Andy McCluskey
Early life and career
Early life and career
---------------------

McCluskey was born on 24 June 1959 in [Heswall](/wiki/Heswall "Heswall"), [Wirral](/wiki/Wirral_Peninsula "Wirral Peninsula"), and grew up in a [working class](/wiki/Working_class "Working class") home in [Meols](/wiki/Meols "Meols"), on the northern coast of the Wirral. McCluskey's father, James, was born in [Glasgow](/wiki/Glasgow "Glasgow") and was a [railway worker](/wiki/Rail_transport "Rail transport"). He met [Paul Humphreys](/wiki/Paul_Humphreys "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](/wiki/The_Id_%28band%29 "The Id (band)"). McCluskey then attended [Calday Grange Grammar School](/wiki/Calday_Grange_Grammar_School "Calday Grange Grammar School") in [West Kirby](/wiki/West_Kirby "West Kirby"). He briefly joined [Dalek I Love You](/wiki/Dalek_I_Love_You "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: he disbanded the group in 1996\. McCluskey has sold over 40 million records with OMD, and is regarded as a pioneer of electronic music in the UK.Multiple sources:

* + - * + McCluskey single\-handedly composed a number of OMD singles, including: "[Enola Gay](/wiki/Enola_Gay_%28song%29 "Enola Gay (song)")", which became an international chart\-topper; "[Joan of Arc](/wiki/Joan_of_Arc_%28Orchestral_Manoeuvres_in_the_Dark_song%29 "Joan of Arc (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark song)")"; "[Maid of Orleans](/wiki/Maid_of_Orleans_%28The_Waltz_Joan_of_Arc%29 "Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)")", which was Germany's biggest\-selling single of 1982; and "[Pandora's Box](/wiki/Pandora%27s_Box_%28Orchestral_Manoeuvres_in_the_Dark_song%29 "Pandora's Box (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark song)")". He also co\-wrote hits such as "[Messages](/wiki/Messages_%28Orchestral_Manoeuvres_in_the_Dark_song%29 "Messages (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark song)")", "[Locomotion](/wiki/Locomotion_%28Orchestral_Manoeuvres_in_the_Dark_song%29 "Locomotion (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark song)")", "[Talking Loud and Clear](/wiki/Talking_Loud_and_Clear "Talking Loud and Clear")", "[If You Leave](/wiki/If_You_Leave_%28song%29 "If You Leave (song)")", "[Sailing on the Seven Seas](/wiki/Sailing_on_the_Seven_Seas "Sailing on the Seven Seas")" and "[Walking on the Milky Way](/wiki/Walking_on_the_Milky_Way_%28song%29 "Walking on the Milky Way (song)")". *[Music Week](/wiki/Music_Week "Music Week")* asserted that McCluskey has an "immense talent for writing perfect pop songs", while broadcaster [Pete Price](/wiki/Pete_Price "Pete Price") described him as a "fabulous singer\-songwriter". *[Q](/wiki/Q_%28magazine%29 "Q (magazine)")*s Debbi Voller called McCluskey a "master of melody". In 1993, [Mark Frith](/wiki/Mark_Frith "Mark Frith") of *[Smash Hits](/wiki/Smash_Hits "Smash Hits")* dubbed him "something of a living legend"; two decades later, *[Classic Pop](/wiki/Classic_Pop_%28magazine%29 "Classic Pop (magazine)")* stated that "after 35 years of sonic experimentalism, Andy McCluskey can rightfully be described as a godfather of classic pop".

McCluskey has gained the admiration of fellow musicians including [Paul McCartney](/wiki/Paul_McCartney "Paul McCartney"), [The Teardrop Explodes](/wiki/The_Teardrop_Explodes "The Teardrop Explodes")'s [David Balfe](/wiki/David_Balfe "David Balfe"), [The Time Frequency](/wiki/The_Time_Frequency "The Time Frequency")'s Jon Campbell, and [Kraftwerk](/wiki/Kraftwerk "Kraftwerk")'s [Karl Bartos](/wiki/Karl_Bartos "Karl Bartos"), who hailed him as "such an excellent songwriter". [Joy Division](/wiki/Joy_Division "Joy Division") and [New Order](/wiki/New_Order_%28band%29 "New Order (band)") co\-founder [Peter Hook](/wiki/Peter_Hook "Peter Hook") viewed McCluskey as "really underrated... for what he did with Orchestral Manoeuvres but also those pop songs he wrote for Atomic Kitten." [Vince Clarke](/wiki/Vince_Clarke "Vince Clarke") (co\-founder of [Depeche Mode](/wiki/Depeche_Mode "Depeche Mode"), [Yazoo](/wiki/Yazoo_%28band%29 "Yazoo (band)") and [Erasure](/wiki/Erasure_%28duo%29 "Erasure (duo)")) noted OMD as a "huge influence" and McCluskey as possessing a "really good voice". [The Human League](/wiki/The_Human_League "The Human League") and [Heaven 17](/wiki/Heaven_17 "Heaven 17") co\-founder, [Martyn Ware](/wiki/Martyn_Ware "Martyn Ware"), referred to "the great Andy McCluskey", labelling him a "true pioneer of electronic pop music".

### OMD reformation

McCluskey and Humphreys reunited for a performance on German TV in June 2005, officially reforming OMD in 2006\. 2007 saw the first tour of the reformed band, including [Martin Cooper](/wiki/Martin_Cooper_%28musician%29 "Martin Cooper (musician)") and [Malcolm Holmes](/wiki/Malcolm_Holmes "Malcolm Holmes"), commemorating the twenty\-sixth anniversary of the release of their seminal album *[Architecture \& Morality](/wiki/Architecture_%26_Morality "Architecture & Morality")*.

The group released a CD and DVD of their [Hammersmith Apollo](/wiki/Hammersmith_Apollo "Hammersmith Apollo") (London) live gig from the 2007 reunion tour in the spring of 2008,*OMD Live: Architecture \& Morality \& More*. 2008\. Eagle Records. before undertaking a short tour to celebrate thirty years as a band in the autumn of 2008\. A compilation of their singles and videos, *[Messages: Greatest Hits](/wiki/Messages:Greatest_Hits "Greatest Hits")*, was released that year. On 20 September 2010 OMD released their 11th studio album *[History of Modern](/wiki/History_of_Modern "History of Modern")*, their first in 14 years. The group's *Souvenir* box set, a career retrospective covering their entire oeuvre, was nominated for "Best Historical Album" at the 2021 [Grammy Awards](/wiki/Grammy_Award "Grammy Award").

### Live performance

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, he developed an onstage dancing style that has been described as "manic" and "jerky". While some journalists – and McCluskey himself – have been critical of his dancing ability, 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](/wiki/Stuart_Maconie "Stuart Maconie")). *[The Scotsman](/wiki/The_Scotsman "The Scotsman")* hailed McCluskey's dancing as "legendary", while *[The Times](/wiki/The_Times "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."

Rock group [ZZ Top](/wiki/ZZ_Top "ZZ Top") were noted admirers of McCluskey's dancing, incorporating elements of the routine into their own live show. Electronic musician [Martyn Ware](/wiki/Martyn_Ware "Martyn Ware") remarked that "his stage performances are exceptional". [No Doubt](/wiki/No_Doubt "No Doubt") bassist and OMD fan, [Tony Kanal](/wiki/Tony_Kanal "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." [Kevin Hearn](/wiki/Kevin_Hearn "Kevin Hearn") of [Barenaked Ladies](/wiki/Barenaked_Ladies "Barenaked Ladies") called McCluskey a "great frontman" and an inspiration.

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.


Can you describe McCluskey's dancing style?