OMD at Bristol Beacon review: Legendary 1980s stars left speechless by fans' reaction

“Wow, look at this place … but just because it’s new doesn’t mean we can’t mess it up,” grinned Andy McCluskey as he bounded on stage at the still-fresh and new Bristol Beacon. 

Within seconds, he had the sell-out crowd on their feet, out of their seats and dancing - and they didn’t stop until OMD left the stage 115 minutes later.

The iconic synth band from Merseyside first performed in the building when it was the Colston Hall as support to Gary Numan in 1979. Forty five years on (and 40 million records sold) and they are enjoying a well deserved renaissance and selling out some of the country’s largest venues. 

As well as McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, keyboardist Martin Cooper remains from the original line-up and they get strong support from ace drummer Stuart Kershaw, who has worked with the band since the 1990s.

Their brilliant musicianship is matched by one of the most memorable lighting and visual displays I’ve ever seen - it was up there with Kraftwerk’s jaw-dropping 3D show at the venue eight years ago.

The band peppered the set with songs from new album Bauhaus Staircase and Anthropocene, Kleptocracy and Don’t Go were received as well as the old hits.

While Humphreys is happier behind his keyboard on the illuminated podium, fellow 64-year-old McCluskey is a boundless ball of energy and he didn’t stop dancing for the duration of the set, even when he was playing bass guitar and singing. 

His unique dance style - arms flailing like windmills and body jerking - remains a focal point of his performance but his voice sounds stronger than ever.

OMD are one of the few bands of the 80s who can fill an entire set with hit singles and apart from a handful of new songs, it was back-to-back classics for almost two hours.

They dug deep into their back catalogue for Messages and dusted off crowd favourites like (Forever) Live and Die, Tesla Girls, Sailing on The Seven Seas and If You Leave (from the 1986 film Pretty in Pink).

But it was the big hits and stone cold classics Souvenir, Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans) and Enola Gay that took the show to a different level.

The deafening reaction to Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans) clearly moved McCluskey and Humphreys who seemed genuinely lost for words due to the fans' response.

“Here’s a new song…from 1991,” joked a sweat-drenched McCluskey as the band launched into Pandora’s Box during the well-deserved encore before finishing with their 1979 debut single Electricity.

It was a song they first performed in the same venue as fresh-faced musicians setting out on their journey. Little did they know they would still be selling out venues to new audiences 45 years later. This was simply a magnificent gig and OMD have never sounded better.