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Andy McCluskey

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Andy McCluskey
McCluskey performing with OMD in 2018
McCluskey performing with OMD in 2018
Background information
Birth nameGeorge Andrew McCluskey
Born (1959-06-24) 24 June 1959 (age 65)
Heswall, Wirral, England
OriginMeols, Wirral, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • singer-songwriter
  • record producer
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • bass
  • guitar
  • keyboards
Years active1976–present
Websiteomd.uk.com

George Andrew McCluskey (born 24 June 1959) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer and bass guitarist of the electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), which he founded alongside keyboard player Paul Humphreys in 1978: McCluskey has been the group's sole constant member. He has sold over 40 million records with OMD, and is regarded as a pioneer of electronic music in the UK. McCluskey is noted for his frenetic onstage "Trainee Teacher Dance".

McCluskey also founded pop girl group Atomic Kitten, for whom he served as a principal songwriter and producer, and has collaborated with various acts. His work has received nominations at the Ivor Novello, Grammy and Brit Awards, and has topped charts in the UK and internationally.

Early life and career

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McCluskey was born on 24 June 1959 in Heswall, Wirral,[1][2] and grew up in a working class home in Meols, on the northern coast of the Wirral. McCluskey's father, James, was born in Glasgow and was a railway worker.[3][4][5][6][7] He met Paul Humphreys at Great Meols Primary School,[8] in Elwyn Road, and played with him in several bands, including Hitlerz Underpantz, VCL XI and the Id. McCluskey then attended Calday Grange Grammar School in West Kirby. He briefly joined Dalek I Love You as their lead singer, but left because he wanted to sing his own songs. McCluskey teamed up with Humphreys again to form OMD in 1978, achieving global success. Humphreys and the rest of the band split with McCluskey in 1989, with McCluskey retaining the OMD name:[9] he disbanded the group in 1996. McCluskey has sold over 40 million records with OMD,[10][11][12] and is regarded as a pioneer of electronic music in the UK.[13]

McCluskey single-handedly composed a number of OMD singles, including: "Enola Gay", which became an international chart-topper;[14][15] "Joan of Arc";[14] "Maid of Orleans", which was Germany's biggest-selling single of 1982;[14][16] and "Pandora's Box".[14] He also co-wrote hits such as "Messages", "Locomotion", "Talking Loud and Clear", "If You Leave", "Sailing on the Seven Seas" and "Walking on the Milky Way".[14] Music Week asserted that McCluskey has an "immense talent for writing perfect pop songs",[17] while broadcaster Pete Price described him as a "fabulous singer-songwriter".[18] Q's Debbi Voller called McCluskey a "master of melody".[19] In 1993, Mark Frith of Smash Hits dubbed him "something of a living legend";[20] two decades later, Classic Pop stated that "after 35 years of sonic experimentalism, Andy McCluskey can rightfully be described as a godfather of classic pop".[21]

McCluskey has gained the admiration of fellow musicians including Paul McCartney,[22] The Teardrop Explodes's David Balfe,[23] The Time Frequency's Jon Campbell,[24] and Kraftwerk's Karl Bartos, who hailed him as "such an excellent songwriter".[25] Joy Division and New Order co-founder Peter Hook viewed McCluskey as "really underrated... for what he did with Orchestral Manoeuvres but also those pop songs he wrote for Atomic Kitten."[26] Vince Clarke (co-founder of Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Erasure) noted OMD as a "huge influence" and McCluskey as possessing a "really good voice".[27] The Human League and Heaven 17 co-founder, Martyn Ware, referred to "the great Andy McCluskey", labelling him a "true pioneer of electronic pop music".[28]

OMD reformation

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McCluskey and Humphreys reunited for a performance on German TV in June 2005, officially reforming OMD in 2006.[29][30] 2007 saw the first tour of the reformed band, including Martin Cooper and Malcolm Holmes, commemorating the twenty-sixth anniversary of the release of their seminal album Architecture & Morality.[31]

The group released a CD and DVD of their Hammersmith Apollo (London) live gig from the 2007 reunion tour in the spring of 2008,[32] before undertaking a short tour to celebrate thirty years as a band in the autumn of 2008.[33] A compilation of their singles and videos, Messages: Greatest Hits, was released that year.[34] On 20 September 2010 OMD released their 11th studio album History of Modern, their first in 14 years.[35] The group's Souvenir box set, a career retrospective covering their entire oeuvre, was nominated for "Best Historical Album" at the 2021 Grammy Awards.[36]

Live performance

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McCluskey noted how, in the early days of OMD, the band's work was perceived as "robotic intellectual music that you couldn't dance to". In response,[37] he developed an onstage dancing style that has been described as "manic" and "jerky".[38][39] While some journalists – and McCluskey himself – have been critical of his dancing ability,[40][41] the routine found popularity with OMD fans as well as with teaching students, thus earning the name, the "Trainee Teacher Dance" (coined by broadcaster Stuart Maconie).[40][42][43] The Scotsman hailed McCluskey's dancing as "legendary",[37] while The Times said that he "deserves credit for making it an integral part of the OMD brand... You can fault his skill, but not his tireless enthusiasm."[44]

Rock group ZZ Top were noted admirers of McCluskey's dancing, incorporating elements of the routine into their own live show.[43][45] Electronic musician Martyn Ware remarked that "his stage performances are exceptional".[28] No Doubt bassist and OMD fan, Tony Kanal, said in 2012, "McCluskey is the singer and he also plays bass, which is [an] incredibly difficult way to multi-task. I finally saw them live last year and his playing and singing are so incredible."[46] Kevin Hearn of Barenaked Ladies called McCluskey a "great frontman" and an inspiration.[23]

In live performances, McCluskey often plays bass guitar and occasionally, keyboard instruments and guitar. He is right-handed, but originally learned to play bass guitar on a left-handed model. As a result, he plays with the strings "upside down" (i.e., with the lowest-pitched string on the bottom and the highest-pitched one on top), counter to normal practice.[47]

Atomic Kitten and the Genie Queen

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In 1998, McCluskey founded the UK pop group Atomic Kitten, serving as songwriter and producer.[48] Their song "Whole Again", co-written by McCluskey, was his first no. 1 song on the UK Singles Chart,[49] and he and his fellow songwriters were nominated for the Ivor Novello Award for "International hit of the year".[50] The song also received a Brit Award nomination for "Best British Single".[51] McCluskey was also a writer of the Atomic Kitten hits "Right Now", "See Ya", "I Want Your Love" and "Cradle". He parted ways with the group during the recording of their second album, Feels So Good (2002).[52]

McCluskey subsequently formed the White Noise records and publishing label where he worked with Liverpool girl group, the Genie Queen.[53]

Other work

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McCluskey has written with, and provided session musicianship for, various artists. Some of his collaborators include: Gary Barlow, with whom McCluskey wrote the song "Thrill Me" for the soundtrack of the film Eddie the Eagle (2016);[54] The Lightning Seeds, for whom he played keyboards on their debut album Cloudcuckooland (1990);[55] and Karl Bartos, whose record Esperanto (1993) – released under the Elektric Music moniker – features McCluskey as co-writer on "Show Business" and "Kissing the Machine" (and as lead vocalist on the latter track).[56] Bartos also co-wrote the song "The Moon & the Sun", which featured on OMD's Universal (1996). "Kissing the Machine" would later appear in a reworked form on the OMD album English Electric (2013).[57] McCluskey recorded the song "A Million Stars" with members of Fun, for the soundtrack of 2015 film The D Train.[58]

McCluskey owns the Motor Museum, a recording studio in Liverpool.[59]

Personal life

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McCluskey's girlfriend in the late 1970s was the Id bandmate Julia Kneale.[60] She wrote the lyrics to "Julia's Song",[61] which appeared on OMD's eponymous debut album (1980).

McCluskey later married Toni,[62] with whom he had two children.[63][64] A prominent reason for OMD's reformation was that his children had never seen him on stage; in 2007 he said: "I was happy to stop working to be with the kids, but strangely enough they have been the most vocal in encouraging me back."[63] The couple divorced in 2011 and Toni returned to her native San Diego, California, with the children.[64] Their son, James McCluskey, is a founding member, bass player and backing vocalist of the group MiG 15, named after the fighter jet of the same name.[65]

He lived in Dublin in the 1990s.[66][67]

McCluskey is a supporter of Liverpool F.C.[8] He also acquired a fandom of Celtic F.C. through his Glaswegian father.[3]

McCluskey is a longtime atheist.[68]

References

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  1. ^ Roberts, David (1998). Guinness Rockopedia. Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 304–305. ISBN 978-0851120720.
  2. ^ @OfficialOMD (24 June 2024). "Wishing our very own Andy McCluskey a happy birthday!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ^ a b Cuddihy, Paul (8 November 2017). "Let the People Sing". The Celtic View. Vol. 53, no. 18. Retrieved 20 July 2022 – via Magzter.
  4. ^ "Andy McCluskey - Conversation taken from TTA1 - SS2011 – THE TRAVEL ALMANAC". Archived from the original on 24 June 2016.
  5. ^ Hiles, Hannah (9 March 2022). "OMD Singer Champions Unsung North Staffordshire Artist in New Exhibition". Stoke-on-Trent Live. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Interview with Andy McCluskey of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD)". Rediscover the 80s. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  7. ^ "The Quietus | Features | Baker's Dozen | Souvenirs: Andy McCluskey of OMD's Favourite Albums".
  8. ^ a b "OMD Interview: 'Stockhausen or ABBA? Can't we be both?'". Classicpopmag.com. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  9. ^ Lindgren, Hugo (10 May 2013). "The Plot Against Rock". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  10. ^ Awbi, Anita (19 March 2013). "Andy McCluskey, OMD". PRS for Music. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  11. ^ Simpson, Dave (28 October 2019). "OMD review – clap-along electropop sounds even better with age". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  12. ^ Sherwin, Adam (16 October 2020). "OMD forced to postpone benefit gig for roadies after Andy McCluskey tests positive for Covid-19". iNews. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  13. ^ Multiple sources:
  14. ^ a b c d e "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: Souvenir – Track Listing". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  15. ^ Power, Ed (7 August 2020). "Enola Gay: how OMD made poignant pop from the ashes of Hiroshima". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  16. ^ Stanley, Bob (7 March 2008). "How to lose 3 million fans in one easy step". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  17. ^ "Singles". Music Week. 5 October 1996. p. 12.
  18. ^ Price, Pete (6 October 2016). "OMG! OMD is still going strong and Andy McCluskey is loving it". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  19. ^ Voller, Debbi (October 1996). "OMD: Universal". Q. p. 170.
  20. ^ Frith, Mark (7–20 July 1993). "New Singles". Smash Hits. p. 47.
  21. ^ "Features". Classic Pop. No. 4. May–June 2013. p. 4.
  22. ^ Heck, Jean-Paul (13 February 2024). "The Men of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD): 'You Suddenly Find Yourself Between Swift and Sheeran'". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  23. ^ a b Houghton, Richard (2019). OMD: Pretending to See the Future (expanded paperback ed.). This Day in Music Books. pp. 25–28, 414–415. ISBN 978-1-9161156-2-0. [Balfe:] Andy was definitely doing something interesting, something with more talent than most, something approaching contemporary. This was such a rarity, as to be almost impossible in those days."
    "[Hearn:] What a great frontman Andy was... an inspiration to me.
  24. ^ "I absolutely love this song". Jon Campbell. 18 March 2024. Archived from the original on 20 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024 – via Facebook.
  25. ^ Ryan, Gary (8 July 2022). "Does Rock 'N' Roll Kill Braincells?! – Kraftwerk's Karl Bartos". NME. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  26. ^ "On this day in 1956: Joy Division's Ian Curtis was born". Hot Press. 15 July 2021. Archived from the original on 15 July 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  27. ^ Shand, Max (12 October 2020). "Synthpop King Vince Clarke on Erasure's 18th Studio Album, 'The Neon'". PopMatters. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  28. ^ a b Ware, Martyn (4 November 2022). "Andy McCluskey: Show Notes". Electronically Yours with Martyn Ware. Episode 113. Anchor.fm. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023 – via Podbay.
  29. ^ Lindgren, Hugo (10 May 2013). "The Plot Against Rock". The New York Times Magazine. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  30. ^ Smyers, Darryl (18 March 2011). "Q&A: OMD's Paul Humphreys Talks Reformation, The Return of Intelligent Music and Being in Hitler's Underpants". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  31. ^ Shin, Dennis (28 August 2013). "The Future Will Be Silent: An Interview with OMD". PopMatters. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  32. ^ OMD Live: Architecture & Morality & More. 2008. Eagle Records.
  33. ^ O'Neal, Sean (30 July 2008). "Paul Humphreys of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  34. ^ Doran, John (25 September 2008). "Messages - Greatest Hits". The Quietus. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  35. ^ Walters, Barry (28 September 2010). "OMD, 'History of Modern'". Spin. Archived from the original on 15 October 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  36. ^ "Grammy Nominations 2021: See the Full List of Nominees Here". Pitchfork. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  37. ^ a b "Orchestral Leap in the Dark". The Scotsman. 3 February 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  38. ^ Echazabal, Gabe (15 April 2018). "Review: In St. Petersburg, OMD provides soundtrack for a night of sweaty, luxurious synth-pop". Creative Loafing Tampa. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  39. ^ Maconie, Stuart (2005). Cider With Roadies (revised ed.). Ebury Publishing. p. 142. ISBN 978-0091897451.
  40. ^ a b "Electropop (no. 5: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark)". Top Ten. 7 April 2001. Channel 4. [McCluskey] launched a dance that remains popular at teacher training college discos... Despite the odd piece of dancing derision, OMD were hot.
  41. ^ Roach, Cal (9 July 2016). "Summerfest 2016". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  42. ^ Fulton, Rick (12 May 2013). "Manoeuvring back on scene". Sunday Mail. The Free Library. Retrieved 12 October 2013. Fans love your distinctive dancing, which Stuart Maconie called the 'Trainee Teacher Dance'.
  43. ^ a b Ryan, Gary (14 October 2019). "Does Rock 'N' Roll Kill Braincells?! – Andy McCluskey". NME. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  44. ^ "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Colston Hall, Bristol". The Times. 2 November 2010. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  45. ^ Simmons, Sylvie (1–15 July 1982). "Over the Top!". Kerrang!. No. 19. p. 6. [Billy Gibbons:] We steal our moves heavily off Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. We watch [McCluskey].
  46. ^ Marchese, David (24 September 2012). "No Doubt Explain OMD, EDM, and Peter Hook Basslines on 'Push and Shove'". Spin. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  47. ^ "A Message from Andy McCluskey of OMD". Archived from the original on 10 April 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2009. I play bass with the strings upside down even though I am right handed....because my first bass was a left handed Wilson Rapier...
  48. ^ Cragg, Michael (2023). "Now Here's a Story from A to Z: Who's Who?". Reach for the Stars: 1996–2006: Fame, Fallout and Pop's Final Party. Nine Eight Books. ISBN 978-1788707244.
  49. ^ "The Official Charts Company – Atomic Kitten – Whole Again". OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  50. ^ "Gray and Healy battle for Ivors". BBC News. 23 April 2002. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  51. ^ "Brit Awards 2002: The winners". BBC News. 20 February 2002. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  52. ^ Ulibas, Joseph (13 August 2015). "Atomic Kitten is back and they're playing a few dates for The Greatest Hits tour". AXS. 2929 Entertainment. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  53. ^ "Three Wishes for Genie Queen". BBC. 9 October 2003. Archived from the original on 9 October 2003. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
  54. ^ Fly: Songs Inspired by the Film Eddie the Eagle. AllMusic. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  55. ^ Cloudcuckooland. AllMusic. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  56. ^ Esperanto. AllMusic. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  57. ^ English Electric. AllMusic. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  58. ^ Ezell, Brice (5 May 2015). "'A Million Stars' from 'The D Train' soundtrack". PopMatters. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  59. ^ "Studiofile: Motor Museum, Liverpool, UK". Future Music (224): 22. March 2010.
  60. ^ Clarkson, John (11 January 2009). "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: Interview". Pennyblackmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  61. ^ "Auction - Julia's Song Lyric Sheet". Omd.uk.com. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  62. ^ Price, Pete (26 July 2007). "Manoeuvres in the dark... on new knees". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  63. ^ a b Key, Philip (26 January 2007). "New Manoeuvres are on the cards". Liverpool Daily Post. TheFreeLibrary. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  64. ^ a b Lindgren, Hugo (10 May 2013). "The Plot Against Rock". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  65. ^ "MiG15". MiG15.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  66. ^ "OMD's Andy McCluskey: "I'm really happy that I don't have to pander to a TikTok generation to get my songs heard"".
  67. ^ "ANDY MCCLUSKEY (OMD): Universal Appeal".
  68. ^ Nunn, Jerry (21 September 2011). "Andy McCluskey". GoPride. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
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