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Ultravox
Ultravox (earlier styled as 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 frontman and the main driving force behind Ultravox. Foxx left the band in March 1979 to embark on a solo career and, following his departure, Midge Ure officially took over as lead singer, guitarist and frontman on 1st November 1979 (despite writing and rehearsing with the band from April of that year) after he and keyboardist Billy Currie worked in 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 90 in the UK Singles Chart. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midge Ure
James Ure (born 10 October 1953) is a Scottish musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim, the diminutive form of his actual name. Ure enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980s in bands including Slik, Thin Lizzy, Rich Kids and Visage, and as the frontman of Ultravox. In 1984, he co-wrote and produced the charity single " Do They Know It's Christmas?", which has sold 3.7 million copies in the UK. The song is the second highest-selling single in UK chart history. Ure co-organised Band Aid, Live Aid and Live 8 with Bob Geldof. He acts as a trustee for the charity and also serves as an ambassador for Save the Children. Ure is the producer and writer of several other synth-pop and new wave hit singles of the 1980s, including " Fade to Grey" (1980) by Visage and the Ultravox signature songs "Vienna" (1980) and " Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" (1984). He achieved his first UK top 10 solo hit in 1982 with " No ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vienna (Ultravox Song)
"Vienna" is a song by British new wave band Ultravox from their 1980 fourth studio album of the same name. It was released as the album's third single on 9 January 1981 by Chrysalis Records and features Midge Ure singing the lead vocal. The song is regarded as a staple of the synth-pop genre that was popularised in the early 1980s. The song was also performed at the 1985 Live Aid concert in Wembley Stadium. It remains Ultravox's signature song, being their most commercially successful release and is often performed live by Ure in solo performances. Background "Vienna" was written in January 1980. The song features a dramatic grand piano in the verses and chorus, and a viola solo in the middle of the song. Other sounds include a solid synth bass line played on a MiniMoog, an Elka string synthesiser and a Roland CR-78 drum machine. The drum machine pattern created by Warren Cann was the basis of the song. Then, Cann and the classically trained Billy Currie together wanted to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brilliant (album)
''Brilliant'' (stylised as ''Brill!ant'') is the eleventh and final studio album by British synth-pop band Ultravox, released on 25 May 2012 by Chrysalis Records. It is the group's first studio album in 18 years, and the first in 28 years from the "classic" Ultravox line-up of Midge Ure, consisting of Billy Currie, Warren Cann and Chris Cross (the last being 1984's ''Lament''). The title track was released as its lead single, and premiered on 17 April 2012 on BBC Radio 2. ''Brilliant'' debuted at number 21 on the UK Albums Chart, selling 6,100 copies in its first week. It received mixed reviews from critics. Background Ure said in 2012: "We did get along on the reunion tour brilliantly and decided to make an album. It is such a weird thing to do what we did, to lock yourself away like we did in Canada, with no one else around. It was just Billy, Chris and I. Warren had commitments in Los Angeles and he didn't have to be part of it until later on. We were in the middle of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Currie
William Lee Currie (born 1 April 1950 ) is a British multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter from , . He is best known as the keyboard and strings player with new wave band , who achieved their greatest commercial success in the 1980s. Biography Currie was bor ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stevie Shears
Stevie Shears (born 1954/1955) is an English musician known for playing in the rock bands Tiger Lily and Ultravox! (later Ultravox), as well as being part of the bands Faith Global and Cowboys International. Biography Tiger Lily and Ultravox! Working in a paint factory and playing in different bands in Dagenham, Essex, he made contact with John Foxx and formed Tiger Lily in 1973 (together with bassist Chris Cross). Later, Tiger Lily changed its name to Ultravox! (later known simply as Ultravox). Between February and March 1978, after releasing with this band the ''Ultravox!'' (early 1977) and ''Ha! Ha! Ha!'' (1977) albums Shears was replaced by Robin Simon. Post-Ultravox! bands After Ultravox!, Shears formed a band with his friend Ice, real name Roland Oxland, bassist of Gloria Mundi. Gloria Mundi and Ultravox! were friends from the UK live music scene. Gloria Mundi featured Eddie Maelov and Sunshine Patterson who, as Eddie & Sunshine, would support Ultravox on their 1981 Ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warren Cann
Warren Reginald Cann (born 20 May 1950 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) is a Canadian drummer, drum machine programmer and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the British new wave band Ultravox, for which he was one of the main songwriters. Biography Early life The son of two British immigrants, he began to be interested in electronics while he was at school.http://www.ultravox.org.uk/ImageFolio31_files/media/Gigography/Helden/Helden-prog.pdf After playing in bands in Vancouver, he came to Britain in 1972, where he found a more creative environment. He established himself in London, where he formed his first band, along with Huw Lloyd-Langton, future Hawkwind member, on guitar and Rob Rawlinson, later in Overnight Angels, on bass. Ultravox and other contemporary works Shortly thereafter, Cann contacted John Foxx, who invited Cann to join his fledgling band Tiger Lily with bassist Chris Cross and guitarist Stevie Shears. The band recorded sole single ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Foxx
John Foxx (born Dennis Leigh; 26 September 1948) is an English singer, musician, artist, photographer, graphic designer, writer, teacher and lecturer. He was the original lead singer of the new wave band Ultravox, before leaving to embark on a solo career in 1980 with the album '' Metamatic''. Primarily associated with electronic synthesizer music, he has also pursued a parallel career in graphic design and education. Andy Kellman of AllMusic described Foxx as an influential cult figure whose "detached, jolting vocal style inspired mainstream and underground artists across the decades." Early life and education Leigh was born in Chorley, Lancashire, England. His father was a coal miner and pugilist, his mother a millworker. He attended St Mary's Primary and St Augustine's Secondary schools. During his youth in the 1960s he embraced the lifestyle of a mod and a hippy. He experimented with tape recorders and synthesisers while on a scholarship at the Royal College of Art in L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chris Cross
Chris Cross (born Christopher Thomas Allen, 14 July 1952, Tottenham, London) is an English musician, best known as the bass guitarist in the new wave band Ultravox. Biography Early years Cross went to Belmont Secondary Modern School, William Forster Comprehensive. He began his music career playing in different bands, in Tottenham, North London, with his major early influences being Small Faces, Desmond Dekker, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Later he joined Stoned Rose, in Preston, Lancashire, alongside Pete Hughes and Mick Carroll, who later went to form Ritzi, but also decided to go to college to study psychology, a longstanding interest. Tiger Lily and Ultravox In 1973, he returned to London to go to Art College and began studying Art and Psychology. Meanwhile, he also answered the ad for members to form a new band, put by in Dennis Leigh, an art student in London, thus forming Tiger Lily along with guitarist Stevie Shears, drummer Warren Cann joined shortl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robin Simon
Robin Simon (born 12 July 1956) is a British guitarist who was a member of Ultravox, Magazine and Visage. Biography Early career Robin Simon played guitar in a number of local Halifax based bands in the early to mid-1970s. The bands included the Halifax Collective, which featured a number of teenage musicians, writers and performers, including Jan Cyrka, Andy Jones, Chris Marshall, Robs brother Paul and future Ultravox member Billy Currie.AjantaMusic , Independent Artists Company He moved to London in 1975 and later joined the band Ians Radio (later called ) in 1976. Neo were one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conny Plank
Konrad "Conny" Plank (3 May 1940 – 5 December 1987) was a German record producer and musician. He is known for his innovative work as a sound engineer and producer in Germany's krautrock and kosmische music scene in the 1970s. Plank was involved in releases by Neu!, Kraftwerk, Cluster, Harmonia, Ash Ra Tempel, Guru Guru, Kraan, and other German groups of the era. He later produced for new wave acts such as D.A.F., Eurythmics, and Ultravox. As a billed performer, Plank also formed the group Moebius & Plank, releasing 5 studio albums between 1979 and 1986. Style and influence Plank and the bands he worked with in West Germany had a strong influence on mainstream rock artists, some of whom were able to popularize aspects of his production technique and his distinctive approach. In the 1980s, electronic pop bands were able to realize his ideas in performance as computerized electronic instruments became readily available. Plank (who began his career as soundman for Marlene D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Fenelle
Tony Fennell (born 16 November 1963) is a British musician, songwriter and producer. He was the lead singer, lyricist and musician for the band Ultravox from 1992 until 1994, as well as a writer and producer of music for television. Fennell has signed publishing and recording contracts with Warner Brothers, Atlantic, EMI and BMG. His film and television credits include Disney, Nickelodeon, Viacom, HBO, PBS and Syfy as well as commercials for Dodge, Mattel and General Mills. Career Fennell was born in Birmingham, and started playing music in the early 1980s, signing his first publishing contract with Warner/Chappell Music. His band, Mr. President, went on to sign with Atlantic Records. During this time, Fennell was also the bass player for Edwin Starr. In 1985, the band changed its name to "Big Noise". The band released the album ''Bang! '', produced by Elliot Wolfe ( Paula Abdul). He toured extensively throughout the United Kingdom and Europe, including with James Brown. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Synth-pop
Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic, art rock, disco, and particularly the Krautrock of bands like Kraftwerk. It arose as a distinct genre in Japan and the United Kingdom in the post-punk era as part of the new wave movement of the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. Electronic musical synthesizers that could be used practically in a recording studio became available in the mid-1960s, and the mid-1970s saw the rise of electronic art musicians. After the breakthrough of Gary Numan in the UK Singles Chart in 1979, large numbers of artists began to enjoy success with a synthesizer-based sound in the early 1980s. In Japan, Yellow Magic Orchestra introduced the TR-808 rhythm machine to popular music, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
