361 Hello Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Red Frame White Light

Chart  entered  : 9  February  1980

Chart  peak : 67

Number  of  hits : 29

When  the  decade  opened  I'd  probably  have  given  Squeeze  as  the  answer  to  "Who's  your  favourite  group ?"  but  by  the  end  of  1980  it  was  these  guys.

Andy  McCluskey  ( born  1959 )  and  Paul  Humphreys  ( born  1960 ) met  at  primary  school  in  the  village  of  Meols  on  the  Wirral. They  became  involved  in  music  as  teenagers  but  the  first  serious  band  was  called  Equinox  around  1975   in  which  Andy  sang  and  Paul  was  roadie. The  group  also  included  another  schoolfriend  Malcolm  Holmes  (  born  1960 ) on  drums.  Around  this  time  Kraftwerk  became  popular  and  both  Andy  and  Paul  became  big  fans  of  electronic  music. They  then  had  a  brief  spell  as  the  regrettably-named  Hitlerz  Underpantz  before  putting  together  the  more  serious-minded  The  Id  with  Malcolm  and  Andy's  girlfriend  Julia  amongst  the  other  members.

The  Id  built  up  something  of  a  reputation  in  Merseyside  and  got  a  song  on  a  compilation  LP  Street  To  Street.  A  number  of  their  songs  were  subsequently  re-worked  and  released  as  OMD  numbers. At  the  same  time  Andy  and  Paul  were  working  together  on  a  side  project  exploring  electronic  sounds  and  the  tension  this  caused  led  to  The  Id  splitting  in  August  1978. Andy  very  briefly  joined  another  Wirral  band,  Dalek  I  Love  You   before  hooking  up  with  Paul  again  as  Orchestral  Manoeuvres  in  the  Dark, a  name  chosen  with  the  intention  of  being  as  un-punk  as  possible.   

They  began  playing  gigs  as  a  duo  in  the  autumn  of  1978  with  a  4  track  tape  recorder  christened  "Winston"  providing  the  beats  and  other  backing  tracks. Their  first  gig  was  at  Liverpool's  legendary  "Eric's "  venue  supporting  Joy  Division. This  inspired  Andy  to  send  a  demo  of  a  song  called  "Electricity"  to  Tony  Wilson  and  apparently  prompted  by  his  wife  he  offered  them  a  one-off  deal  with  Factory.

"Electricity"  is  probably  the  best  known  Factory  release  not  involving  Joy  Division / New  Order  or  Happy  Mondays.  Inspired  by  Kraftwerk's  Radioactivity  , it's  a  typically  earnest  plea  about  the  wastage  of  fossil  fuels  with  the  guys  sharing  the  lead  vocal  and  showcased  their  structural  preference  for  a  melodic  instrumental  chorus  played  on  the  synth, in  this  case  sounding  like  a  xylophone. A  drum  machine  provides  the  rather  brutalist  beckbeat  but  Andy  plays  the  descending  bass  line  on  a  conventional  bass  line. Martin  Hannett  produced  a  version  but  the  band  were  successful  in  persuading  Factory  to  use  their  preferred  self-produced  version  instead. Peter  Saville  designed  the  sleeve. The  single  was  released  in  May  1979  ( as  FAC6 )  and  wasn't  a  hit  but  got  enough  attention  to  attract  a  lucrative  deal  from  Virgin  offshoot  Dindisc  in  September  1979. Upon  signing  the  band,  Dindisc  re-issued  the  single  but  used  the  Hannett  version. The  band  were  also  hired  as  support  act  for  Gary  Numan's  tour  that  autumn which  raised  their  profile.

The  duo  spent  their  advance  on  building  their own  studio  above  a  shop  in  Liverpool , just  around  the  corner  from  Eric's. "Red  Frame  White  Light"  was  recorded  there  in  the  autumn  of  1979. It  celebrates  the  public  telephone  box  from  which  Andy  used  to  book  their  gigs  and  there's  something  wonderfully ironic  that  this  most  determinedly  futuristic  band  should  have  their  first  hit  celebrating  a  now  completely  obsolete  machine.

While  acknowledging  Numan's  friendliness  and  support  on  the  tour  Andy  said  they  were  not  great  fans  of  his  music. Nevertheless  there  are  traces  of  his  influence  in  the  minimalist  lyric  half  of  which  is  a  robotic  chant  of  the  title  and  the  brisk  switches  between  major  and  minor  key  sections  do  bear  some  similarity  to  Are  "Friends"  Electric .  Though  it   contains  two  of  their  catchy  keyboard  riffs  it's  not  their  best  song   as  it  doesn't  go  anywhere   and  tends  to  get  missed  off  their  compilations. It  ends  inconclusively  but  with  conceptual  correctness  on  a  mock  engaged  tone.