It's rather sad and surprising that 30 years on OMD are thought to be the lighter, less serious, version of "better" bands. What's not though is that 30 years on I still listen to OMD records on a fairly regular basis whereas Depeche Mode and New Order almost never.

Depeche Mode and New Order existed to be danced to at very loud volumes in sweaty nightclubs. That's why there was such a proliferation of 12" mixes of their biggest songs. OMD are a much more cerebral band than either of these other two.

I think the problem with OMD is the Simple Minds syndrome. Both bands had a brilliant opening run of about 4 or 5 albums right out of the gate, making music that used synthesisers to some degree, OMD more so, but I wouldn't have thrown either band under the bus called synth-pop a label as damning as it is enlightening.

Then came for both bands, at almost exactly the same time, the big North American chart topper in "So In Love" and "Don't You Forget About Me" and "click!" both bands almost immediately lost much of their long time fanbase, myself included, and within a couple of years were for all intents and purposes finished as a money making entity. And now they're both seen, on this side of the pond as one-hit wonders.

Around 1982/1983 I would have had both these bands at the top of my critical list. OMD's 3rd album "Architecture and Morality" is one of my all-time faves and has lost nothing with the passage of 30 years. There is a lush organic quality to their so called electro-pop that looks ahead to the sound of bands like Boards of Canada and Aphex Twin. It has a romanticism that is sorely lacking in bands who were lumped with them at the time like Ultravox, Gary Numan & The Tubeway Army and the Human League.

My comments re Bill Frisell will follow.