A red telephone box that stands on the corner of a residential street is regarded as a piece of Merseyside history by those who fought to save it.
If you happen to be passing Greenwood Road in Meols, Wirral, and notice a gang of 40 to 60-year-olds loitering outside a telephone box, don't be alarmed. It'll no doubt be a gathering of music fans, some of who may well have travelled thousands of miles to be there.
The history of this red telephone box is inextricably linked to Merseyside band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). Before finding fame, the members of the pioneering '80s electronic synth-pop group once used the telephone box as a makeshift office.
It was here that two of OMD's founding members, Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys would make and receive calls to their manager. It also happens to be the place where they found out their third single, Messages, had gone into the Top 20 of the UK music charts.
OMD formed in Wirral in 1978. Now regarded as pioneers of electronic music, they became central figures in the late 1970s/early 1980s emergence of electronic music.
Chances are, even if you're not a fan of OMD but are of a certain age, you will be familiar with their single Enola Gay which reached number eight in the UK charts in 1980, but went to number one in Italy, Spain and Portugal. The band further immortalized the phone in their second single Red Frame/White Light, which included the box’s phone number, 632 3003, as part of the lyrics.
Due to its inclusion in their songs and use as a base of operations for the band, the phone box gained a cult following. Fans of the band would phone the number only for confused locals to pick up.
In 2017, BT took away the box because it had almost completely fallen out of use. This caused uproar with the band's fans who saw the phone box as an integral part of the band's history.
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They petitioned the company for the box's return on the basis it had become an important monument to British electronic music. Due to the protestations of fans, the phone box was returned to its original spot two-months later.
Fans of the band still make pilgrimages to Wirral to visit the bright red box. One such fan, Christine Hall, lives in Washington DC and made the 3,500 mile trip to Meols back in October 2021.
Christine told the ECHO: "The OMD phone box would not have been saved and resurrected as a museum and landmark if not for the heroic action of local fans, starting with Paul Hamblet, who witnessed it being unceremoniously carted away (to a phone box graveyard). All concerned worked hard to get it reinstated in its rightful place and transform it into the colourful, remarkable attraction it is today - for fans and for anyone interested in Wirral history."
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Since the box was reinstated, it was given a make-over by John Petch, the band’s cover artist. One of the campaigners, Stephanie McCahill, 51, is also now in charge with looking after the street corner monument.
Stephanie said: "The phone box is so important to fans because of the connection with the band. It has become a pilgrimage for many OMD fans.
"There are five pre-recorded messages from Andy McCluskey within the phone box. These welcome visitors to the phone box and give a short history and details of the band’s association with it."
Stephanie added: "I have loved OMD since I was about nine-years-old. I was aware they were local - being a Hoylake girl - and loved their experimental electronic sound."
Stephanie, as well as other campaigners, have fundraised to help covert the phone box into a mini museum of OMD. She added: "We have painted it, replaced the windows, added art work, installed an original pay phone inside and had a mosaic floor added which depicts the Red Frame/White Light record sleeve design. We even have a blue plaque which was paid for by a very generous fan!"
Stephanie and the rest of the campaigners have even set up a Facebook group 'Friends of 632 3003' to help maintain the iconic landmark. Fans of OMD can help keep up to date with the latest information, including fundraising, by clicking here .
Also heavily involved in the campaign to save the monument was OMD founder member Andy McCluskey. Andy told the ECHO: "The phone box was essentially the OMD office in the late 70s and early 80s as neither Paul nor myself had telephones in our parents' houses.
"It was from the box that we contacted the music paper's gig guides to let them know when and where we were playing. Also it was from where I called our manager in late May 1980 to discover that we had our first hit single with the song Messages.
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"I began the dash to Paul's (OMD member Paul Humphrey) house but he was on his way to the phone box. I remember that we ran into each other on the corner of Banks Avenue across the road for the Railway Inn pub. We are literally holding each other and jumping for joy outside the old sweet shop on Birkenhead Road!"
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On saving the phone box and having it reinstated on Greenwood Road, Andy said: "Naturally, I was delighted that the phone box returned but it has been the work of the 'Friends of 632 3003' that has made into something very special. It is now Britain's equal smallest museum".
He added: "It's been a remarkable journey. In July 2019 it was graced with a Blue Plaque in recognition of the place that it held in helping to make our band a success. I could never have imagined that back in 1978!"
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