Julia's Song

Orchestral Maneouvres in the Dark's historic concert at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in December 1981 was the first instance when the synth-pop institution landed a gig at a major venue, and also the first time when frontman Andy McCluskey’s endearingly silly geography-teacher-at-the-school-prom dancing got displayed in full (much to his embarrassment several decades later). The oblique "Julia's Song" constitutes a fine example of the band's tight, interlocking live dynamics, with Paul Humphreys's innovative keyboard work, Martin Cooper's understated guitar riffs, Malcolm Holmes's precise percussion rhythms, and McCluskey's passionate, bordering-on-frenetic vocal mannerisms and singularly shapeless dancing.