The continued success of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark served only for their label, Virgin, to keep pushing for the band to rush albums out. This ever-frantic expectation wouldn't allow for Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys to rest and creatively rejuvenate. The end result was 1986's The Pacific Age, a massive flop. Expectations were simply too high for the band to meet.
While it would spawn the hit single, (Forever) Live And Die, overall, things didn't go as planned. The album would be critically panned and derail all the momentum that O.M.D. had fought to achieve. Ironically, it would also become their highest selling album in Canada, reaching platinum sales certification. However, this was most likely led heavily by their previous smash hit, If you Leave, recorded for the John Hughes film, Pretty In Pink.
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For me, things started out pretty solid with Stay (The Black Rose & The Universal Wheel), and stay solid with (Forever) Live And Die. This sets a pretty high expectation for the album, despite the critics panning it. What were the critics missing?
Well, it turns out nothing. See, the problem with The Pacific Age, for me, is that after the first two songs, the remainder of the album takes a swift nosedive, and it never redeems itself.
I think what ultimately baffles me the most is the lingering question I have of how did this band possibly come up with the song, If You Leave? It just seems so far beyond them. Frankly, this was a really sour note for O.M.D. to go out on.
A creative rift had started back in 1985 during the recording of the album, Crush. This resulted in Humphrey's briefly leaving the band. However, by 1989, those problems continued, and the co-founder once again reached his breaking point. He'd once again leave, but this time, original members Malcom Holmes and Martin Cooper would go with him, forming the band, The Listening Pool. By 1988, brothers Graham and Neil Weir also opted to go their own way, leaving McCluskey as the only remaining member. He'd cotinue on as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, essentially as a solo act, releasing three albums in the 90's under the band's name.
An unexpected request came in 2006 by a German television show, asking the group to perform, which after discussing, McCluskey, Humphreys, Holmes, and Cooper accepted. This was followed by the remastering of some of their classic albums, and further reunion shows. The band would return to the studio in 2010 to release a new album, and another in 2013.
Unfortunately, health issues would start to take their toll on Holmes, who would decide to depart prior to work on new material in 2015. He was replaced by Stewart Krenshaw, who remains with them to date. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark released their latest studio album in 2023 and continues to tour. Like most bands of the 80's, they never recaptured their success of their heydays.
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS December 18, 1982 |
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