They have also achieved 12 top 20 hits on the UK Singles Chart, as well as three top 20 hits on the US Billboard Hot 100. In 2006, the band reformed with Humphreys and McCluskey working on material closer in sound to their early output The Punishment of Luxury (2017) was the group's seventh top 10 entry on the UK Albums Chart. OMD were highly influential on contemporary electronic acts, as well as on later artists in diverse genres. McCluskey later conceived girl group Atomic Kitten, for whom he served as a principal songwriter, while Humphreys formed the duo Onetwo alongside Propaganda vocalist Claudia Brücken. OMD then began to flounder amid the guitar-oriented grunge and Britpop movements, eventually disbanding in 1996. The group returned with a new line-up and explored the dance-pop genre: Sugar Tax (1991) and its initial singles were hits in Europe. In 1989, creative differences saw Humphreys and other members form the spin-off band the Listening Pool, leaving McCluskey the only remaining member of OMD. The group embraced a more radio-friendly sound on Junk Culture (1984) this change in direction led to greater success in the United States, and yielded the 1986 hit, " If You Leave". Although later reappraised, Dazzle Ships (1983) was seen as overly experimental, and eroded European support.
Weathering an "uncool" image and a degree of hostility from music critics, the band achieved popularity throughout Europe with the 1980 anti-war song " Enola Gay", and gained further recognition via Architecture & Morality (1981) and its three hit singles. McCluskey and Humphreys led precursor group the Id from 1977–1978, and re-recorded their track " Electricity" as OMD's debut single in 1979. Regarded as pioneers of electronic music, OMD combined an experimental, minimalist ethos with pop sensibilities, becoming central figures in the late-1970s/early-1980s emergence of synth-pop. The group consists of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals), along with Martin Cooper (various instruments) and Stuart Kershaw (drums) McCluskey has been the only constant member. `Enola Gay, it shouldn't fade in our dreams away.Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark ( OMD) are an English electronic band formed in Wirral, Merseyside, in 1978. It could be regarded as an anti-nuclear or even an anti-war protest song but the overriding message conveyed through the lyrics is not to forget about such events in our past: The song's release coincided with Margaret Thatcher's - British Prime Minister at that time - controversial decision to allow US nuclear missiles to be stationed in Britain. The line, `Is mother proud of little boy today,' makes reference to the bombs codename `Little Boy' and probably hints at the writer's need to vent his spleen on the subject.
Recurring lines highlight the exact timing of the drop and how the operation was carried out just like any other ordinary day. The lyrics clearly express McCluskey's opinion on the matter with the line, `It shouldn't ever have to end this way,' letting us know his feelings on the dropping of the bomb. The bomb, the first used in an act of war, was carried by an American B-29 plane named Enola Gay and her mission in 1945 effectively ended World War II. Written by OMD frontman Andy McCluskey, this track was released in 1980 and tells the story of the plane that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.