An iconic eighties band have been forced to flog their concert tickets for a fraction of their original price as they struggle to fill their upcoming show.
The electro-pop duo Ochestral Manoeuvres In The Dark may have been going for 46 years, however it seems their popularity is waning.
The band, fronted by Wirral lads Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, will play the London O2 this Sunday but they’re being forced to flog tickets on the cheap.
The musicians have enlisted a seat-filling service to try ensure there is a big enough crowd on the night.
Officially, tickets are on sale for upwards of £60, but the band have also quietly posted the show on website ShowFilmFirst, with tickets priced at just £10 in a bid to sell out.
MailOnline have contacted OMD’s representatives for comment.
During their long career, OMD have sold 15 million albums and 25 million singles and boast an impressive seven Top Ten singles including Enola Gay and Maid Of Orleans.
They inspired Depeche Mode to make music and their distinctive influence can still be heard in artists from Lady Gaga to Radiohead.
However after their success during the eighties, the pair then they took conceptual exploration to disastrous extremes with their challenging 1983 album Dazzle Ships.
‘Each record we’d done had got bigger,’ Andy previously explained, ‘Inevitably, we thought, “We can do whatever we like and people buy it.” ’
Dazzle Ships dazzled neither critics nor public and while their previous album sold three million copies; Dazzle Ships sold only 300,000.
The dispirited boyhood friends disbanded in 1996 and barely spoke for ten years. Their relationships also suffered, with both men splitting from their partners.
After OMD, Andy stayed in the pop world, and founded Atomic Kitten with Kerry Katona, Natasha Hamilton, and Liz McClarnon.
He co-wrote their number one hit Whole Again and made Kerry Katona a star.
He previously admitted: ‘She was not a good singer. But Kerry was the driving force of the band.’
OMD reconvened in 2005, partly at the behest of a TV show, but also because Andy’s kids wanted to see what their father did for a living.
Their current 2024 sees them travelling for a host of shows across Europe and the UK with their new record Bauhaus Staircase.
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
