The Pacific Age

The Pacific Age
Studio album by
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Released29 September 1986 (1986-09-29)
Recorded1985–1986
Studio
Genre
Length40:18
Label
ProducerStephen Hague
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark chronology
Crush
(1985) 		The Pacific Age
(1986) 		The Best of OMD
(1988)
Singles from The Pacific Age
  1. "(Forever) Live and Die"
    Released: 26 August 1986
  2. "We Love You"
    Released: 10 November 1986
  3. "Shame"
    Released: 13 April 1987

The Pacific Age is the seventh studio album by English electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released on 29 September 1986 by Virgin Records. It was the last of two OMD studio albums produced by Stephen Hague, after Crush (1985). The record exhibits the same refined production values as its predecessor while venturing into the realm of mid-1980s sophisti-pop, retreating further from the group's experimental beginnings.

Working under increasing record label pressure and weathering a creative drought, the band committed each new song to the album with limited deliberation. The Pacific Age met with largely negative reviews, but has received some favourable attention in retrospective album listings. It was a Top 20 entry in the UK, Canada and New Zealand, as well as in multiple European countries. Lead single "(Forever) Live and Die" became the group's second Top 20 hit in the US.

Recording sessions for The Pacific Age were fraught with conflict and debauchery. It would be the last OMD studio album for five years, and the last to feature co-founder Paul Humphreys until 2010's History of Modern. The record is held in low esteem by OMD, with frontman Andy McCluskey calling it the band's "musical nadir".

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference GGS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kelly1986 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Niasseri, Sassan (2 November 2019). "OMD im Porträt: Zurück nach Orléans". Rolling Stone (in German). Retrieved 2 February 2023.