releases like Enola Gay, Souvenir, Joan of Arc and Maid of Orleans (German's biggest single of 1982) not count? Needless to say, every little fart by the endlessly derivative Radiohead is deemed "essential"...

Posted by Gustuf on Saturday, 02/29/2020 @ 23:43pm

How on earth can OMD not have any essential albums according to this site? Architecture & Morality and Dazzle Ships, anyone? Multiple artists – Mark Ronson, Moby, Neil Hannon, St. Etienne, Owen Pallett, to name a few – have spoken effusively about the influence those albums had on them.

And Enola Gay isn't an essential 80s song? Really? FRL absolutely needs to re-think this one...

Posted by Lordage on Monday, 01/25/2021 @ 03:29am

The fact that this website only lists "If You Leave" as essential listening goes to show how biased this website is to an American perspective, and this is coming from an American.

Posted by Iccwi on Tuesday, 02/16/2021 @ 12:25pm

Lol, just to join in the "OMD are undervalued" discussion/rage. It's dumbfounding how the music press will perpetuate their chosen ones, but ignore a totally seminal band like OMD because they're somehow "unworthy". The number of major artists who cite OMD as an influence (Depeche, Pet Shops, New Order, Frankie, No Doubt, to name a mere sampling) is staggering. If one of Rolling Stone's chosen ones had been cited by even half as many acts, they'd be touted as the greatest band in the history of all bands. Hopefully the "writers of music history" will one day let go of their biases, stop fellating the same "classic" names for five seconds, and acknowledge the greatness of OMD and their impact on popular music.

Posted by Rue on Thursday, 03/11/2021 @ 08:15am

This site is showing a staggering ignorance of OMD's legacy. One "essential" recording, while Howard Jones, who never influenced anybody and by his own admission aped OMD, has three. Pathetic.

Posted by Aldo on Saturday, 05/1/2021 @ 04:03am

Hey admins: please do the right thing and add 'Dazzle Ships' (1983) to essential albums, and "Electricity" (1979) and "Souvenir" (1981) to essential songs. Assuming the site doesn't have a vendetta against OMD and that there's simply a good faith lack of awareness (it's impossible to keep track of every record, I know), Google/Wikipedia is only a second away and can verify the irrefutable influence of these releases. The numerous essential recordings listed for the commercially "kinda there" likes of Echo & the Bunnymen and KLF would indicate that influence and peer respect are sufficient to make a piece of music "essential". So there's no apparent justification for the exclusion of the aforementioned OMD recordings.

While I'm here I would ask admins to also give genuine "essential" consideration to the following OMD releases, based on the factors of impact on peers/critical standing/commercial success. I appreciate they might not be FRL's thing, or were European successes rather than American in some cases, but significant records are significant records and OMD have an undeniable cult-mainstream legacy. Thanks.

Albums: 'Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark' (1980), 'Organisation' (1980) and 'Junk Culture' (1984).

Singles: "Messages" (1980), "Joan of Arc" (1981), "Maid of Orleans" (1981) and "(Forever) Live & Die" (1986).

Posted by Lordage on Sunday, 10/17/2021 @ 16:20pm

Cannot believe that OMD is not recognized in hall of fame, there sound made the 80s. I get it though they are not American enough!!!! Such a shame they really have a big fan base though, i think in the future they should be recognized for that classic 80s techno sound we love.

Posted by Margaret Alexander on Thursday, 04/28/2022 @ 18:38pm

OMD basically defined the electric 80s along with Numan and the Human League. Their first 4 albums (first 6 if you can accept the band mainstreaming their sound) are brilliant! Their post-reunion stuff is surprisingly great too.

Posted by Brian Mills on Monday, 06/20/2022 @ 19:12pm

Could the site explain why OMD has so few "essential" recordings listed here? I see this is a point of contention among previous posters. If the site purports to provide a genuine accounting of what was important in music history then there should (clearly) be many more pieces of OMD music listed (the absence of the seminal Electricity from 1979 is *particularly* egregious).

I second the post made by 'Lordage' a couple years back, however he forgot to mention the Crush album from 1985, which received five-star reviews and was cited by chart bands like Barenaked Ladies and Sugar Ray.

The site is listing way more "essential" works for students of OMD like Pet Shop Boys, Moby, Tears for Fears, LCD Soundsystem and the Killers, than for OMD themselves. Bizarre.

Posted by Bart M on Wednesday, 04/26/2023 @ 01:42am

OMD totally deserve induction based on influence and sales. Unfortunately there is no transparent entry criteria, it basically comes down to what the committee arbitrarily decides is "deserving" that year. And we can see from past inductions that they prefer Americans who play guitars, over geeky Europeans with synthesizers. You have to wonder if even Depeche Mode (who, by the way, exist directly because of OMD) would have gotten in, had they not increased their electric guitar quotient over the years. Kraftwerk were eligible for what, 25+ years before the committee decided they were "worthy"? *shakes head*

Posted by Crick Potter on Tuesday, 10/10/2023 @ 09:54am

If the hall is in UK, they are shoe-in. However, like many UK acts, their lacking of success in the United States hurts their chance. Human League, OMD, Gary Numan have similar low chances to be inducted. Pet Shop Boys will have better chance than these artists I mentioned.

Posted by power on Tuesday, 10/10/2023 @ 10:00am