Andy McCluskey

George Andrew "Andy" McCluskey (born 24 June 1959 in Heswall, Wirral, Merseyside) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer who is regarded as a pioneer of electronic music in the United Kingdom. McCluskey is widely recognized as the frontman of globally successful new wave band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), but is also known as the founder of girl group Atomic Kitten. An Ivor Novello Award-nominated songwriter, he wrote or co-wrote multiple international hits, including: "Enola Gay", "Joan of Arc", "Maid of Orleans", "If You Leave" and "Sailing on the Seven Seas" for OMD; and "Right Now", "See Ya", "Whole Again" and "Cradle" for Atomic Kitten.

McCluskey has been described by critic Ned Raggett in AllMusic as an artist "who clearly could balance artistic and commercial impulses in a winning fashion." His distinctive, self-deprecating on-stage routine was dubbed the "Trainee Teacher Dance" by the BBC's Stuart Maconie, who wrote that it became "the dance-floor routine of choice" for students in the early-to-mid 1980s. In live performances, McCluskey often plays bass guitar (with strings inverted) and occasionally, keyboard instruments and guitar; he continues performing with OMD to the present day.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English new wave/synthpop group formed in 1978, whose founding members, Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals), are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England. While steadily eschewing pop star status, the band cultivated a fanbase in the United Kingdom from 1978–1980. They gained popularity throughout Europe with the 1980 single "Enola Gay", and achieved broader recognition via album Architecture & Morality (1981) and its singles. OMD garnered acclaim for their experimental recordings, which are noted for their intellectual depth.

Although retrospectively lauded, the challenging Dazzle Ships (1983) eroded European consumer interest during the mid 1980s; Junk Culture (1984) marked a shift toward more pop-oriented songwriting. Concurrently, OMD reached their peak in the United States and had a major hit with 1986's "If You Leave", written for the film Pretty in Pink. Humphreys departed in 1989 with Martin Cooper (various instruments) and Malcolm Holmes (drums) to form The Listening Pool, leaving McCluskey to lead the outfit; Sugar Tax (1991) and its initial singles were sizeable hits in Europe. By the mid 1990s, however, synthpop had become unfashionable amid the guitar oriented musical climate, and McCluskey dissolved the band in 1996, months after their last successful single, "Walking on the Milky Way". He founded pop group Atomic Kitten in 1998.

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Paul Humphreys

Paul David Humphreys (born 27 February 1960, in London) is a British musician and songwriter who serves as the keyboardist, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of synthpop band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). The pairing of Humphreys and co-founder Andy McCluskey remains the group's most recognized visual identifier, with both being regarded as pioneers of electronic music in the United Kingdom. John Doran in The Quietus remarked: "If, roughly speaking, McCluskey is the intellect and inquisitive nature in the group, then Humphreys is the heart."

Humphreys fulfilled his role from the group's inception in 1978 to his 1989 departure, seven years before their disbandment, and returned for their 2006 reformation. His songwriting contribution features on all of OMD's studio albums, save for 1991's Sugar Tax. He performed lead vocals on several of the band's singles, including "Electricity" (in unison with McCluskey), "Souvenir", "Never Turn Away", "Secret" and "(Forever) Live and Die". A number of album tracks and B-sides were also sung by Humphreys. He became the frontman of now-defunct spin-off group The Listening Pool in 1989, and was the keyboardist for the band Onetwo 2000-2013.

ITV News Granada Reports

Granada Reports is a regional news programme for North West England and the Isle of Man, produced by ITV Granada.

Overview

Granada Reports is produced and broadcast from studios in the Orange Tower at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays, with the first bulletin being broadcast from the new facilities on 24 March 2013. Before this, the news service was based at Granada's studios in Quay Street, Manchester. Reporters are also based at newsrooms in the Royal Liver Building, Liverpool, Lancaster and on the Isle of Man. News staff were also based at offices in Blackburn and Chester until they were closed in 2005.

Prior to its launch in 1973, the nightly news programme had been known under several titles such as Northern Newscast, Scene at Six Thirty and People and Places. Between 2 January 1990 and 28 September 2001, the main evening programme was known as Granada Tonight (which utilised a variation of American company Hearst Television's standardised graphics from October 1998 up until September 2001). Shorter bulletins aired as Granada News. Most bulletins now air under the joint branding of ITV News and Granada Reports with breakfast bulletins entitled Good Morning Granada.