The Carnival of the Animals and xylophone. From the beginning, Saint-Saëns regarded the work as a piece of fun. On 9 February 1886 he wrote to his publishers Durand in Paris that he was composing a work for the coming Shrove Tuesday, and confessing that he knew he should be working on his Third Symphony, but that this work was "such fun" (). He had apparently intended to write the work for his students at the École Niedermeyer, but it was first performed at a private concert given by the cellist Charles Lebouc on Shrove Tuesday, 9 March 1886. A second (private) performance was given
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (album) from the first two OMD albums, and uses an alternately colored, non-die cut version of the sleeve-art from the debut LP. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (album) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark is the self-titled debut album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, released in 1980. It peaked at number 27 in the UK Albums Chart. "Electricity" and "Red Frame/White Light" were low charting singles taken from the record. A re-recorded version of "Messages" provided OMD with their first hit in the UK, reaching number 13. The album was remastered and re-released in 2003, with six bonus tracks. The record