"Same Old Story" is a 1986 by the British new wave band

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 wa ...

. It was the first single to be taken from their eighth album '' U-Vox'', and was released on 15 September 1986.

Background

Now a trio, without original drummer

Warren Cann Warren Reginald Cann (born 20 May 1950) is a Canadian drummer and songwriter. He was a founding member of the British new wave band Ultravox. Early life Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada the son of two British immigrants, he began to ...

, the single took Ultravox in a new musical direction. "Same Old Story" featured jazzy brass by

Beggar and Co Beggar and Co (also written Beggar & Co) are a British jazz-funk group formed by Kenny Wellington, David Baptiste and Neville 'Breeze' McKrieth, originally members of the group Light of the World. Overview Beggar and Co's first single was "(S ...

, and female vocals in the chorus by

Carol Kenyon Carol Kenyon (sometimes spelt Karol; born 1959) is a British singer. She is best known for her vocals on the Heaven 17 hit song "Temptation", which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart in 1983. When the song was re-released as a remix by ...

. Frontman Midge Ure felt that, by 1986, it was clear that Ultravox was now a very different entity.

Mark Brzezicki Mark Michael Brzezicki ( , ; born 21 June 1957) is an English musician, best known as the former drummer of the Scottish rock band Big Country. He has also played with Procol Harum, Casbah Club, The Cult, and From the Jam. Biography Brzezi ...

was hired in and played drums on the album. In the music video of "Same Old Story" Pat Ahern played drums, and he also toured with the band on the U-Vox European Tour. The B-side was the instrumental track "3", which featured rhythms, synthesizers and

Billy Currie William Lee Currie (born 1 April 1950Ultravox.org.uk
) is a ...

's recognizable piano. On the 12-inch single, there was an instrumental version of the '' U-Vox'' album track " All in One Day", which featured an

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

conducted and arranged by

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...

. "Same Old Story" reached 31 in UK Singles Chart.

Critical reception

Upon its release, ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' reviewer Ian Cranna wrote: "Take away the trendy, loud girls singers and punctuating brass "riffs" and this sounds particularly dull and ponderous, even by Ultravox's lead-booted standards."

Track listing

7" version

# "Same Old Story" – 3:58 # "3" – 4:01

12" version

# "Same Old Story (Extended Mix)" – 6:57 # "3" – 4:01 # "All in One Day (Instrumental)" – 6:12

References

{{Authority control 1986 singles 1986 songs Ultravox songs Songs written by Midge Ure Songs written by Billy Currie Songs written by Chris Cross Chrysalis Records singles