'Dazzle Ships'

I can remember quite clearly when my collection of electronic music consisted of The Human League, Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, Ultravox, Gary Numan and Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark. The latter three all made what I considered dubious use of guitar but the synths outweighed the strings.

OMD's first album was the eponymous 'Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark', which, at the time, I liked primarily for its poppier side: 'Messages', 'Red Frame/White Light', and 'Mystereality'. By the time the more sombre 'Organisation' album album was released, I think my tastes had moved on a little, and the slow, majestic 'Stanlow' was my favourite.

But the release of 'Architecture and Morality' was one of those rare occasions when commercial success and critical acclaim genuinely met. The outright pop of the two 'Joan of Arc' singles and the sixth form disco favourite 'Souvenir' (which I disliked then and still do), saw it sail effortlessly up the charts yet these tracks were hardly representative of the album itself which contained a number of uncompromising but still very listenable pieces. 

It was, even then, quite clearly a masterpiece and I wonder if this gave Messrs Humphries and McCluskey a crisis of confidence. Whatever the reason, their next album, 'Dazzle Ships' was quite a break with what had gone before. OMD were unabashed Kraftwerk fans so I find it surprising that no article I've read has made the connection between 'Dazzle Ships' and the pioneering 'Radio-activity' album. I think the connection is quite clear.

An injudicious choice of singles scuppered any chance of 'Dazzle Ships' emulating the success of 'Architecture and Morality', yet in many respects it's a similarly varied album. 'Radio Waves' - the heir to Kraftwerk's 'Airwaves' - would would have made a great single while 'The Romance of the Telescope' - my favourite OMD track - captures the aching, artistic soul of the band. But the album was critically panned at the time, too, and it has remained something of private pleasure of mine.

Recently, though, a Dazzle Ship was brought into dry dock in Liverpool and OMD commemorated this by playing two gigs at the Museum of Liverpool. Despite Twitter, Facebook, and marketing emails from a number of ticket agencies, I managed to completely miss this, much to my dismay. However, a crowdfunding initiative financed the production of a live CD and DVD, as well as an optional T-shirt in the more expensive package. 

Mine arrived today and you can see them here, modelled by young Abi, who, for all her marvellous characteristics, has yet to embrace the electronic classic that is 'Dazzle Ships'.