He is best known as the lead singer and bass guitarist of the electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), which he founded alongside keyboard player Paul Humphreys in 1978: McCluskey has been the group's sole constant member.

[3][4][5][6][7] He met Paul Humphreys at Great Meols Primary School,[8] in Elwyn Road, and played with him in several bands, including Hitlerz Underpantz, VCL XI and the Id.

[14] Music Week asserted that McCluskey has an "immense talent for writing perfect pop songs",[17] while Q's Debbi Voller called him a "master of melody".

[20] McCluskey has gained the admiration of fellow musicians including Paul McCartney,[21] The Teardrop Explodes's David Balfe,[22] The Time Frequency's Jon Campbell,[23] and Kraftwerk's Karl Bartos, who hailed him as "such an excellent songwriter".

[24] Joy Division and New Order co-founder Peter Hook viewed McCluskey as "really underrated... for what he did with Orchestral Manoeuvres but also those pop songs he wrote for Atomic Kitten.

"[25] Vince Clarke (co-founder of Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Erasure) described McCluskey's as a "really good voice" and noted OMD as a "huge influence".

[26] The Human League and Heaven 17 co-founder, Martyn Ware, referred to "the great Andy McCluskey", labelling him a "true pioneer of electronic pop music".

[28][29] 2007 saw the first tour of the reformed band, including Martin Cooper and Malcolm Holmes, commemorating the twenty-sixth anniversary of the release of their seminal album Architecture & Morality.

[39][41][42] The Scotsman hailed McCluskey's dancing as "legendary",[36] while The Times said that he "deserves credit for making it an integral part of the OMD brand... You can fault his skill, but not his tireless enthusiasm.

"[43] Rock group ZZ Top were noted admirers of McCluskey's dancing, incorporating elements of the routine into their own live show.

[27] No Doubt bassist and OMD fan, Tony Kanal, said in 2012, "McCluskey is the singer and he also plays bass, which is [an] incredibly difficult way to multi-task.

[51] McCluskey subsequently formed the White Noise records and publishing label where he worked with Liverpool girl group, the Genie Queen.

Some of his collaborators include: Gary Barlow, with whom McCluskey wrote the song "Thrill Me" for the soundtrack of the film Eddie the Eagle (2016);[53] The Lightning Seeds, for whom he played keyboards on their debut album Cloudcuckooland (1990);[54] and Karl Bartos, whose record Esperanto (1993) – released under the Elektric Music moniker – features McCluskey as co-writer on "Show Business" and "Kissing the Machine" (and as lead vocalist on the latter track).