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On Sunday a friend and I drove up to Liverpool for the musical event of the year. To celebrate their 40th anniversary, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark staged a couple of special concerts with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
Having checked into our home for the night, a 3 bed terraced house booked through Airbnb, we walked the short distance into the city centre.
Heading for the docks we were confronted by a massive crowd. We climbed up to Liverpool One, which was also packed with thousands looking towards the docks. We could see there more crowds across the docks. What was going on? Asking a local, we discovered everyone was waiting for the giants to appear.
The giants was a parade of massive French puppets that had previously visited the city in 2012 and 2014. Having announced that this was their last appearance, it seemed the whole city was desperate to see them. We managed to spy them as they walked past.
Due to a friend's recommendation, we'd booked a table at the Brazilian Fazenda restaurant. For a one-off fee of £32.50, we enjoyed an all-you-can-eat feast of meat. A number of waiters brought round a selection of beautifully cooked meats including fillet steak, sirloin steak, rump steak, chorizo sausage, gammon steak and pineapple, minty lamb, lamb shank and chicken. The most difficult part was to pace ourselves. The quality was top notch.
Feeling somewhat stuffed to the gills, we made our way to the Philharmonic Hall. Commencing with the beautifully atmospheric Stanlow, the first half consisted of 8 of OMD's more esoteric pieces, the highlight of which was a moving rendition of Sealand.
The second half was more uptempo, starting with Messages. Particular highlights was Joan of Arc, Maid of Orleans and La Femme Accident. Every song was specifically re-arranged for the orchestra from scratch.
Without doubt, this was a fantastic way for OMD to celebrate their 40th anniversary and exceeded my already high expectations. The full running order was:
Stanlow
Statues
Ghost Star
The New Dark Age
Sealand
The Avenue
The Daughter of The Minotaur
The View From Here
Messages
Souvenir
Joan of Arc
Maid of Orleans
All That Glitters
What Have We Done
La Femme Accident
Talking Loud and Clear
Dream of Me
Walking on The Milky Way
Native Daughters of The Golden West
Sailing on The Seven Seas
Enola Gay
Electricity
Romance of The Telescope
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