Ultravox
Ultravox were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven top ten albums and seventeen top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was their 1981 hit "Vienna".
From 1974 until 1979, singer John Foxx was the frontman and the main driving force behind Ultravox. Foxx left the band in March 1979 to embark on a solo career. Midge Ure took over as lead singer, guitarist and frontman after he and keyboardist Billy Currie worked on the studio project Visage. Ure revitalised the band and steered it to commercial chart success lasting until 1987, at which time the group disbanded.
A new line-up, led by Currie, was formed in 1992, but achieved limited success with two albums failing to chart and one solitary single reaching No. 90 on the UK Singles Chart. The band's best-known line-up of Currie, Ure, bassist Chris Cross and drummer Warren Cann re-formed in 2008 and performed a series of shows in 2009 and 2010 before releasing a new studio album, Brill!ant, in May 2012 which reached No. 21 on the UK Albums Chart. In November 2013, Ultravox performed as special guests on a four-date UK arena tour with Simple Minds. These shows proved to be Ultravox's last, as in 2017 both Currie and Ure indicated that Ultravox had run its course.
History
Early years – Tiger Lily: 1974–1976
The band was formed in April 1974 on the initiative of vocalist and songwriter Dennis Leigh, a then Royal College of Art student, and was originally known as Tiger Lily. An initial but incomplete line-up comprised Leigh plus Chris Allen who was then billed as Chris St. John and Stevie Shears, with Warren Cann and Billy Currie joining in May and October 1974 respectively. The group released one single in 1975, "Ain't Misbehavin'", a cover of the Fats Waller song, which featured in a soft porn film. Later, the band went through a series of name changes including The Zips, Fire of London, London Soundtrack, and The Damned, using this last name for a few weeks before discovering that the Damned had already taken it.Experimental years: 1976–1979
''Ultravox!''
On the strength of their live act, the band signed to Island Records in 1976. The group had still not finalised their band name, wanting to make a good and lasting choice. In October 1976, while working on the late stages of their debut album, the band conceived the name “Ultravox!”. At the same time, Leigh chose John Foxx and Allen chose Chris Cross as their respective stage names. In February 1977, Island released their eponymous debut album, Ultravox!.Like many other bands that formed Britain's punk and new wave movements, Ultravox! drew inspiration from the art-school side of glam rock. Musically, Ultravox! were heavily influenced by Roxy Music, the New York Dolls, David Bowie and Kraftwerk. Their debut was co-produced by Steve Lillywhite and Brian Eno. Ultravox!
Ultravox! returned later in 1977 with the punkier Ha! Ha! Ha!. Sales of both the album and its lead single, "ROckWrok", were poor, both failing to register on the UK charts. "ROckWrok" had a punk-lyric chorus, with the words "Come on, let's tangle in the dark/Fuck like a dog, bite like a shark". Although Ha! Ha! Ha! was dominated by guitars and electric violin, the final track, "Hiroshima Mon Amour", was a prototypical synthpop song. One of the first tracks by a British band to feature a drum machine and a tenor saxophone solo played by "c.c." of the band Gloria Mundi. “Hiroshima Mon Amour” signalled a new direction for Ultravox. The energy, anger and popular appeal of punk was fading in 1978, and the more creative UK punk genre talent sought new directions—calling themselves British new wave instead of punk rock artists. "Hiroshima Mon Amour" remains a critics' and fans' favourite from the group's initial period. Ultravox! also performed it on The Old Grey Whistle Test later in 1978.
''Systems of Romance'' and split with John Foxx
In early March 1978, Stevie Shears, whose style of guitar playing was considered a limiting factor, was sacked from the band after they toured England and joined Cowboys International in 1980. He was replaced by Robert Simon, who during his first days with the band changed his performance-name to Robin Simon. Some time in 1978, the group also dropped the exclamation mark, becoming simply "Ultravox". The new line-up performed live at the Reading Festival along with Radio Stars, Penetration, Sham 69, the Pirates and the Jam, playing early versions of "Slow Motion" and "Quiet Men" on 27 August 1978.Their third album, 1978's Systems of Romance, was recorded with producer Conny Plank and engineer Dave Hutchins at Plank's Studio in rural Germany. Musically, the album was markedly different from Ultravox's earlier work, bringing synthesisers to the forefront of the group's sound. Frustrated by too many opinions of how the band should sound, Foxx decided to leave the band and pursue a purer electronic style already at the initial rehearsals for Systems of Romance, but had to await the band's commitments for that album.
Despite some positive reviews and initial sales of over 25 000 copies, Island dropped the band on 31 December 1978. Ultravox embarked on a self-financed US tour in early 1979 and, to their amazement, received an enthusiastic response by the American audience at several sold out venues. But after their final gig near San Francisco in March 1979, Foxx declared his intention to leave the band and pursue a solo career. He gave the remaining members the band name and returned to London. According to Warren Cann it was a mutual decision between the band and Foxx to part ways after repeated quarrels. Simon remained in the US and briefly joined The Futants, a punk band from New York. He later returned to England and teamed up with Howard Devoto to replace guitarist John McGeoch in the band Magazine. The remaining members made their way back to a Britain in the midst of the Winter of Discontent. Island dropped the three Ultravox albums from its catalogue, and released a compilation of highlights from the group's first three albums in 1980, called Three into One.
Foxx subsequently signed to Virgin Records and released his album Metamatic in January 1980. By this time, Billy Currie had been recruited by the rising star Gary Numan in 1979 to do a performance at The Old Grey Whistle Test show with his band Tubeway Army. Numan had been a fan of Ultravox and Currie was also asked to play on Numan's début solo album, The Pleasure Principle, and its subsequent tour. Warren Cann went to work for Zaine Griff, while Chris Cross did some shows with James Honeyman-Scott and Barrie Masters.
Midge Ure years: 1979–1987
With the band seemingly over, Ultravox were then revitalised by Midge Ure, who joined the band as vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist. He had already achieved minor success with semi-glam outfit Slik and Glen Matlock's The Rich Kids, and in 1979, he was temporarily playing with hard rock band Thin Lizzy on their American tour, replacing Gary Moore.Ure and Billy Currie had met while collaborating on Visage, a studio-based band fronted by New Romantic icon and nightclub impresario Steve Strange. Ure and Currie were part of the Visage ensemble on a part-time basis while simultaneously being in Ultravox. During Ure and Currie's tenure, Visage had released two successful albums and had a string of hit singles, but Ure decided to leave in 1982 to concentrate solely on Ultravox. Currie remained with Visage for a while longer, but he too had left them by 1984.
Encouraged by Visage drummer and mutual friend Rusty Egan, Currie asked Ure to join Ultravox. The first material for a prospective new Ultravox record came together quickly and the group decided to tour the US again at the end of 1979. They did so in the hope of being picked up by an American label. Ure knew of Ultravox's past, being a fan of Systems to the point where the new four-piece outfit played songs from that album with Ure singing Foxx's lyrics.
Most of the album that would become Vienna was ready to record by the time Ultravox signed a new record deal with Chrysalis Records. Vienna, heralded a major change of direction and would become their most successful to date, far surpassing any of the previous Ultravox albums. As with Systems of Romance, it was produced by Conny Plank.
Released in July 1980, the Vienna album produced the band's first UK Top 40 hit with "Sleepwalk" reaching No. 29, while the album itself initially peaked at No. 14. A second single, "Passing Strangers", failed to reach the Top 40, only reaching No. 57, but the band achieved a substantial hit with the third single, the album's title track. Accompanied by a highly distinctive video, the single became Ultravox's biggest ever hit, released in January 1981 and peaking at Number 2. On the strength of the single, the album then re-entered the chart and reached No. 3 in early 1981. A fourth single from the album, "All Stood Still", peaked at No. 8. in 1981, and "Slow Motion" from Systems of Romance was also re-issued, reaching No. 33 the same year.
This was soon followed by Rage in Eden, with the band returning to Plank's studio in Cologne for what turned out to be a difficult recording session. Whereas the Vienna material had been performed live a great deal prior to a three-week recording process, Rage in Eden took over three months. The album featured a long track in three parts on the second side. The album peaked at No. 4 in the UK, while two singles from the album, "The Thin Wall" and "The Voice", both made the UK Top 20, reaching No. 14 and No. 16 respectively.
Ultravox teamed up with producer George Martin for 1982's Quartet, which peaked at No. 6 in the UK and contained four Top 20 hit singles; "Reap the Wild Wind" reaching No. 12 and "Hymn" No. 11 both in 1982, and "Visions in Blue" and in 1983 "We Came to Dance" charting at No. 15 and No. 18 respectively. It was their most successful album in the US, peaking at No. 61.
The band undertook a major world tour, the Monument Tour, which was recorded and released as a live LP and video in 1983, which also reached the UK top ten.
Ultravox then decided to produce their next album themselves. 1984's Lament continued the band's run of top ten albums and produced three top 40 hit singles, including the international hit "Dancing with Tears in My Eyes", "Lament" and "One Small Day" peaking at No. 27.
After the "Set Movements Tour" in 1984, a "greatest hits" compilation spanning the band's 1980s output was released entitled The Collection. It was preceded by a new single, "Love's Great Adventure", which enjoyed radio airplay late that year and eventually peaked at No. 12 in the UK, accompanied by a popular Indiana Jones-style spoof video. The Collection went triple Platinum and reached No. 2 in the UK albums chart, the band's highest ever peak.
In November 1984, Ure also co-wrote and produced the Band Aid single "Do They Know It's Christmas?". The four Ultravox-members took a long break from each other, but appeared at Live Aid the following year and played four of their hit singles. Last time they were touring in 1984 they had twenty-two keyboards on stage, and the sound checks alone took five hours, so Ultravox actually chose the songs that they could perform with the least equipment, with no rehearsal and no sound check. With Ultravox being switched in the running order so that Princess Diana could see the Boomtown Rats before leaving Wembley, the start of the Ultravox set was lost to a poor hand-over from an over-running foreign link up. As the concert was never officially archived, this could not be restored to the partial record of the event available on the official DVD. Later in 1985, Ure scored a No. 1 solo hit with "If I Was" and his solo album The Gift reached No. 2 in the UK.
During the time Midge was away working with his solo album and tour, Cann, Currie and Cross recorded demos to a forthcoming album. They recorded the track "Ukraine" which is available on Currie's 1991 solo album Stand up and Walk.
Ure later said that when he came back they were all working in different directions. In a band meeting before the new recording began in 1986, Warren Cann was dismissed from the band due to musical differences. Ure said 1986: "After the two year break the differences that might have been very small two years ago, had magnified during that time, we had grown apart. It seemed like we could not work with him."
Ultravox recorded the U-Vox album with Big Country's Mark Brzezicki on drums in Plank's studio in Germany. The U-Vox album, released in October 1986, was later described by Ure as "unfocused". Although it continued their string of top ten albums in the UK, its singles showed declining chart results: "Same Old Story" peaking at No. 31, and "All Fall Down" at No. 30 in 1986, with "All in One Day" reaching only No. 88 in 1987. In 1987, Ultravox decided not to continue after the U-Vox tour and split up.
Currie signed a deal with IRS Records and recorded a solo album. Cross retired from the music business to become a psychotherapist. Cann later moved to Los Angeles to work in the movie business. Currie and Robin Simon reunited in 1989 as the short-lived Humania, performing live shows, but never making a release until 2006, the album Sinews of the Soul.