Andy McCluskey

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Andy McCluskey
File:Andy McCluskey 2016.jpeg
McCluskey with OMD at the Royal Albert Hall, May 2016
Background information
Birth name George Andrew McCluskey
Born (1959-06-24) 24 June 1959 (age 64)
Origin Heswall, Wirral, Cheshire, England
Genres New wave, synthpop, electronic, post-punk, experimental
Occupation(s) Musician, singer-songwriter, record producer
Instruments Vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, percussion, horns, programming
Associated acts VCL XI, Equinox, Pegasus, The Id, Dalek I Love You, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Atomic Kitten
Website omd.uk.com
Notable instruments
Fender Jazz Bass
Rickenbacker 4001 bass

George Andrew "Andy" McCluskey (born 24 June 1959 in Heswall, Cheshire) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer who is regarded as a pioneer of electronic music in the United Kingdom.[1] He is best known as the singer and bass guitarist of new wave band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), which he founded with Paul Humphreys in 1978. An Ivor Novello Award-nominated songwriter, McCluskey has penned multiple international hits, including: "Enola Gay", "Joan of Arc", "Maid of Orleans", "If You Leave" and "Sailing on the Seven Seas" for OMD; and "Right Now", "See Ya", "Whole Again" and "Cradle" for Atomic Kitten, the girl group he founded in 1998.

McCluskey has been described by critic Ned Raggett in AllMusic as an artist "who clearly could balance artistic and commercial impulses in a winning fashion."[2] His distinctive, self-deprecating on-stage routine was dubbed the "Trainee Teacher Dance" by the BBC's Stuart Maconie,[3] who wrote that it became "the dance-floor routine of choice" for students in the early-to-mid 1980s.[4] In live shows, McCluskey often plays bass guitar (with strings inverted) and occasionally, keyboard instruments and guitar; he continues performing with OMD to the present day.

OMD

McCluskey met Paul Humphreys at Great Meols Primary School, 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. McCluskey 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.

Humphreys and the rest of the band split with McCluskey in 1989, with McCluskey retaining the OMD name. He disbanded the group in 1996. A decade later, in 2006, McCluskey reunited with Humphreys and the other former OMD members for a successful reformation of the band. In the interim, he founded pop group Atomic Kitten.

Atomic Kitten and the Genie Queen

In 1998, McCluskey founded the UK pop group Atomic Kitten and co-wrote several of their hit singles. Their song "Whole Again", co-written by McCluskey, was his first UK No.1,[5] and he and his fellow songwriters were nominated for the Ivor Novello Award for excellence in songwriting.[6]

More recently, McCluskey formed White Noise Records and publishing label where he tried to recreate the formula of Atomic Kitten with Liverpool girl group, the Genie Queen.[7] He also bought a recording studio, the Motor Museum, in Liverpool.[8]

OMD reformation

McCluskey and Humphreys reformed OMD for a performance on German TV in June 2005, with the promise of more gigs to follow. 2007 saw the first tour of the reformed OMD, including Martin Cooper and Malcolm Holmes, commemorating the twenty-sixth anniversary of the release of their seminal album Architecture & Morality. The album itself was remastered and re-released to coincide.

The band released a CD and DVD of their triumphant Hammersmith Apollo (London) live gig from the 2007 reunion tour in the spring of 2008 before undertaking a short tour to celebrate thirty years as a band in the autumn of 2008, concluding at London's historic Roundhouse venue on 7 October 2008. A compilation of their singles and videos, Messages: Greatest Hits, was released to coincide with the tour. On 20 September 2010 Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark released their 11th studio album History of Modern, their first in 14 years.

Bass technique

McCluskey 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.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Raggett, Ned. Sugar Tax review. AllMusic. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Maconie, Stuart. Cider With Roadies. p.142. Ebury Publishing. 2004.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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