OMD在八十年代末九十年代初，长期徘徊于电子大户Virgin公司的旗下，也曾有过好评如潮的历史，于是，我们不妨回顾那段短暂的经历，体验一下那稍纵即逝的光彩。 
 
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark是一支来自利物浦的乐队，最初由Andy McCluskey（BASS，主唱）和Paul Humphreys（合成器）组建，Malcolm Holmes和Martin Cooper在1980年也加入了队伍，SYNTH-POP流派，他们的音乐非常欢快，听了使人心情愉悦。欢快的节奏和电子奏出了非常奇妙的旋律。
Featuring the core members Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey, the Liverpudlian synth pop group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark formed in the late 70s. Humphreys and McCluskey began performing together in school, playing in the bands VCL XI, Hitlerz Underpantz, and the Id. After the Id split in 1978, McCluskey was with Dalek I Love You for a brief time. Once he left Dalek, he joined with Humphreys and Paul Collister to form Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. The group released its first single, Electricity, on Factory Records; the record led to a contract with the Virgin subsidiary DinDisc. Using their record advance, McCluskey and Humphreys built a studio, which allowed them to replace their four-track, and recorded with drummer Malcolm Holmes (formerly of the Id) and Dave Hughes (formerly of Dalek I Love You).
In 1980, the group released its self-titled debut album. Organisation appeared the same year, which featured the U.K. Top Ten single Enola Gay; Hughes was replaced by Martin Cooper after its release. The bands next few albums — Architecture and Morality (1981), Dazzle Ships (1983), and Junk Culture (1984) — found the band experimenting with its sound, resulting in several U.K. hit singles. Recorded with two new members, Graham and Neil Weir, Crush, their most pop-oriented album, found more success in America than in Britain as the single So in Love hit number 26 on the charts. If You Leave, taken from the Pretty in Pink soundtrack, was their biggest American hit, climbing to number four in 1986. The Pacific Age was released the same year, yet America was the only country where it was popular. Shortly after its release, the Weir brothers left the band, followed by Holmes, Cooper, and Humphreys. McCluskey continued with the band, releasing Sugar Tax in 1991; in the meantime, Humphreys formed the Listening Pool.
After Sugar Tax failed to gain an audience, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark returned with Liberator in 1993, which also was ignored. It was followed three years later with Universal. The OMD Remixes appeared in 1998.