"Passing Strangers" is

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 ...

's second single from ''

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

'', the band's first album with

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 1980 ...

, released on

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright A ...

on 15 October 1980. A fast-paced guitar track recalling early

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 ...

-era Ultravox, Passing Strangers ultimately failed to live up to the top 30 success of its predecessor Sleepwalk. It stalled at #57 in the UK charts despite having a music video (directed by

Russell Mulcahy Russell Mulcahy ( ; born 23 June 1953) is an Australian film director. Mulcahy's work is recognisable by the use of fast cuts, tracking shots and use of glowing lights, neo-noir lighting, windblown drapery, and fans. He directed music videos i ...

and featuring

Barbie Wilde Barbie Wilde is a Canadian-born British actress and writer, perhaps best known for appearing as the Female Cenobite in '' Hellbound: Hellraiser II'' (1988) – the second of ten Hellraiser films based on Clive Barker's novella, ''The Hellbound ...

and Tok from Tik & Tok) and release on 12" format alongside the regular 7", both of which Sleepwalk lacked. The single contains two live b-sides; "Face To Face", an original Ultravox track that was never recorded in studio, and a live cover of the

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

song " King's Lead Hat". "Face to Face" was taken from a show in St Albans City Hall. The complete show was released on the 40th anniversary ''Vienna'' box-set 2020.

Track listing

7" version

# "Passing Strangers" – 3:48 # "Face to Face (Live 16 Aug 80 at St Albans City Hall)" – 6:04

12" version

# "Passing Strangers" – 3:48 # "Face to Face (Live 16 Aug 80 at St Albans City Hall)" – 6:04 # " King's Lead Hat (Live 17 Aug 80 at

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the ...

)" – 4:06

References

1980 singles Electronic songs Ultravox songs Songs written by Midge Ure Songs written by Warren Cann Songs written by Chris Cross Songs written by Billy Currie 1980 songs Chrysalis Records singles {{1980s-single-stub