Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Birmingham Symphony Hall - review

None of this OMD stuff, thank you very much. I'm old school.

And speaking of old school, there's something very 'geography teacher at the Christmas do' about Andy McCluskey's, errr, intense dancing style.

But what the hell - it's worked for him for nearly 40 years, so why stop now?

Especially when your tunes have stood the test of time as well as this.

An evening peppered with some of the most memorable British pop tunes of the last century, with the added bonus of quality new material thrown in. What's not to like?

Not much, judging by the ecstatic reaction of the sold-out Symphony Hall. On its feet from song two and struggling to keep pace an hour and 40 minutes later. Hit after hit rained down from early on; the outstanding Messages, Souvenir, Joan of Arc, Maid of Orleans and more.

Starry-eyed and still in good nick, McCluskey was on top crowd-pleasing form, even if he did mess up JoA 'for the first time in b****y years'.

It all built up to epic set closer Enola Gay and one of THE classic synthesiser hooks known to mankind. After a quick break the band returned for an encore of 'If You leave' from iconic eighties flick Pretty in Pink. Somewhere, you'd like to think Molly Ringwald was nodding her ginger-haired approval.

Ending the set with Electricity, Andy McCluskey challenged the forty-something crowd to keep up with him.

They managed it, just about, but will be feeling it for days - in such a good way.