AN exhibition of equipment used by Wirral synth-pop pioneers Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark has gone on display at the Museum of Liverpool ahead of the band's two shows at the riverside venue.

The special performances will take place on November 1 and 2, in the museum's 550-capacity Atrium.

The set will include greatest hits, tracks from their 1983 album Dazzle Ships album and one song which has never been performed live.

To coincide with the shows, artefacts from the band's early days are on display.

Among them is Winston, the four-track tape recorder which played a key role in the band's development.

Also on view is their Roland CR-78 drum machine, which provided the distinctive rhythm pattern throughout their 1980 hit, Enola Gay.

The original poster for the release of Electricity on Factory Records in 1979 will also be displayed.

It was created by OMD's co-founder Andy McCluskey in his art student days, but was never used, as the band preferred the designs of graphic artist Peter Saville, notable for his work with Factory Records.

There is currently a Dazzle Ship in front of the Museum Of Liverpool, as part of centenary commeorations for First World War. 

Renowned artist Carlos Cruz-Diez worked with the idea of dazzle using the historic Edmund Gardner pilot ship owned and conserved by the Merseyside Maritime Museum. The work has been realised by painters from Cammell Laird.

As there is a Dazzle Ship outside the museum, the band felt it appropriate to recognise this with shows. 

Andy McCluskey told the Globe: "It started with an idea that when we heard the ship was being 'dazzle-painted' we wanted to put some 'musique complex' in the engine room.

The museum very kindly said ‘would you like to do anymore?’.

"So we just kept taking and they kept offering and it’s turned into this whole weekend of concerts, music in the ship and curating a little film festival, Dazzle Films and our history behind glass in the Atrium display case, which is quite scary.

"It's scary to see things from your youth in a museum behind glass. Some of the things we haven't seen for decades and have just been rediscovered in boxes in the attic.

"For instance, there are posters from 1979 which never got used, because we started working with Peter Saville, who was a much better designer than I was.

"There are also some of our early vinyl sleeves, because of course no one listens to vinyl anymore; and Winston, our third original member.

"Winston will be disappearing and re-appearing from the display case, because he's got to do some rehearsing and has, probably as we will need actually, a bit of maintenance."

Paul Gallagher, Museum of Liverpool's acting senior curator of urban history, said: "OMD have a special place in Liverpool's cultural history, and we wanted to put objects on display that would reflect the band's journey and development."