Enola Gay hitmakers OMD set to play at Aylesbury Friars Club

Gigs are coming back to Aylesbury! And the Friars Club has announced that synth pop legends OMD will play at The Waterside Theatre in July.

OMD are one of the true Friars Aylesbury heroes, Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys first played Friars as a duo with a tape recorder, supporting Gary Numan, on 6 October 1979.

Organiser David Stopps remembers: "They went down a storm. A year later they came back with the full band as triumphant headliners.

"The gig on 1 November 1980 was a complete sell-out. Years later Andy McCluskey was talking to George Michael who said that he and Andrew Ridgeley had driven over from Watford that night and were in the audience.

"This was when George and Andrew were a couple of unknown music fans. It would be two years later that they had their first hit with Wham ‘Young Guns (Go For It)’. OMD had released their second album ‘Organisation’ in October 1980, just before the Friars gig and the only single from that album ‘Enola Gay’ was high in the UK singles chart."

OMD have sold over 25 million singles and over 15 million albums. They appeared on Top of The Pops 29 times.

They had a string of hits that were the soundtrack to our lives including ‘Electricity’, ‘Messages’, ‘Enola Gay’, ’Souvenir’, ‘Joan of Arc’, ‘Maid of Orleans’, ‘Locomotion’, ‘Genetic Engineering’, ‘(Forever) Live and Die’, ‘Sailing on the Seven Seas’ and ‘Pandora’s Box’.

Their albums still have pride of place in so many record collections from the first 1980 album ‘Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’ with its dayglow sleeve and later that same year ‘Organisation’, followed by their 1981 classic ‘Architecture and Morality’ and 1983’s ‘Dazzle Ships’.

In 2017 they released ‘The Punishment of Luxury’ which was hailed by fans and critics alike as a return to the shimmering brilliance of their classic early singles.

“Electronic music is our language” says Andy. “It’s how we talk.”

“We’re at our best when we’re in a room together, working.” Paul adds.

“That’s when the sparks and ideas happen. It’s the same now as it ever was.”

David added: "We can’t wait for OMD to return to Friars in July. It’s been far too long."

Tickets are on sale now at www.ATGtickets.com www.Seetickets.com and www.Ticketmaster.co.uk Tickets limited to a maximum of 6 per person. This will be a stalls flat-floor gig. Age limit is 16 for standing and 8 for seated. Please note the Waterside Box Office is not open due to CV19.