OMD arrived in Vilnius with the eloquently named “Summer Of Hits” tour, featuring songs spanning nearly five decades of the band’s history. “Electricity”, “Messages”, “Enola Gay”, “Souvenir”, “Maid of Orleans”, “Locomotion”, “So In Love”, “Sailing On The Seven Seas” and other hits not only made OMD one of the most significant British bands of the 80s but also became a source of inspiration for many electronic and popular music stars – from “Depeche Mode” and “Duran Duran” to Moby, “Radiohead” and “Arcade Fire”.
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As P. Humphreys and his wife told “Žmonės” magazine earlier, they flew to Vilnius with their family a few days before the event.
“We will arrive on August 24th, and the next day is our wedding anniversary with Rūta. This year marks eight years since we got married, and we’ve been together for thirteen. The last time I played in Lithuania was six years ago: returning to where Rūta’s roots are is always important to me,” Paul Humphreys shared.
His wife Rūta also noticed an interesting coincidence about this trip.
“My husband’s concert will take place in Lukiškės Prison, and I grew up right next to it – in the postgraduate dormitory near the Mažvydas Library. As a child, swinging in the yard, I used to see prisoners in the prison windows, and now my husband will sing there for thousands of people – isn’t that symbolic?..” R. Degutytė-Humphreys smiled.
Žmonės.lt reminds that OMD’s history began in 1978 in Liverpool, when Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, inspired by “Kraftwerk”, Brian Eno, David Bowie and German krautrock, began experimenting with electronic music. Their very first single “Electricity” helped the duo sign a record deal, and soon after, “Messages” and “Enola Gay” brought the band international recognition.
Released in 1981, “Architecture & Morality” with “Souvenir”, “Joan of Arc” and “Maid of Orleans” became one of OMD’s most important albums, and later the band’s catalog was supplemented by “Tesla Girls”, “Talking Loud and Clear”, “Locomotion”, “So In Love”, “If You Leave”, “Sailing On The Seven Seas”, “Pandora’s Box” and many other works.
After a decade-long hiatus, OMD reformed in 2006, and their return was not limited to concerts and performing old hits. The band released four new studio albums, the latest of which – “Bauhaus Staircase” – appeared in 2023. In almost five decades, OMD has sold over 40 million records worldwide and established itself among the most important names in British electronic pop music.
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