I’ve seen OMD play at the Royal Albert Hall a couple of times and it’s quite a sight to behold. But, having missed their March 2022 Atmospherics & Greatest Hits set, I’ve been listening back to the live recording on Spotify. The group are strong: Martin Cooper’s bass on Julia’s Song and Stuart Kershaw’s drums on The Romance Of The Telescope being particular highlights.
What also struck me was just how great Andy McCluskey is at between-song banter. “Just because it’s the Albert Hall, don’t be dignified,” he says before Messages, trying to get the crowd off their seats and onto their feet. He was still cajoling them a few songs later over the intro to So In Love: “Are you so worried about dropping your phone, you don’t want to dance?!”