WIRRAL LIFE TALK TO OMD BY MARIE FITZSIMMONS
W L INTERVIEW
WIRRAL LIFE TALK TO OMD BY MARIE FITZSIMMONS
Where did it all begin ? In the back room of 3 Frankby Rd Meols when Paul ’ s mother was out at work on Saturdays . I was 16 and he was 15 years old . I had German import albums and Paul had a stereo that he had built himself . We developed a mutual love of alternative electronic music and tried in a financially impoverished way to emulate our heroes .
Was a career in music always your plan ? Neither of us had any dreams nor aspirations of a career in music . I had plans to got to university to do a fine art degree , and Paul was studying electronics . Most of our friends didn ’ t really like the music we were making so that we didn ’ t ever anticipate that we could make a living from it .
You ’ ve just released your 14th studio album ‘ Bauhaus Staircase ’. What has been the inspiration for this album ? There is no overriding theme to the album , but in hindsight it seems to capture me contemplating our place on the planet during a time of global pandemic . For better . And for worse ! Songs of love . Songs of frustration and anger . And songs of joy and empathy .
You started this project when lockdown hit , how hard was it to complete with you both living in different countries ? We certainly prefer to work initially in the same room . It is good to spark off each other creatively . Obviously , that was impossible due to Covid . We were lucky that I had upgraded my music computer system just before the pandemic and it was an exact twin of Paul ' s . This allowed us to send complete song files back and forward from Wirral to the South of France where Paul cleverly managed to get himself locked down !
You ’ re headed out on a UK and European tour in 2024 . What is your favourite city to perform in , of course you ’ re going to say Liverpool but ...? Liverpool will always have a intense emotional connection when we play live . It is also the one with most pressure as the venue will be full of family and friends . Honestly , there is no one place that is a favourite . When we finish a tour there will always be recollections of certain nights when the atmosphere was amazing . But on the next tour those places will usually be in different cities . There is no logic to it . The most important thing is that we give 100 % every night .
Will you be playing the greatest hits whilst on tour ? Of course we will play all the hits . We feel that there is an obligation to let people hear the songs that they enjoy , and that we have been blessed to have become so remembered .
If you could collaborate with anyone from the past or present , who and why ? The honest truth is that Paul and I are self taught . We can only play our own songs . We can ' t read or write music and frankly , I would feel intimidated to try to write or play with other people . Imagine how terrified we felt standing in front of 70 brilliantly trained musicians when we played with the RLPO ?
If you were approached by any current artists to cover your songs , who would you say yes to ? Haha ... anyone who would sell loads . Adele would do nicely !
You wrote ' If You Leave ' for the 80 ' s hit movie ' Pretty in Pink ', did you really write it in one day ? Yes we did ! We arrived in Los Angeles with a 2 inch master tape ready to mix a song that we had created at home , only to be informed by director
John Hughes that they had completely changed the ending of the movie and the track did not work lyrically . We had one day before our tour started so we booked a studio and got very lucky that the song we wrote became such a huge hit in the USA .
What are your processes for songwriting ? The music always comes first . I often collect ideas for titles , and subject matter but never write the words and vocal melody until we have music that we feel works or inspires . Everything is created on computer now . All of the instruments and drums are programmed . Once the recording is completed and mixed , we then have to work out how four of us will actually be able to play it live .
The red phone box in Meols has become something of an icon in the OMD legacy ( recently saved by a public campaign ), do you remember the number ? 632 3003 ! We actually got into trouble because I sang the number in the song ' Red Frame White Light '. Of course people started phoning the number but not adding the Merseyside 051 prefix . Some poor women in Edinburgh who had the same last 7 digits threatened to sue us as she was receiving so many calls . The ' Friends of 6323003 ' have done a great job . We are eternally grateful .
You ’ ve a huge back catalogue including hits but when writing new music how do you know if it ’ s one for the album ? It takes time these days . We trust ourselves editorially if we have enough time to collect a strong group of songs . Believe me not everything we write is gold . We have a lot of pieces that never make it and don ' t get heard by anyone .
What is your favourite song on the new album ? I love singing Veruschka . We will definitely be playing that track on tour .
Which album are you most proud of ? The first four were all wonderful in different ways . Lots of naive confidence of youth . Sugartax from 1991 , and I have to say that I am also incredibly proud of the last two new albums . All of the others had some very good songs on them but were not as consistent as the ones that I have just mentioned .
Are you planning any further albums ? Not right now . Let ' s see how we feel in 2025 when we have finished touring with this one . I honestly didn ' t expect that we would make Bauhaus Staircase . I just had nothing else to do during the lockdowns !
When you ’ re not writing or touring what do you do to occupy yourselves ? I am a Trustee with National Museums Liverpool which I adore . It is wonderful to be a small part of supporting the creative institutions that inspired and educated me when I was a teenager . I love walking in Wirral . What a great place that we are so lucky to live in . Paul became dad again two years ago so he is still busy changing nappies ! Haha ..
Any guilty pleasures ? If ever I ' m a bit down ... which is not very often , my guilty pleasure to cheer myself up is to watch the highlights of Liverpool 4 - Barcelona 0 . That never gets old . wirrallife . com 27