Tag: Ultravox (Page 1 of 17)

Looking Backwards Towards The Future – The Story of ULTRAVOX: An Interview with Richard Evans

26 September 2026 /

From the author of ‘Listening To The Music The Machines Make – Inventing Electronic Pop 1978-1983’ comes ‘Looking Backwards Towards The Future: The Story of ULTRAVOX’.

This first authorised biography of ULTRAVOX is the work of Richard Evans, a music industry stalwart who founded the popular website This Is Not Retro and currently holds down a day job working for ERASURE.

Drawing from a vast archive of research materials and incorporating exclusive input from band members, as well as from their peers, their label and management teams, ‘Looking Backwards Towards The Future’ tells the many varied stories of the band, from fractures and fallouts to ambition and ego.

Written with the knowledge, permission and co-operation of the majority of the band’s surviving core members, the book traces ULTRAVOX’s art school beginnings led by John Foxx, changes of line-up and reinvention as a hit band fronted by Midge Ure on the back of the New Romantic movement. ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK sat down with Richard Evans to get the lowdown on its genesis and realisation…

It came as a surprise when you announced your ULTRAVOX book but then again, with the title of your last book ‘Listening To The Music The Machines Make’, it was blindingly obvious!!!

At the end my last book, I didn’t know what I was going to do! *laughs*

So there wasn’t a big joined up plan at any point but ‘Listening To The Music The Machines Make’ did well enough for Omnibus to ask whether I would like to do another book. I went up to London to meet with them and I pitched 4 ideas… and they favoured the ULTRAVOX book.

There IS a gap in the market, that first ULTRAVOX book ’In Their Own Words’ back in the day was some tacky thing like ‘A Tourist’s Guide To JAPAN’…

Yes that’s right, lots of pictures and some quotes…

‘Listening To The Music The Machines Make’ was very much using archive material as references, so what was your approach this time?

It was similar actually… one of the reasons I came up with the ULTRAVOX book idea, apart from their not already being an ULTRAVOX biography, was the research was already in place as I had collected it from doing ‘Listening To The Music The Machines Make’. One of the things that interested me about ULTRAVOX in THAT story was they were one of the very few bands who were there at the beginning AND at the end of the period that I wrote about.

I started working from the research materials I already had and I put together some bits and pieces before I contacted the band. They all came on board in dribs and drabs. I didn’t want to take them through the same stories that they had told thousands of times since 1974, I wanted to write the book essentially first and then come to the band to talk about the things I needed more information about.

Who in the band came on board and was there any reluctance from some?

I got in touch with Billy Currie first as I had interviewed him before and about the same time, I got in touch with John Foxx as well. Billy connected me with Warren Cann and separately Midge Ure also said yes as well.

The next person I tried to get was Stevie Shears, the original guitarist and through a very convoluted period, I tracked down a friend of his and told him about the book; in the end, his friend said Stevie didn’t really want to go back to all those days. So unfortunately Stevie isn’t represented, however the ‘Systems Of Romance’ guitarist Robin Simon is represented and he was put in contact with me via Steve Malins, John Foxx’s manager.

What’s particularly interesting about Stevie Shears is he later trained to become a psychotherapist and so did the late Chris Cross after he first left ULTRAVOX in 1987, discuss…

I’m sure ULTRAVOX was not the reason they became psychotherapists! *laughs*

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s own journey with ULTRAVOX is an odd one, it starts with the ‘Vienna’ album in 1980, jumps back to the ‘Ultravox!’ debut, then goes to the ‘Three Into One’ compilation and then ‘Rage In Eden’ in 1981 as that hadn’t come out yet and became next in line, what was yours?

I wish I had a cooler answer than this but it was the ‘Vienna’ album because it WAS everywhere and the single was such a slice of different music coming through at a time when there was loads of really interesting things happening, it was an unusual record. It caught my ear and I bought the single and continued buying the singles as they went through.

But they were never really my band; for me, they were always a singles band, I didn’t really have the albums. It wasn’t until later that I had the albums and rediscovered them in a more general way. Part of the appeal of writing the book was that I didn’t know much about them, I had no pre-conceived ideas and it was all new to me.

Do you have a particular favourite phase of ULTRAVOX? I love the Conny Plank trilogy but most seem to discriminate in between the John Foxx and Midge Ure eras, although no-one has said the Sam Blue period yet! *laughs*

The most interesting period for me was ‘Rage In Eden’ because the band were in this situation where the world was at their feet, they could have done whatever they wanted, they could have just taken the easy route and they completely threw that out of the window and did something so strange and idiosyncratic! That’s absolutely brilliant that they had the balls to do that, what an extraordinary body of music to come out with when they could have just been pop stars!

Did the band share any light as to what it was like to be stuck in the middle of the German countryside for 3 months recording ‘Rage In Eden’?

All of those who were involved are proud of ‘Rage In Eden’ and part of that was because it was made against all the odds in terms of the 3 months in Germany with Conny Plank and also the pressure on them individually with the things that were happening around them and also in their relationships with each other under those periods of stress.

How did you find everyone was when talking about their time in ULTRAVOX?

I was never able to speak to two people at the same time, all my interviews were individual. I interviewed them in different ways; Billy was interviewed on Zoom and we had a series of very lengthy conversations. With Warren, it was on the phone and they were lengthy chats as well. John would only really answer messages by email as he likes to consider them and have a think about things. Midge was unwell during the period I wanted to talk to him so I didn’t have a direct connection with him at all in the end which was unfortunate.

At the beginning of the process, the various members were very careful about how they portrayed the relationships within the band. But as I got to know them better, they got a little bit more secure talking to me and were little bit more honest! Some bits I was able to print, some of which I’m not! It was a bit of a balancing act! *laughs*

So the Midge version of the band fragmented just before ‘U-Vox’ in 1986 when Warren was ousted and then after the album and tour, the band was no more… fans will generally blame the others kicking Warren out as being the reason that it all fell apart, but do you think the cracks actually happened during the recording of the ‘Lament’ album in 1984? My evidence of that would be they put out an 8 track album which meant they didn’t have enough material and I know those songs are fan favourites but the ‘Lament’ album seems to deteriorate towards the end with ‘When The Time Comes’ and ‘A Friend I Called Desire’ sounding almost unfinished?

I would agree completely, that was the time in their history when their relationships got problematic. Also, each of them were being pulled in different directions. Midge wanted go and do solo stuff, Warren had that ongoing HELDEN project which he was so passionate about and so invested in… they had other things happening. Then of course there was Band Aid and then Live Aid, all those things that didn’t help!

Weirdly, do you think ‘Dancing With Tear In My Eyes’ becoming a Top3 hit didn’t help the situation and kept that line-up of ULTRAVOX together for much longer than necessary when perhaps it had run its course?

I think there’s something in that… creatively after ‘Lament’, they were already considering their options. But because they had that level of success, I suspect they had to keep following it while they were on a high! Maybe in retrospect, that wasn’t the way to do it!

The socio-political impact ULTRAVOX had in pop culture is often understated… in the early summer of 1984, you have Nik Kershaw with ‘I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’, Frankie with ‘Two Tribes’ and ‘Dancing With Tears In My Eyes’ all in the charts with their nuclear angst themes… so you have these families watching ‘Top Of The Pops’ before David Attenborough’s ‘The Living Planet’ and the BBC decide to show most of the ‘Dancing With Tears In My Eyes’ video including the explosion!?! Did you watch that edition back in the day?

I did watch it and it didn’t particularly resonate with me at the time. But I know this was a situation that the band had to navigate because people would approach them and say “my children were asking what the song is all about and they are upset!”; it was a strange paranoid period in our history where everyone was going “what’s happening?”

That American film ‘The Day After’ had been shown and BBC’s ‘Threads’ would come later in that year, it’s the whole antithesis of the legwarmers and Filofax thing that some think this Thatcher / Reagan “loadsamoney” decade is all about?

It feels like similar times in lots of ways now although I’m not feeling that reflected in the things that I’m hearing in the same way as the nuclear paranoia of 1984. But I think the way we listen and watch is so different, everything is so much broader now whereas back then, we HAD to listen to those records because they were the records that were on the radio!

So it’s 1987, Midge decides he doesn’t want to do ULTRAVOX anymore, Chris goes with him but Billy carries on! And there’s this period where Billy goes through a series of vocalists, Marcus O’Higgins, Tony Fenelle and Sam Blue. Was there still life in the ULTRAVOX name at this time for live bookings etc or was Billy just being bloody minded?

I would agree with the latter and I think Billy would agree with that as well. I think it became something that he wanted, it wasn’t available to him initially and made him want to pursue it even more! As a result, rather than concentrating on the nuts and bolts of putting together these new line-ups and exploring what they could do, it was more about what name was going to be put on it rather than what it actually was. That was a shame because these line-ups had potential in their own ways.

Photo by Rob Harris

So it’s 2008 and the classic line-up of ULTRAVOX unexpectedly announce they will reform for a tour the following year, what’s your take on that part of the story?

I don’t think anyone could have predicted that one coming. It was a complete surprise to me also but the fantastic bit was by that point, I had caught up with ULTRAVOX and I knew I’d liked them more than I realised previously and it gave me a chance to go see them as I’d never seen them before. So I saw them at Hammersmith Apollo and was absolutely blown away, I thought they were a fantastic live act so that was a really special moment from my point of view.

It seemed that they had got on well enough after 2 tours to do a new album ‘Brilliant’, what did you think of it because it did go through a few problems?

It did go through a few problems but obviously at that point, we the audience weren’t really aware of that. As far as we were concerned, the band had reformed, it had all gone extremely well and had led to this opportunity to make new music. New music from this line-up of ULTRAVOX was a very special thing and when the album came out, I reviewed it for This Is Not Retro and I liked it. I looked back at what I wrote when I was doing the book and fortunately I’d been quite enthusiastic about it. I said something like “it doesn’t push any boundaries” but would we want it to? I still enjoy it now!

I like it as well but I think it’s too long, it could do with 3 less tracks but which 3 is debatable… I think the important thing was it got the band on the road again. The thing about ULTRAVOX live in this period, they were quite clever in that the lighting was quite subtle, so you sort of couldn’t tell how old the band were! But how it all drifted apart after, how have you concluded what happened?

At the beginning of the reunion, they were able to draw on the “newness” of getting back together again but after the novelty of that wore off, it feels like some of the old issues were creeping back in! *laughs*

Of course, ULTRAVOX were much older than their peers at that point and touring is a tough old game. When I was talking to Warren about this, he was paraphrasing someone else but he basically said “they don’t pay me to play, they pay me to travel… the playing is great but the travelling f*cking sucks!” *laughs*

Usually, the fun bit about doing any kind of book or article is to find out something you didn’t know before, was there anything in the course of doing ‘Looking Backwards Towards the Future’ where that happened?

It’s a bit tricky for me to answer that one actually because I didn’t have that fan perspective going in, I didn’t quite know what the narrative was, and what was surprising and what wasn’t for other people. So I’m not really going to know that until people have digested the book and comment “I had no idea that was the case” etc.

Going back to the early days of ULTRAVOX, John Foxx has said before that he started the band as an art project, what is your take on that?

This feeds into what we were talking about and things I discovered, so I asked John specifically about that and if it was an art project, was it marked by the college? And they didn’t really! But the way his art course was, it was very self-directed and as long as people at the college knew what he was up to, he could kind of go off and do his thing. The fact that he seized upon this concept as a result of a lecture at art college and created this band and a world around it for the band to exist in, that was an interesting part of the story.

The John Foxx era of ULTRAVOX did not get a lot of good press, as Billy once pointed out in that Channel 4 run down show ‘Top Ten 80s Romantics’ in 1999, “you can do a lot of things with ‘Ultra’, there’s Ultrahype and Ultracrap” but despite all of this, Paul Weller was a fan?

Paul Weller apparently used to go and see them in the early days and was a constant presence…

Midge joining ULTRAVOX was as a result of VISAGE happening first, is the VISAGE story something you cover in the book?

I don’t cover VISAGE as such because it’s its own story, it’s a separate story and quite a complicated one… it’s possibly one that could be a book itself, not that I have a plan in that direction! *laughs*

Obviously I mention it and Rusty Egan in his machinations about getting everyone together but I don’t go into any of the side projects of any of the members…

So you don’t go into John Foxx with ‘Metamatic’ or Midge Ure with ‘No Regrets’ or ‘The Gift’?

No, I would have had to do the same for everybody and that would have made the book quite unwieldy and a bit bloated to be honest.

Now you’ve mentioned balance, with the core 7 members, how did manage it in the book?

In any situation, whatever I was writing about, I always tried to bring in as much of everyone’s view of that situation as possible. It’s not a book that makes judgements, it’s a book that sets out what happened in my understanding of it and I support that with the various conversations with the band members. Obviously, at times they were more friendly to each other than at other times.

As well as the music, a key part of both John Foxx and Midge Ure era of ULTRAVOX was the visual presentation and in the latter case particularly, the videos… how far do you go into the visual aspects of the band?

Quite a lot actually, I think that was a very important part of the band and the way they presented themselves because it was almost like presenting fantasy versions of themselves. They could create these little worlds they could occupy and they could present themselves in whatever ways they chose.

From a video point of view, they were pioneers for sure and that is definitely noteworthy. From an artwork point of view, the fact that John was an art student so art directed and designed so much of the early stuff, and then after, they started to use people like Peter Saville who is a key name in music design, they always seemed to be on top of that side of things. There’s an element of the band controlling their own career which is really important and a power behind their success. People at their label Chrysalis said ULTRAVOX would come in with their ideas and they would just need the record company to make those ideas come true.

I thought it was interesting that although ULTRAVOX did have Peter Saville do their sleeve designs, it is widely reported that he didn’t particularly like the music… did any of that come out in your research and how was this navigated in the working relationship?

I think it did matter… it was Chris Cross who brought Peter Saville into the ULTRAVOX camp because he was interested in the work he was doing with Factory Records. Peter Saville was a great designer in his moment because I studied design in university and he was someone I looked up to. The problem with Peter and I have worked with him since, is that he’s very very slow. So if you are on any sort of a deadline, then that’s problematic because you can’t be working on that sort of basis.

ULTRAVOX were often quite late in bringing a project to the point where it needed design so they needed someone faster to work with. I still think those Peter Saville covers are among the best of the ULTRAVOX cannon.

I wanted to throw this theory forward, that because he wasn’t into the music, Peter Saville’s more outlandish ideas got onto ULTRAVOX artwork and made it more striking. I would even argue that much of his ULTRAVOX work is better than what he did with OMD and in some cases, NEW ORDER?

Yes, that’s an interesting path to tread because there must have been a limited number of artists to work with who were that open to that sort of intellectual conceptualising to the extent that NEW ORDER did and that ULTRAVOX also did. In a way, they were a great match but it feels that they ran their course and just gently drifted from each other. I think that’s also quite healthy. The band was changing as well and it needed new visual approaches. I have to say that ‘U-Vox’, not the most successful or popular of ULTRAVOX’s albums, is one of my favourite sleeves in its original striped LP PVC outer package.

My favourite sleeve is ‘Rage In Eden’…

Yes, my other one would be ‘Rage In Eden’, it would be between both of those.

Video became very much part of the classic line-up of ULTRAVOX with Midge and Chris going on to direct them; my favourite is ‘The Voice’ because it’s so arty farty and has a lot of on-the-line imagery… I mean holding fire torches while walking up a hill at night can be perceived as something else, especially with the band’s attire at the time which was like Germans in the 1930s, the “dead man’s clothes” as Midge once put it! Do you have a favourite video? *laughs*

I would probably go with ‘Love’s Great Adventure’ because it makes me laugh every time, it’s funny and light-hearted.

Who was the driving force of the videos, was it Chris or was it Midge?

It was as a team, they found this little niche for themselves and they were happy to do it while Warren and Billy were less bothered by the conceptualising of that. They just ran with it and what a great thing to run with!

I remember when ULTRAVOX ‘The Collection’ came out in 1984 and it also came out as a video compilation and I bought the Betamax cassette of it! *laughs*

BETAMAX! *laughs*

There’s a lot of groundbreaking stuff that ULTRAVOX did with the “greatest hits” package like this accompanying full-length video and including a brand new track, do you think it’s something that they don’t get enough credit for?

I do, it’s almost like every version of ULTRAVOX from John Foxx’s concept right into their imperial hit phase, they were so groundbreaking and pioneering yet no-one ever gave them the respect. There’d always been someone just rushing up behind them who would take those ideas and run with them to get all the credit and all the praise. They were extremely unlucky in lots of ways.

Is the story of ULTRAVOX comparable in some ways to those of PINK FLOYD or GENESIS?

I think there definitely are some parallels with those progressive rock bands.

I know this sounds a bit obvious, but who are you aiming this book at? *laughs*

It’s a good question actually because in lots of people’s perception, there’s 2 ULTRAVOXs and you only like one or the other! I would love people in both of those camps to get the book, I would love them to read the section they are interested in, but I would also love them to read the other section so that they can get a sense of what else was happening around these people and their creative trajectories.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Richard Evans

‘Looking Backwards Towards The Future – The Story of ULTRAVOX’ by Richard Evans is published by Omnibus Press in the UK on 8th October 2026 – in North America, Australia and New Zealand, the book will be published on 9th February 2027

https://ultravoxbook.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ultravoxbook

https://www.instagram.com/ultravoxbook

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
26th September 2026

A Beginner’s Guide To VISAGE

27 July 2026 /

Photo by Sheila Rock

The Blitz Club aesthetic did not emerge from a vacuum. It was forged in the stark friction between punk’s dying embers and the pristine allure of the synthesizer.

More than just a band, VISAGE became the ultimate studio collective, drawing talents from the ranks of MAGAZINE and ULTRAVOX to create a blueprint for the decade to come. Formed in late 1978 as a direct reaction to the shortage of electronic dance music to play at The Blitz Club, after the demise of RICH KIDS, former members Midge Ure and Rusty Egan recruited The Blitz Club’s figurehead, Steve Strange, to front the project.

With studio time allocated to RICH KIDS left over, Strange, Ure and Egan cut a cover of Zager & Evans’ ‘In The Year 2525’ as one of several demos also including ‘The Dancer’. Although Ure and Egan were still contracted to EMI, the label turned VISAGE down. However, the demos soon caught the ear of producer Martin Rushent who conveniently kept an office directly above The Blitz Club. At the time working for the Warner Brothers subsidiary Radar Records who had found success with Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello, Rushent was intending to launch his own Genetic Records imprint.

Photo by Sheila Rock

With their primary bands on temporary hiatus, ULTRAVOX’s Billy Currie, along with MAGAZINE’s Dave Formula, John McGeoch and bassist Barry Adamson were swiftly co-opted. Convening at Rushent’s new studio in Reading, this synthesized super group began shaping an album. The first fruits of these sessions was ‘Tar’, released as a single on Genetic Records in the autumn of 1979. However, Warner Brothers short-sightedly pulled the plug on the label. It was a monumental miscalculation; Rushent had been in discussions with several acts said to have included JOY DIVISION and SPANDAU BALLET.

Despite the setback, the fallout from this period acted as a catalyst that would alter the career trajectory of those involved. Midge Ure joined Billy Currie in a re-launched ULTRAVOX and to pay for new equipment, Billy Currie accepted an offer to join Gary Numan’s live band on his first concert tour while Midge Ure headed stateside to fill in for an absent Gary Moore in THIN LIZZY. Meanwhile intrigued by the synthesizers that had entered his studio, Martin Rushent invested in a Roland MC-8 Micro-composer and a LinnDrum Computer.

Meanwhile, VISAGE was placed on ice until a new deal was brokered with Polydor Records via ULTRAVOX’s new management team, Morrison-O’Donnell who looked after THIN LIZZY. As all the other members were already signed to other labels, Steve Strange was the only signatory on the contract with Morrison-O’Donnell then filtering payments to each relevant individual.

During gaps in their day jobs, Ure and Currie continued to construct the VISAGE album, with Ure effectively taking the production helm. Needing one final track to complete the long-player, Currie brought in an instrumental called ‘Toot City’ which he had co-written with keyboardist Chris Payne that had been shaped during soundchecks on the Gary Numan tour. With Ure drafting lyrics and a melancholic melody line, the track was transformed into ‘Fade To Grey’; it would become an international smash and the 1981’s best-selling song in West Germany.

Photo by Sheila Rock

There are still very public arguments about how the royalties in VISAGE were split, but although he did not play on ‘Fade To Grey’ or a number of the other tracks like ‘Moon Over Moscow’, the late John McGeoch did very well out of his share of the eponymous VISAGE album; he confirmed in an interview before his death that he was able to buy a house while bandmate Howard Devoto recalled that in contrast to the less-financially fruitful MAGAZINE, “It enabled him to enjoy the finer things…”

Visually, Steve Strange conjured an exquisite mutation of Edwardian dandies and Weimar Cabaret but while others that came out of The Blitz Club like SPANDAU BALLET and CULTURE CLUB eventually achieved greater global commercial saturation, VISAGE truly encapsulated the New Romantic aesthetic in a sound that fused symphonic classical overtones with the electronic dance beat of Neu Europa.

Despite further hits including ‘Mind Of A Toy’, ‘Visage’, ‘The Damned Don’t Cry’ and ‘Night Train’, members gradually left over the first two albums ‘Visage’ and ‘The Anvil’ so by the appalling third album ‘Beat Boy’ in 1984, only Strange and Egan remained. Morrison-O’Donnell had also left but had renegotiated with Polydor for their charges Ure and Currie to be accounted for outside of the original Steve Strange signed VISAGE contract.

Years later, the VISAGE sound rippled through modern electronic pop. Kelly Osbourne’s ‘One Word’ in 2005 and Kylie Minogue’s ‘Like A Drug’ in 2007 stood as highly obvious, if not blatant, sonic pastiches of ‘Fade To Grey’. More recently, that particular evergreen has featured in advertisements for Gris Dior and Coco Crush.

VISAGE returned in 2013 with just Steve Strange remaining but he passed away suddenly in 2015. While there have been posthumous albums of VISAGE outtakes and reworkings since his death, there is known to be a solo album that he wrote and recorded with ‘Beat Boy’ bassist Steve Barnacle between 2013-2014 that remains unreleased.

VISAGE was a tree that grew, broke in places and sadly had branches that died. ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK presents a synthcentric guide to the extended axis of the ultimate New Romantic ensemble.

RICH KIDS Marching Men (1978)

Comprising of Midge Ure, Glen Matlock, Steve New and Rusty Egan, RICH KIDS had already the debuted the power-pop of ‘Rich Kids’. But ‘Marching Men’ was darker, acting as commentary on the new Nazis like The National Front. A vital catalyst for VISAGE, it was notable for Ure’s first use of his new Yamaha CS50; it featured in his 2024 tour as the song became relevant again with the normalisation of racist views by Reform UK.

Available on the RICH KIDS album ‘Ghosts Of Princes In Towers’ via EMI Music

http://www.glenmatlock.com/

ULTRAVOX Quiet Men – 12” version (1978)

With John Foxx still fronting ULTRAVOX, the band were on the cusp of a breakthrough working with Conny Plank on ‘Systems of Romance’. Tracks like ‘Quiet Men’ featured cutting electronic percussion from Warren Cann but the classically trained Billy Currie was taking on a greater role with his soaring ARP Odyssey solo acting as a sonic beacon. This was the kind of icy art pop with European electronic influences that could be integrated into the concept of VISAGE.

Available on the ULTRAVOX boxed set ‘The Island Years’ via Universal Music Group

http://www.metamatic.com/

VISAGE In The Year 2525 (1978 – released 1983)

Recorded during VISAGE’s first-ever studio session but shelved for years, this cover of the Zager & Evans’ one hit wonder was a total musical twist of the original’s acoustic folk bleakness with its transformation into a cold electronic pulsar. Steve Strange’s vocal delivery was appropriately detached with vocal backing by Ure whose effective synth arrangements were punctuated by Egan’s early synthetic percussion.

Available on the VISAGE album ‘The Face – The Best Of’ via Universal Music Group

https://www.therealvisage.com/

MAGAZINE Permafrost (1979)

The Howard Devoto-led MAGAZINE provided three members to the VISAGE line-up; guitarist / saxophonist John McGeoch, bassist Barry Adamson, and keyboardist Dave Formula. ‘Permafrost’ was the sinister closing track from ‘Secondhand Daylight’ which showcased Formula’s chilling atmospheric synth work, Adamson’s noir edge and McGeoch’s angular textures. This would provide VISAGE with some post-punk credibility.

Available on MAGAZINE album ‘Secondhand Daylight’ via Virgin Records

https://www.facebook.com/magazineofficial/

VISAGE Tar (1979)

A spiky critique of smoking, ’Tar’ was the first VISAGE single and released on Martin Rushent’s Genetic imprint through Radar Records. Dominated by John McGeoch’s bleating sax and Billy Currie’s cutting ARP Odyssey, Radar Records had funding pulled from its parent company Warners just as the single was released, stalling any potential it had. Tired of all the business hassles, Adamson would leave but return as a session player.

Available on VISAGE album ‘Visage’ via Universal Music Group

https://www.facebook.com/therealvisage

ULTRAVOX Sleepwalk (1980)

Ure accepted Currie’s invitation to join ULTRAVOX following the suggestion of Rusty Egan, thus solidifying a cross-pollination with VISAGE. ‘Sleepwalk’ was the first fruit of labour and a mighty opening salvo for the band’s new era. Again working with Conny Plank and with hints of KRAFTWERK throughout, it proved that synths could be aggressive and melodic all at once as ULTRAVOX entered the UK singles charts for the first time.

Available on ULTRAVOX album ‘Vienna’ via Chrysalis Records

http://www.ultravox.org.uk/

MAGAZINE Sweetheart Contract (1980)

As the new line-up of ULTRAVOX charted, MAGAZINE regrouped to make their best album ‘The Correct Use Of Soap’ produced by Martin Hannett. While notable for ‘A Song Under The Floorboards’, another highlight was the jittery ‘Sweetheart Contract’. With Adamson’s bass acting as the heartbeat, Formula’s shimmering keyboard lines and McGeoch’s inventive guitar turned a tale of bureaucratic romance into a post-punk masterclass.

Available on MAGAZINE album ‘The Correct Use Of Soap’ via Virgin Records

https://wire-sound.com/

VISAGE Fade To Grey (1980)

The absolute pinnacle of the New Romantic movement, ‘Fade To Grey’ was built on a mesmerizing Moog bassline for a tune composed by Chris Payne and supplemented by Billy Currie’s ARP Odyssey. With lyrics and topline later added by Ure, it was elevated by Brigitte Arendt’s spoken words en Français while the song built to a climax of cinematic grandeur.

Available on VISAGE album ‘Visage’ via Universal Music Group

https://chrispaynemusic.com/

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES Spellbound (1981)

Following his formal departure from MAGAZINE and VISAGE, John McGeoch joined SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES who despite being more guitar-oriented, had been popular on the dancefloor of The Blitz Club. ‘Spellbound’ was a tour de force of urgent acoustic and electric strumming and intense gothic imagery. But sadly McGeoch would later have a nervous breakdown and would depart in late 1982 for THE ARMOURY SHOW.

Available on SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES album ‘Juju’ via Universal Music

https://www.facebook.com/siouxsieandthebanshees/

MAGAZINE The Great Man’s Secrets (1981)

By MAGAZINE’s fourth album ‘Magic, Murder & The Weather’, John McGeoch had departed. On the art reggae of ‘The Great Man’s Secrets’, Barry Adamson’s inventive basslines remained an anchor while the mystery continued via Howard Devoto’s enigmatic vocal expression and Dave Formula’s expressive, swirling keyboard textures. The song’s artful structure and tense atmosphere reflected the strong musicianship contained within.

Available on MAGAZINE album ‘Magic, Murder & The Weather’ via Virgin Records

https://barryadamson.com/

PHIL LYNOTT Yellow Pearl – Remix (1981)

German music formed a large part of the music at The Blitz Club and even Irish rocker Phil Lynott frequented it. ‘Yellow Pearl’ was a LA DÜSSELDORF inspired co-composition with Ure, while Rusty Egan later played drums on the remix which became the ‘Top Of The Pops’ theme. With ‘Yellow Pearl’ demonstrating how the VISAGE blueprint was penetrating the mainstream, it was almost forgotten that this was the frontman of THIN LIZZY!

Available on the THIN LIZZY album ‘Greatest Hits’ via Universal Music

http://www.thinlizzy.org/phil.html

VISAGE Again We Love (1982)

With the glorious ‘Again We Love’, every aspect of VISAGE’s collective talents clicked in unison, both vocally and instrumentally. From the dramatic start and the eerie atmospheric melancholy to the stupendous percussive climax and echoey fade, this was probably the song that got closest to recapturing the grandeur of ‘Fade To Grey’. Something of an almost forgotten jewel, Midge Ure performed it on his 2026 ‘A Man Of Two Worlds’ tour.

Available on VISAGE album ‘The Anvil’ via Cherry Pop

https://www.electricityclub.co.uk/lost-albums-visage-the-anvil/

MIDGE URE Mood Music (1982)

Taking a break from ULTRAVOX and have left VISAGE, Midge Ure hit the UK Top 10 with his cover of ‘No Regrets’; THE WALKER BROTHERS version has been played at The Blitz Club. On the B-side was the beautifully eerie instrumental ‘Mood Music’. Driven by a LinnDrum and stark piano notes before being joined by haunting gothic choirs in the chorus, the track conjured up images of abandoned theatres just as ‘Vienna’ had done.

Available on the MIDGE URE boxed set ‘The Gift’ via Chrysalis Records

http://www.midgeure.co.uk/

VISAGE Pleasure Boys – Dance Mix (1982)

VISAGE were in a state of limbo following the departure of Midge Ure. But with John Luongo who had remixed ‘Night Train’ involved in a production association, Steve Strange, Rusty Egan, Billy Currie and Dave Formula plus new bassist Steve Barnacle explored the sound of New York electro. ‘Pleasure Boys’ was hard and aggressive with lyrics full of hedonism. But by now, the New Romantic audience had moved on.

Available on the VISAGE album ‘The Face – The Best Of’ via Universal Music

https://www.facebook.com/stevestrangecollective

RUSTY EGAN The Twilight Zone (1983)

Somewhat of a curio backed by Warner Brothers, Rusty Egan produced and arranged this cover of ‘The Twilight Zone’ with assistance from Fairlight programmer JJ Jeczalik of THE ART OF NOISE. While it was packed with a relentless electronic pulse, futuristic sound effects and orchestrated stabs, it lacked a tight arrangement. But turning a haunting jingle into an extended dance track was always going to be a challenge.

Available on the compilation album ‘Trevor Jackson Presents Metal Dance 2’ (V/A) via Strut

https://www.facebook.com/rustyegan/

VISAGE Love Glove (1984)

By the ‘Beat Boy’ album, the original collective had dissolved, leaving just Strange and Egan at the helm. Recruiting guitarist Andy Barnett, the resultant album was a collection of overlong turgid rock. Featuring saxophone by Gary Barnacle who had played on ‘Night Train’, the one saving grace was ‘Love Glove’. A pretty song which conversely featured metaphors about fisting, it harked back to the more cinematic songs on ‘The Anvil’.

Available on the VISAGE album ‘Beat Boy’ via Cherry Pop

https://www.discogs.com/artist/83503-Steve-Strange

STRANGE CRUISE Rebel Blue Rocker (1986)

Despite VISAGE imploding, Steve Strange still fancied himself as Billy Idol. So STRANGE CRUISE was set up for him to fully exploit a Trans-Atlantic pop-rock sound away from the New Romantic bubble he had been associated with, as exemplified by the single ‘Rebel Blue Rocker’. However, as with the ‘Beat Boy’ album, Strange’s voice was left vulnerable and exposed without Midge Ure’s production and coaching.

Originally on the STRANGE CRUISE album ‘Strange Cruise’ via EMI Records, currently unavailable

https://www.discogs.com/artist/108913-Strange-Cruise

BILLY CURRIE India (1988)

After the demise of ULTRAVOX, Billy Currie released his first solo album proper ‘Transportation’. One of its key tracks ‘India’ saw Currie collaborate with former SIMPLE MINDS bassist Derek Forbes. The instrumental track actually began life in 1986 for the aborted WORLD SERVICE side project but the end result was a satisfying energetic adventure that combined the musical signatures of ULTRAVOX and SIMPLE MINDS.

Originally on the BILLY CURRIE album ‘Transportation’ via No Speak, currently unavailable

https://www.billycurrie.com/

STEVE STRANGE & VISAGE MARK 2 Diary Of A Madman (2007)

Steve Strange had been performing VISAGE songs on the Here & Now revival tours so he created a “Mark 2” version of VISAGE with Ross Tregenza, Sandrine Gouriou, Steven Young and Rosie Harris. The line-up produced by just song ‘Diary Of A Madman’ which was co-written with Tregenza and co-produced Dave Formula. Rawer than the lush cinematics of classic VISAGE, it was available as a digital download in return for donations to Children in Need.

Originally released as a download single in aid of Children In Need, re-recorded version available as ‘Diaries Of A Madman’ on the VISAGE album ‘Hearts & Knives’ via Blitz Club Records

https://www.stevestrange.org/

DAVE FORMULA Elvis In Space (2010)

Continuing his ‘Sweetheart Contract’ if via satellite, ‘Satellite Sweetheart’ was perhaps unbelievably Dave Formula’s first solo album. Conceived around his childhood memory of seeing Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin at the Amalgamated Union of Foundry Workers in Manchester, opener
‘Elvis In Space’ was a Latin jazz instrumental track in tribute to the first man in space with Formula in stellar form on organ and synth.

Available on the DAVE FORMULA album ‘Satellite Sweetheart’ via Wire Sound

https://www.facebook.com/daveformula

ULTRAVOX Live (2012)

The classic hit line-up of ULTRAVOX reunited in 2009 and things had gone well enough to record a new album ‘Brilliant’. An optimistic message of intent to be savoured, the opening song ‘Live’ was ‘Dancing With Tears In My Eyes’ without the imminent nuclear holocaust! The instrumental breakdown, which dropped to a magnificent pulsing sequence, piano and lone bass drum before the climax, was pure LA DÜSSELDORF.

Available on the ULTRAVOX album ‘Brilliant’ via Eden Recordings/EMI Records

https://www.facebook.com/UltravoxUK

VISAGE Shameless Fashion (2013)

While the ULTRAVOX reunion was in full swing, the VISAGE one kept stopping and starting with Rusty Egan eventually leaving due to creative differences. An album featuring a new line-up including Steve Barnacle, Robin Simon and vocalist Lauren Duvall was completed although much of it was underwhelming. It wasn’t all bad and ‘Shameless Fashion’ sounded like it could have been one of the better tracks off ‘Beat Boy’.

Available on the VISAGE album ‘Hearts & Knives’ via Blitz Club Records

https://therealvisage.bandcamp.com/

VISAGE Become (2015)

When Steve Strange and Rusty Egan were mooting a VISAGE reunion, Midge Ure had declined to take part but was persuaded by Egan to “loan” a song that could be worked on. That turned out to be ‘Become’ which would ultimately appear on Ure’s 2014 album ‘Fragile’. While the VISAGE version would not appear until the year after and was inferior, it highlighted more what could have been with this elegant piece of art pop.

Available on the VISAGE ‘Demons To Diamonds’ via Blitz Club Records

https://www.discogs.com/artist/3479-Visage

STEVEN JONES & LOGAN SKY featuring STEVE STRANGE Corrupt State (2017)

Recorded shortly before his tragic passing, this collaboration paired Steve Strange with latter day VISAGE keyboard player Logan Sky and singer Steven Jones. From the album of the same name, ‘Corrupt State’ was a moody minimal synth track with a biting political edge. Delivered over haunting layers of Pan-European electronic textures, Strange’s vocals came over stark and desolate in contrast to the mannered tones of fellow Welshman Jones,

Available on the STEVEN JONES & LOGAN SKY album ‘Corrupt State’ via Etrangers Musique

https://etrangersmusique.bandcamp.com/album/corrupt-state-feat-steve-strange

MIDGE URE & RUSTY EGAN Glorious – Single mix (2019)

Initially a sketch co-written with Chris Payne for what became Rusty Egan’s ‘Welcome To The Dancefloor’ project, as with ‘Fade To Grey’, Midge Ure added lyrics and a topline to ‘Glorious’, bringing the VISAGE story full circle. Remixed for his ‘Soundtrack 1978 – 2019’ collection, the track was polished up and given space for Ure’s vocals to soar. Despite the decades that had passed, the spirit of The Blitz Club remained as vital as ever.

Available on the MIDGE URE boxed set ‘Soundtrack 1978 – 2019’ via Chrysalis Records

https://www.electricityclub.co.uk/midge-ure-chats-about-glorious/

In Memory of Steve Strange (1959 – 2015) and John McGeoch (1955 – 2004)

The Spotify playlist ‘Pour Ma VISAGE’ can be listened to at https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0f3NmbLiLrm9eSe27fYu9C

Text by Chi Ming Lai
27th July 2026

MIDGE URE A Man Of Two Worlds

8 May 2026 /

Side by side, Midge Ure is like a man from two worlds…

His first album of new material in 12 years, Midge Ure presents ‘A Man Of Two Worlds’ a double opus partly inspired by Ure’s own lockdown exploration of instrumental music when he was presenting ‘The Space’ on Scala Radio.

Over the decades, Ure has shown his prowess with instrumentals like ‘Astradyne’ and ‘Monument’ with ULTRAVOX, ‘The Dancer’ with VISAGE and solo with the B-sides ‘Mood Music’ and ‘Piano’, along with album tracks such as ‘Edo’, ‘Antilles’, ‘Monster’, ‘Wire & Wood’ and ‘Bridges’. One of his most widely heard instrumentals was ‘Rivets’, his collaboration with the late Chris Cross for a Levi’s TV and cinema commercial in 1983.

Ure’s first solo album ‘The Gift’ had actually originally been pitched as a split album of songs on one side and instrumentals on the other, like David Bowie’s ‘Low’. But the realisation turned out slightly differently. However, ‘A Man Of Two Worlds’ sees that concept coming to fruition comprising of two distinct halves; ‘World One: Music’ features eight instrumentals while ‘World Two: Songs’ contains eight new vocal tracks.

Despite the acoustic six string intro on ‘A Different View’, melancholic piano-based instrumentals with virtual string and vibe embellishments are what form this eight track suite. Composed with the keys triggered by a guitar synth, an instrumental that Ure first experimented with in 1984, these are slow brooding pieces that are not quite fully ambient or classical.

Photo by Toddevision

Haunted by the spectre of lockdown, ‘World One: Music’ is an elegiac soundtrack of remembrance. From the chamber recital of ‘The Space In-Between’ featuring Joseph O’Keefe of INDIA ELECTRIC CO on violin to the threadbare sparseness of ‘Blues & Greys’, while these works might not possess the echoing pastoral resonance of the late Harold Budd, Ure understands his sense of space and does not overload the arrangements to achieve the desired effect.

Using the melody of a lullaby that Ure used to sing to his children, the gently swung closer of ‘The Pictures You Carry With You’ gets closest to being lively. But that is not the point to this beautiful music, as exemplified by the haunting tones of ‘The Dimming Light’. While ‘World One: Music’ will not instantly be appreciated by everyone, this wordless wonder is a worthy string to the bow to the veteran Glaswegian.

Working again with Ty Unwin who produced and mixed ‘Orchestrated’, ‘World Two: Songs’ does what it says on the tin with compositions that came to Ure as the world came out of lockdown. “Where does hope go when it’s gone?” asks Ure but with a rousing chorus reminiscent of ‘You Move Me’, ‘Just Words’ reflects on the hurt and fears caused by the misguided in the loose talk of so-called opinion under the umbrella of free speech; the end result is epic. Swathed in synths and distinctly electronic in its percussive backbeat, the weary ‘World Away’ emulates the drama of Ure’s ULTRAVOX days and will delight those who have followed his career since joined Billy Currie, Warren Cann and Chris Cross.

Frustration over “stupid noise from smart devices” colours ‘Shouting To The Moon’ as it provides an electrifying highlight with sweeping synth solos and layers of guitars. But ‘Caught In The Middle’, Ure reflects on how he has become “split and divided” as “I’m only human after all” over cinematic orchestrations. The bursts of simulated fretless bass on ‘Ordinary Man (Previous Moments)’ could be seen as a musical eulogy to past collaborator Mick Karn of JAPAN, but proceedings are stripped right down to the ivories on ‘Somewhere Out There’ where Ure asks the listener to “imagine yourself in a world where they care”.

A call to action, ‘The Man Who Stole Your Soul’ is embroiled in despair despite its seemingly anthemic electronic rock backbone and crunchy guitars reminiscent of ULTRAVOX. In a time when divisive elements like to ‘Fan The Flame’, Ure takes aim at the “cruel selfish game” as he despairs at the Trumps, Farages and Putins with their axis of hate in a world that could do better and was once full of hope.

It’s been 41 years since Live Aid, 33 years since The Berlin Wall came down and 14 years since the London Olympics so Midge Ure could be forgiven for wondering “what the hell happened?” and it’s a question we could all ask ourselves. ‘A Man Of Two Worlds’ is a 72-year-old elder statesman calling for a return to a more compassionate era of decency… now THAT is the country you want back and THIS is the accompaniment for it!

‘A Man Of Two Worlds’ is released as a double vinyl LP and double CD by Chrysalis Records

Midge Ure 2026 UK tour dates include:

Bath Forum (8th May), Liverpool Philharmonic Hall (9th May), Leicester De Montfort Hall (11th May), Birmingham Symphony Hall (12th May), Oxford New Theatre (14th May), Plymouth Pavilions (15th May), Sheffield City Hall (18th May), Manchester Bridgewater Hall (19th May), Aberdeen Music Hall (20th May), Glasgow SEC Armadillo (22nd May), Edinburgh Usher Hall (24th May), London Barbican Hall (25th May), Reading Hexagon (26th May), Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre (27th May), Bradford Live (29th May), Nottingham Royal Concert Hall (30th May), Cambridge Corn Exchange (31st May), Southend Cliffs Pavillion (2nd June), Portsmouth Guildhall (3rd June), Milton Keynes Theatre (4th June), Gateshead Glasshouse (5th June)

http://www.midgeure.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/midge.ure

https://www.instagram.com/midge_ure/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
8th May 2026

EVERY UK HIT SINGLE: 1980

7 March 2026 /

From Chart Toppers To Cult Classics When Music Ruled The Airwaves

In 1983, Stephen Morris from NEW ORDER said to Smash Hits: “If you believe in the charts, then you might as well believe in fairies” but occasionally, those fairies could sprinkle some magic dust.

‘Every UK Hit Single: 1980’ aims to tell “The story of 1980 – every hit, every memory, one unforgettable year in pop: 370 singles, 225 artists, 25 chart toppers!”. Putting things into wider perspective, those numbers are still small considering the amount of record releases in any given year during a time when there was no streaming, no downloading, no social media and even no CD!

Author Richard West has a lifelong fascination with popular music and realised his dream of chart entries as a member of progressive metal bands THRESHOLD and OBLIVION PROTOCOL with recognition across Europe and the UK’s specialist listings. He even published a memoir ‘Maybe A Writer: My Life in Threshold’ that traced his journey from his teenage years living by numbers following the charts to becoming a recording artist.

‘Every UK Hit Single: 1980’ is the first volume in a series documenting every Top 40 entry with the intention of covering 1981 and beyond. The format is chronological with two paragraphs on each single, one factual and one of trivia. What it does lack however is opinion, so this is more of a reference book.

Despite the popularity of Gary Numan in 1979, synth-based pop music was still fledgling as far as being a regular chart proposition was concerned. However, Japanese Technopop trio YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA would score a surprise No17 hit with their 1978 electronic cover of American composer Martin Denny’s 1959 exotica instrumental ‘Firecracker’, mistitled as ‘Computer Game (Theme From The Invader)’.

Although the original could be seen as an early form of cultural appropriation using every pentatonic cliché in the book, Haroumi Hosono, Yukihiro Takahashi and Ryuichi Sakamoto took it back and gave the tune authenticity. Their treatment acted as a symbol of the Far East’s advancement in affordable technology which was crucial to the rise of the synth.

While 1980 would establish its own electronic legacy, the man born Gary Webb was already being seen as heading down the dumper with both ‘We Are Glass’ and ‘I Die: You Die’ failing to secure the top spot after ‘Are Friends Electric?’ and ‘Cars’ both hit No1 the year before.

Considered his nearest rival artistically at the time, Numan’s biggest influence John Foxx was fresh out of ULTRAVOX but the fact that his even more dystopian electro pieces like ‘Underpass’, ‘No-One Driving’ and ‘Burning Car’ were even entering the Top 40 was nothing short of amazing and indicative of the adventurous eclectic nature of 1980.

Meanwhile the newly regrouped ULTRAVOX now fronted by Midge Ure got the Top 40 entry that was not even close during their Foxx-era with ‘Sleepwalk’ but while it was a breakthrough, it wouldn’t be until the title track of the parent album ‘Vienna’ was a single in 1981 that they would become chart fixtures.

Despite the critical acclaim for the likes of THE HUMAN LEAGUE, JAPAN and SIMPLE MINDS, it was a young duo from Merseyside who would steal their thunder as far as the Top 40 was concerned; ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK were notable for being one of the rising wave of warmer synthesizer acts but while extremely melodic and rhythmic, their lyrics on ‘Messages’ and more significantly ‘Enola Gay’ had darker overtones. Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys would end 1980 as the biggest selling artist in the Virgin Records group despite being signed to one of its subsidiaries Dindisc.

One often forgotten synth-driven band who actually managed three Top 40 single entries in 1980 was NEW MUSIK; led by Tony Mansfield, like a certain Trevor Horn with BUGGLES, he figured he would have more influence in the studio rather than being on ‘Top Of The Pops’. He would go on to produce a No 1 for Captain Sensible while also working with the likes of AZTEC CAMERA, NAKED EYES and A-HA. Meanwhile at the start of 1980, Vangelis debuted in the UK Top 40 with YES frontman Jon Anderson and the gorgeous ‘I Hear You Now’.

Sadly, Ian Curtis was never to have a Top 40 hit in his lifetime as ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ would posthumously get a No13 hit for JOY DIVISION. But surviving members Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris with new member Gillian Gilbert would have that chart fairy dust sprinkled on them several times as NEW ORDER.

Although the New Romantics were being talked about as the rising youth movement, it would be the man who sold the world and seeded the whole party in the first place that would use it for an artistic renaissance; David Bowie was taken to The Blitz by club regular and RCA label assistant Jacqueline Bucknell to cast members of the clientele including its “face” Steve Strange for the video of his new single ‘Ashes To Ashes’.

While the song reached No1 and Bowie himself would move on, others from The Blitz knew their time had come. SPANDAU BALLET would release ‘To Cut A Long Story Short’ towards the end of year to herald a fresh aspirational mindset in pop while issued a few weeks later, ‘Fade To Grey’ by the Steve Strange-fronted VISAGE wouldn’t hit big until the start of 1981 but would become the biggest selling single in West Germany of that year.

1980 though was not really about the emergence of warmer and dancier synthesizer sounds. The year was dominated by ska with the likes of THE SPECIALS, THE BEAT and MADNESS scoring at least 4 Top 40 hits each but perhaps unbelievably and reflective of every generation needing its dose of imagined nostalgia, rockabilly band MATCHBOX scored 5 Top 40 hits!

1980 is often best remembered for 3 No1s for BLONDIE, 2 No1s for THE JAM and 2 No1s for ABBA, with consistent charts runs for the likes of THE POLICE, QUEEN and ROXY MUSIC while disco provided chart toppers for Fern Kinney and Kelly Marie. Without even mentioning Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, mods, rockers or the new wave of British heavy metal, this was a year of musical diversity and ‘Every UK Hit Single: 1980’ documents that.

‘Every UK Hit Single: 1980’ is published by Eightspace in paperback

https://everyukhitsingle.com

https://www.facebook.com/everyukhitsingle

Text by Chi Ming Lai
7th March 2026

The Electronic Legacy of LIVE ALBUMS

2 December 2025 /

Photo by Chi Ming Lai

The general purpose of a live album is to document a concert experience. But such is the average person’s equipment used for listening to music at home, in the car or on earphones, the capabilities of quality PA systems can never be replicated.

Something of a credible rock staple, live albums are often seen as profile builders and tour adverts, symbolic of an act hitting the big time while greatest hits collections can be perceived as an indicator of a career on the wane.

However, in the synth-laden electronic world, the live album is something of a polarising beast. With a significant number of acts reliant on tapes and latterly pre-programmed backing tracks, live albums can be rendered almost pointless with parts often sounding almost identical to the original record. In many cases, overdubs and new vocals are prevalent and essential.

But even some of the best known live rock albums such as THIN LIZZY ‘Live & Dangerous’ and KISS ‘Alive!’ were heavily tinkered with in the studio during post-production. Of the former, producer Tony Visconti reckoned the album was “75% recorded in the studio” with only the drums and audience noise remaining from the original live recordings. Meanwhile of the latter, Gene Simmons later said “Most people assume it was all live. It wasn’t” with only the drums remaining from the original shows recorded. On the opposite side of the coin, Joe Jackson recorded his ‘Big World’ live album in front of invited audiences who were instructed NOT to clap.

Photo by Chi Ming Lai

While the spirit of a performance is an essential ingredient on a live album, extra parts or arrangements not used in the actual shows can cause much head scratching, as can the inclusion of unrelated studio recordings. A concert is for a particular moment in time and for that reason, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK is not generally enthusiastic of live recordings but accepts they have their place and can have their moments.

Not a best of, here are 20 records listing the good, the bad and the pointless to represent The Electronic Legacy of LIVE ALBUMS. These are subject to the conditions that they are standalone physical releases in their own right, not initially part of a corresponding live DVD or Bluray package, not a bootleg or a bonus CD in a deluxe boxed set; for this latter reason, OMD’s spirited 1983 ‘Dazzle Ships’ live presentation at Hammersmith Odeon that came with the ‘Souvenir’ career anthology is not included.

The albums are presented in yearly order and then alphabetical within…

TANGERINE DREAM Encore (1977)

‘Encore’ is seen as the definitive TANGERINE DREAM live album by the classic line-up of Edgar Froese, Christophe Franke and Peter Baumann. But as with their previous live release ‘Ricochet’, there were questions as to what was live and what was Memorex… opener ‘Cherokee Lane’ was edited together from several performances while on the second side, suspicions were raised that ‘Coldwater Canyon’ was a studio creation.

‘Encore’ was originally released by Virgin Records

https://www.tangerinedreammusic.com/

KLAUS SCHULZE …Live… (1980)

A trailblazer for The Berlin School, Klaus Schulze saw synthesizers as a route to creative freedom and his imperial works like ‘Timewind’, ‘Moondawn’, ‘X’ and ‘Mirage’ were largely improvised live. Concerts were seen as an opportunity to spontaneously compose new works. On his first live album featuring concerts in Amsterdam, Berlin and Paris, ‘Sense’ was a half hour ball of hypnotic energy with live drums from Harald Grosskopf.

‘…Live…’ was released by Brain Records

https://www.klaus-schulze.com/

YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA Public Pressure (1980)

Recorded as a six-piece, ‘Public Pressure’ captured YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA walking a tightrope, utilising early synthesizer technology like syndrums, sequencers and a Moog modular out on the road. However, while fairly lively and with highlights like ‘Rydeen’ and ‘Tong Poo’, in the inevitable post-production, guitarist Kazumi Watanabe was mixed-out and replaced with more synths while most of Yukihiro Takahashi’s trademark on-off vocals were re-recorded.

‘Public Pressure’ was originally released by Alfa Records

http://www.ymo.org/

GARY NUMAN Living Ornaments 79 & 80 (1981)

A singular double LP boxed set, this live document captured highlights of Gary Numan during his imperial phase at Hammersmith Odeon during ‘The Touring Principle’ in 1979 and the 1980 ‘Teletour’. Engineered and co-mixed by Tim Summerhayes, this remains one of the best live releases of its type with ‘Living Ornaments 80’ just nudging ahead. The release coincided with Numan’s retirement from live work with three concerts at Wembley Arena… that retirement lasted just over a year!

‘Living Ornaments 79 & 80’ was originally released by Beggars Banquet

https://garynuman.com/

JEAN-MICHEL JARRE The Concerts In China (1982)

In 1981, Jean-Michel Jarre became the first Western rock musician to perform in China. The five live performances as a 4 piece ensemble included the debut of the Laser Harp. Jarre also composed new material for the occasion with highlights including the dramatic ‘Arpegiator’ and the elegiac studio closer ‘Souvenir Of China’. But one particular track stood out, a traditional rearrangement with The Peking Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra, retitled ‘Fishing Junks At Sunset’.

‘The Concerts In China’ was originally released by Polydor Records

https://www.jeanmicheljarre.com/

JAPAN Oil On Canvas (1983)

‘Oil On Canvas’ was a contractual obligation by the now-split up JAPAN. Only the drums came from the band’s run of Hammersmith Odeon shows during their final tour with other parts redone in the studio. The version of ‘Nightporter’ bore no relation to the actual arrangement performed while three unrelated ambient pieces were included instead of ‘Life In Tokyo’, ‘European Son’ and ‘Fall In Love With Me’ which were part of the live set!

‘Oil On Canvas’ was originally released by Virgin Records

https://sylvianvista.com/

ULTRAVOX Monument (1983)

Leaving listeners wanting more, ‘Monument’ originally only featured 6 tracks including the studio intro title track with the hits ‘Vienna’, ‘Reap The Wild Wind’ and ‘Hymn’. Superbly capturing ULTRAVOX on their 1982 ‘Quartet’ tour, the undoubted highlight was the elongated rendition of ‘The Voice’ with the energetic THIN LIZZY-inspired Simmons drum climax. ‘Monument’ has since been expanded into  8 track and later 9 track variants.

‘Monument’ was originally released by Chrysalis Records

https://www.ultravox.org.uk/

DURAN DURAN Arena (1984)

Released at the height of their worldwide fame, ‘Arena’ was sadly more ‘Oil On Canvas’ than either ‘Living Ornaments 79 & 80’, ‘Monument’ or ‘101’. Unlike the latter, it now symbolises the downfall of DURAN DURAN rather than the rise. The mix was muddy and not a patch on the subsequent soundtracks of the DVD releases of their Hammersmith Odeon 1982 and Wembley Arena 2004 shows. The incongruous inclusion of the single ‘The Wild Boys’ no doubt helped shift copies.

‘Arena’ was originally released by EMI Music

https://duranduran.com/

SIMPLE MINDS Live In The City Of Light (1987)

On the ‘Sparkle In The Rain’ and ‘Once Upon A Time’ tours, SIMPLE MINDS had been pompously bloating songs out for up to 10 minutes. The excesses were dialled down for this well-recorded if frustrating record. There was much post-production tinkering with ‘Someone Somewhere In Summertime’ featuring extra violin by Lisa Germano while uncredited, former bassist Derek Forbes was brought in replace John Giblin’s live take.

‘Live In The City Of Light’ was originally released by Virgin Records

https://www.simpleminds.com/

DEPECHE MODE 101 (1989)

“Who have thought DEPECHE MODE plink-plonking away would play in stadiums?” bemoaned Jim Kerr of SIMPLE MINDS in 2004; but ‘101’ recorded at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in 1988 affirmed their arrival into the stadium league. The audience was mixed so loud that the band were almost drowned out while Dave Gahan bellowing “YEAH!” was a frequent occurrence. In a drumhead free zone, this was an enjoyable set capturing more comparatively innocent times.

‘101’ was originally released by Mute Records

https://www.depechemode.com/

ASHRA @shra (1998)

Recorded on location in Tokyo and Osaka, this live collection saw Manuel Göttsching, Lutz Ulbrich and Harald Grosskopf reunite the 1979-80 band incarnation of ASHRA. Containing 3 lengthy tracks and the much shorter ‘Timbuktu’ in an energetic set with hypnotic blend of progressive guitar and electronics. The highlight was the magnificent sample-free take on 1990’s ‘Twelve Samples’. A second volume was issued in 2002.

‘@shra’ was originally released by Think Progressive

https://www.manuelgoettsching.com/

HEAVEN 17 How Live Is (1999)

In their heyday, HEAVEN 17 never toured. Recorded in Glasgow when the trio came out of hiatus and opened for ERASURE in 1998, the 50 minute set was very electronic, in line with their comeback album ‘Bigger Than America’. Packed full of their best known songs and a version of ‘Being Boiled’, some new arrangements fell under the spell of THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS but they impressed enough for repeat business and continue to play live regularly today.

‘How Live Is’ was originally released by Almafame

https://www.heaven17.com/

SOFT CELL Live (2003)

Reuniting as SOFT CELL first time round in 2001, this double live album caught Marc Almond and Dave Ball in support of their 2002 comeback album ‘Cruelty Without Beauty’. Almond was particularly animated and sounded like he was having fun while Ball’s solid electronics grooved. Almond’s motorbike accident in 2004 put a stop to performing but SOFT CELL reunited again in 2018 for ‘One Night Only’ at London’s O2 Arena.

‘Live’ was originally released by Cooking Vinyl

https://www.softcell.co.uk/

KRAFTWERK Minimum-Maximum (2005)

Featuring founder members Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider, this first official KRAFTWERK live album provided another “is it live or is it Memorex?” conundrum. Suspicions were aroused with the credits in both English and German language versions indicating that many of the tracks were recorded at the same venues! Regardless, the crisp versions on ‘Minimum-Maximum’ provided a far superior listening experience than 1991’s ‘The Mix’.

‘Minimum-Maximum’ was originally released by EMI Music

https://kraftwerk.com/

YAZOO Reconnected Live (2010)

YAZOO’s ‘Reconnected’ tour saw Alison Moyet and Vince Clarke completing unfinished business following their premature spilt in 1983. Clarke provided more analogue-tuned backing compared to the Fairlight-driven tracks of their 1982 tour while Moyet was in fine voice, to the point that you could be forgiven for thinking you were hearing the records if it wasn’t for her breaths. This was a wonderful souvenir for those who were there.

‘Reconnected Live’ was originally released by Mute Records

https://yazooinfo.com/

JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS Rhapsody (2013)

John Foxx’s 2002 live album ‘The Omnidelic Exotour’ with Louis Gordon had been recorded in rehearsals with no audience and ‘Rhapsody’ followed the same route. With a band featuring Benge with Serafina Steer and Hannah Peel, the quartet ran through highlights of the John Foxx portfolio alongside his ULTRAVOX! ballads ‘Hiroshima Mon Amour’ and ‘Just For A Moment’.

‘Rhapsody’ was originally released by Metamatic Records

http://www.metamatic.com/

HYPERBUBBLE Live In London (2015)

Texans HYPERBUBBLE may look like a mutant Country & Western duo but are actually synthpop’s answer to Carter & Cash. ‘Live in London’ was a high quality recording from The Lexington that captured the heart of their “part-performance art, kitsch cabaret pop”. Like a greatest hits set, it featured 45 minutes of fun uptempo numbers including ‘Candy Apple Daydreams’ and ‘Non-Biodegradable Hazardous Waste Disposal’.

‘Live In London’ was originally released by Pure Pop For Now People

https://www.hyperbubble.net/

NEW ORDER featuring LIAM GILLICK ∑(No,12k,Lg,17Mif) (2019)

Back in the day, NEW ORDER were a rather shaky live act which meant their live bootlegs provided unintended entertainment. Since relaunching in 2011 without Peter Hook, they have released 5 live albums. The most interesting was ‘∑(No,12k,Lg,17Mif)’ when NEW ORDER played Manchester’s Old Granada Studios accompanied by a 12 piece synth orchestra. Aside from the dreadful ‘Who’s Joe’ and ‘Guilt Is A Useless Song’, it was a choice selection of firm fan favourites.

‘∑(No,12k,Lg,17Mif)’ was originally released by Mute Artists

https://www.neworder.com/

KITE At The Royal Opera (2020)

Swedish duo KITE performed two theatrical shows at the Royal Swedish Opera augmented by a 16 piece orchestra and choir. Filmed for broadcast on SVT2, the performances were issued as a live double album featuring a lengthy impassioned rendition of the epic ‘Up For Life’. Never doing things by halves, KITE have since performed at the cavernous former limestone quarry Dalhalla and more incredibly, on ice at Stockholm’s Avicii Arena.

‘Kite At The Royal Opera’ was originally released by Astronaut Recordings

https://www.facebook.com/KiteHQ

HOWARD JONES Live At The O2 (2024)

Perhaps too ambitious in trying to take on the O2 Arena, OMD called on Howard Jones as opening act to help get bums on seats. The original solo synth man delivered an enjoyable 50 minute set with a band comprising right hand man Ronnie Bronnimann, the sadly missed Dan Clarke and KAJAGOOGOO bassist Nick Beggs; a cover of ‘Too Shy’ thrown in for good measure alongside ‘New Song’ and a danced-up ‘Things Can Only Get Better’.

‘Live At The O2’ was originally released by Cherry Red Records

http://howardjones.com/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
2nd December 2025

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