OMITD tour

OMD's first headlining tour to promote the *Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark* album, released a week after the tour began.

The tour, which saw the group as a four-piece for the first time, began at Eric's Club in Liverpool, and carried on throughout February and into March, ending back in Liverpool at the university.

The tour continued in April with an initial date in Camden then moving on to Europe (BE, NL, FR). The band then played their first US shows in late May into early June.

## Line-up

* Andy McCluskey: bass & vocals
* Paul Humphreys: keyboards & vocals
* Malcolm Holmes: drums & percussion
* Dave Hughes: keyboards

## Support act

* UK: Neukoln (Eric's only), then either The Flowers, Basczax, or Au Pairs.
* Aberdeen: The Freeze (and The Flowers)
* Camden: The Distractions (and the Flowers).
* Europe: Fad Gadget in Belgium.

## Set-list

Typical setlists were based around tracks from the debut album, plus I Betray My Friends as 'intro tape', Dalek I track Two Chameleons, and their cover version of Waiting for the Man. The only album track not played was The Messerschmitt Twins. Bunker Soldiers was usually played twice, as a set opener and towards the end as an encore.

A reported set-list from 07 March (Retford Porterhouse) informs that Enola Gay was included at some point. The group's second Peel session, which included early versions of Enola Gay and Motion and Heart, was recorded on 14 April, after the last UK date in London and before going on to Europe.

## Dates & venues

### UK

* 15 February: Eric's, Liverpool, UK
* 16 February:Manchester Poly, UK
* 19 February: Huddersfield Poly, UK
* 21 February: Branigan's Fan Club, Leeds, UK
* 22 February: Edge Hill College, Ormskirk, UK
* 23 February: JB's, Dudley, UK
* 25 February: Clones Club, Plymouth
* 26 February: Exeter Routes, UK
* 27 February: Trinity Hall, Bristol, UK
* 28 February: Portsmouth Poly, UK
* 29 February: Southbank Poly, UK
* 02 March: Norwich Univ. East Anglia, Horsham K Block.
* 03 March: Kent University, Canterbury UK
* 04 March: The Music Hall, Shrewsbury, UK
* 07 March: Retford, Porterhouse, UK
* 08 March: Middlesborough, Rock Garden, UK
* 09 March: Edinburgh, Valentino's, UK
* 10 March: Dundee, Maryatt Hall, UK
* 11 March: Aberdeen, Ruffles, UK
* 12 March: Glasgow, College of Technology, UK
* 13 March: Sheffield, Limit Club, UK
* 14 March: London, Y Studios/YMCA, UK
* 15 March: Liverpool University, UK
* 11 April: Electric Ballroom, Camden, London (special show with The Distractions and Flowers)

*Second Peel session recorded 14 April.*

*Live appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test, 15 April.*

### Europe

Fad Gadget support

* 16 April: Ghent Circle, Belgium
* 17 April: Salle De La Chappelle, Liege Belgium
* 18 April: Klacik, Brussels Belgium
* 21 April: Paradiso, Amsterdam NL
* 23 April: Effenaar, Eindhoven NL
* 24 April: Stokvishal, Arnhem NL
* 28 April: Les Bain Douche, Paris France
* 30 April: Vaulx-en-Velin Auditorium T.P.E, Lyon France \*
* 07 May: Klacik, Brussels Belgium

\*The group had to return to the UK at the beginning of May to record their first performance of Messages for on *Top of the Pops*, broadcast on 08 May. The single had been released just a week before and was at N53 in the UK charts. A second performance for TOTP was recorded for broadcast on 29 May, therefore just prior to leaving for the US.

### US

* 29 May: New York Hurrahs, NY, USA
* 30 May: New York Hurrahs, NY, USA
* 31 May: Philadelphia Hot Club, PA, USA
* 01 June: Boston Underground, MA, USA
* 02 June: Baltimore University of Maryland Grand Ballroom, MD, USA

## Official releases

* There are no official releases of recordings from this tour.
* A live performance, including some of the songs performed on the tour, recorded at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham on Monday 28 July 1980, was released in 2015 as part of the *Access All Areas* series.

## External links

* setlist.fm
* omd-live.com/1980
* omd-live.com/1980-bootlegs