the Dark was a formative influence on electronic group Depeche Mode. Original bandleader Vince Clarke (who later founded Yazoo and Erasure) has cited the record as a key inspiration, with the track "Electricity" being his impetus to pursue a career in electronic music. OMD shared a TV studio with rock group ZZ Top during a promotional appearance for the album. ZZ Top subsequently purchased and publicly championed the record, and were inspired to incorporate synthesizers into their own work. Physicist and musician Brian Cox has cited the album as a major influence and one of his all-time favourites. Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys, another act influenced by OMD, declared Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark to be a "great" record. Leftfield sampled "Almost" for their track "Snakeblood" (without attribution), which appeared on the soundtrack of The Beach (2000). Track listing All songs were written by Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, except where noted. Original release Released on LP and compact cassette, the album was well-balanced for playback time, 18:23 on side A and 18:44 on side B. A 1980 French cassette release, offered as part of Collection Chrome high performance line, is notable for using more expensive chromium dioxide tape instead of standard ferric oxide tape. This release quotes slightly different running times, 17:36 and 18:23 respectively. US release (O.M.D.) A 1981 US compilation, also using the band's name as the title of the release, collects material from the first two OMD albums, and uses a differently coloured, non-die cut version of the sleeve-art from the debut LP. Remastered CD release with bonus tracks Virgin / DIDCDR2 Personnel Andy McCluskey – voice, bass, keyboards, electronic drums, drum programming. Paul Humphreys – keyboards, voice, percussion, electronic drums, drum programming. Additional musicians Malcolm Holmes – percussion on "Julia's Song" Martin Cooper – saxophone on "Mystereality" Dave Fairbairn – guitar on "Messages" and "Julia's Song" Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Certifications Notes References External links Album lyrics 1980 debut albums Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark albums Electropop albums