Organisation tour

Promotional tour by OMD for the *Organisation* album.

The release of *Organisation* was promoted via an extensive UK and European headline tour, the group's second of the year. It began at Aylesbury Friars Club on 01 November 1980, moving to France on 24 November then covering Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands by the end of the year. More dates in France and North America followed on in 1981.

An extra 'Christmas' show was performed at London Hammersmith Odeon on 17 December. The performance of Electricity was later used on the Factory FACT 56 video.

OMD were booked to play in New York on 31 December and ended up playing at 3 am on New Years Day 1981.

A special date was played for the BBC In Concert programme on 04 February, before more dates in France in March and April. A tour of North America and Canada began at the legendary Whisky a Go-Go in Los Angeles on 14 April, ending at the New York Ritz on 03 May.

## Line-up

OMD took the 'classic' four-member line up on the road for the first time:

* Andy McCluskey: vocals, bass
* Paul Humphreys: keyboards, vocals
* Malcolm Holmes: drums
* Martin Cooper: keyboards, sax, bass

## Set-lists

Typical set-lists were based around tracks from the new album and from *OMITD*, usually opening with Stanlow. *Organisation* tracks which were not played were 2nd Thought and VCL XI. The setlist still relies heavily on the first album (The Messerschmitt Twins is the only track not played) with live favourite Waiting For The Man usually played as an encore. Enola Gay B-side Annex was also included.

Popular tracks such as Electricity, Enola Gay and Julia's Song were played more than once as encores.

* (intro tape: I Betray My Friends) Stanlow / Pretending To See The Future / Almost / Messages / Annex / Mystereality / Julia's Song / Motion & Heart / The More I See You / Promise / Statues / The Misunderstanding / Dancing / Red Frame/White Light / Electricity / Bunker Soldiers / Enola Gay / Waiting for the Man.
* An early version of *She's Leaving* appeared in set-lists in 1981 concerts.

## Dates & venues

### UK leg

November 1980

1. 01 November - Friars Club, Aylesbury
2. 02 November - Victoria Hall, Hanley
3. 03 November - Colston Hall, Bristol
4. 04 November - Gaumont Theatre, Southampton
5. 05 November - Top Rank, Reading
6. 06 November - Civic Hall, Guildford
7. 07 November - UAE, Norwich
8. 09 November - Civic Hall, Wolverhampton
9. 10 November - Apollo, Glasgow
10. 11 November - Odeon, Edinburgh
11. 12 November - Apollo, Manchester
12. 13 November - Victoria Apollo, London
13. 15 November - Gaumont, Ipswich
14. 17 November - City Hall, Sheffield
15. 18 November - Odeon, Birmingham
16. 19 November - King George's Hall, Blackburn
17. 20 November - Empire, Liverpool
18. 21 November - Polytechnic, Newcastle

### European leg

* 24 November - Theatre Le Palace, Paris, FR
* 27 November - Vooruit Konzertsaal, Ghent, BE
* 28 November - Zaal Lux, Herenthout, BE
* 29 November - Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, BE
* 30 November - Rheinterrassen, Bonn DE
* 01 December - Paradiso, Amsterdam - CANCELLED
* 04 December - Paard van Troje, The Hague, NL
* 05 December - ??
* 06 December - Markthalle, Hamburg DE
* 08 December - Kant Kino, Berlin, DE [1]
* 10 December - Paradiso, Amsterdam NL (rescheduled)
* 12 December - Lodewijk Makeblijde College, Rijswijk NL
* 17 December - Hammersmith Odeon, London [2]
* 31 December - New York Irving Plaza, NY, USA *(on stage in the early hours of 1st January 1981)*

### France

* 25 March - Salle Sainte Croix des Pelletiers, Rouen
* 26 March - L'Empire, Le Mans
* 27 March - Le Zig Zag, Orléans
* 28 March - Maison De Sports, Clermont Ferrand
* 29 March - Le Rex, Aix en Provence
* 30 March - Grand Odeon, Montpellier
* 31 March - West Side Club, Lyon
* 02 April - Halle Aux Grains, Toulouse
* 03 April - Salle des fêtes du Grand Parc, Bordeaux
* 04 April - Palais des Arts, Paris

### USA/Canada

* 14 April - Whisky a Go Go, Los Angeles, CAL (1/2)
* 15 April - Whisky a Go Go, Los Angeles, CAL (2/2)

## Live recordings

### Official releases

There have been no official releases of live recordings from the tour.

A special concert played at the BBC Paris Theatre in London on 04 February 1981 was broadcast on the Radio 1 programme *In Concert* on 21 February. A recording circulates as a bootleg.

### Bootlegs

* Glasgow Apollo (10.11.80) [3]
* Berlin Kant Kino (08.12.80) [4]

## External links

* Organisation tour on setlist.fm
* omd-live.com 1980-81