OMD NEWS : THE ID EP

14th December 2002

Good news: The Id EP has finally been launched and is now available via the OMD Merchandise Section.

This CD features 3 tracks recorded by the pre-OMD band The Id in 1978 at the Open Eye studio in Liverpool. This was the first time that Electricity, Julia's Song and The Misunderstanding had been recorded and features, certainly in the case of The Misunderstanding, radical and different versions of the songs. You can hear samples of the songs via the Downloads page.

The Id at the time were the 'Mark II' outfit which featured Paul Humphreys, Andy McCluskey, Steve Hollas, Gary Hodgson and Mal Holmes. You can read interviews with former Id members on the OMD site via these links:

Visit the OMD Merchandise Section for details on ordering the The Id CD. Although we cannot guarantee (certainly for overseas fans) delivery of the CD's prior to Christmas, we will try our best to get orders delivered as soon as possible. However, please do allow 28 days for delivery.

As ever, Messages Subscribers can order The Id CD - with a 10% discount - via the Messages order pages.

16th November 2002

An update on the forthcoming Id EP: Many thanks to all those that submitted votes but the poll suggests that the numbers do not justify a vinyl release, despite the interest. This means that The Id EP will be issued solely on a CD format.

The good news is that you can now listen to excerpts from The Id EP. Click on the links below to hear the samples:

To play the tracks you will need the latest version of Real Player installed, available by clicking on the graphic to the left or by going directly to www.real.com

15th October 2002

An update on The Id EP: The plan is to make the three track CD available via the OMD Website prior to Christmas.

The tracks have been cleaned up as best as they can be, although Andy isn't entirely happy with Electricity which still has some slight stereo phase incoherence. But this is due to the age of the original recordings.

The suggestion of also releasing The Id EP as a limited edition 7" vinyl release has also been put forward. What do you think of this idea? Vote in the OMD Poll on the News page.

23rd January 2002

Gary Hodgson - former guitar player with The Id - is featured in the latest entry in our Id Interviews. Click here to read Gary's recollections of the pioneering pre-OMD band.

Some slight updates to the OMD Discography including the entries for the debut album Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark.

4th January 2002

The long-awaited release of The ID EP should become a reality once work has finished on cleaning up the original tracks.

4th July 2001

With the planned release of The Id EP, we've tracked down former Id member Steve Hollas for an interview. Click here to read about Steve's memories of The Id days.

4th June 2001

With the forthcoming release of The Id EP, Andy has been back in touch with the former band members, including Gary Hodgson, The Id's guitarist (and later OMD keyboard tech), who is now acting as technical support for Oasis on their US tour as well as working with Mal Holmes, and Steve Hollas who is back in the UK after spending some time in Canada. Meanwhile, Mal Holmes continues to blaze his own trail with his internet-based music company Fin Music.

30th May 2001

Plans are already underway for a new CD which will feature 3 tracks recorded in 1978 by the pre-OMD band The Id. The Id at the time were the 'Mark II' outfit which featured Paul Humphreys, Andy McCluskey, Steve Hollas, Gary Hodgson and Mal Holmes.

This was the first time that Electricity, The Misunderstanding and Julia's Song had been recorded in a studio, during a session at the Open Eye studio in Liverpool. Julia's Song has already featured on the 1979 compilation album Street To Street.

A release date for the CD has not been finalised, but it could well be before the end of the year.