History of Modern

History of Modern is the eleventh studio album by British synthpop band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). It is their first since 1996, and also the first to feature the classic 4-piece OMD line-up since 1986's The Pacific Age. The record was released in the UK on 20 September 2010, peaking at #28. It was a considerable hit in Germany, reaching #5 – the group's highest chart placing for an LP in that country. The album was released in the US on Bright Antenna on 28 September 2010.

The artwork for History of Modern was conceived by Peter Saville and designed by Four23. The title was thought of by lead singer Andy McCluskey after he took his daughter to an art exhibition called 'The History of Modernism'.

A free download demo track taken from the album called "Sister Marie Says" was released on 25 November 2009. Elements of the song were originally composed in 1981 and a reworked version of the track was due to appear on the 1996 album Universal but got shelved because it sounded too much like early OMD and was out of step with the more reflective tone of Universal. The second track to be played from the album was "History of Modern pt.2". It was played on 31 May 2010 on BBC 6 Music; the title of the song was revealed on the shows web page a week before the broadcast. In an interview during the show the band confirmed the album would have two tracks named "History of Modern" on it and plans to change the name of one of the songs to "The Big Bang Theory" had apparently been scrapped. The first single from the album, "If You Want It", was released on 6 September 2010.

History of Modern (Part I)

History of Modern (Part I) is a 2011 EP by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, released March 2, 2011 by 100% in the UK and Bright Antenna in the US. The EP was released as a digital download, CD and 10" record. Released after the 2011 LP History of Modern, it contains remixes as well as B-sides.

Track listings

CD

10"

Note: The tracks "VCR" and "The Grand Deception" appear in reverse order on Side B due to either a printing or pressing error.