Ultravox

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About Ultravox

Ultravox were often associated with the UK’s early-’80s New Romantic movement thanks to their 1980 single “Vienna,” a swooning electro-pop song with heartbeat rhythms and melodramatic vocal flourishes. But while the London band did have strong ties to that fashionable scene—frontman Midge Ure and keyboardist/violinist Billy Currie had also been bandmates in the influential synth-pop act Visage—they had much artsier and rougher roots. Ultravox formed in 1974 under the name Tiger Lily with a different vocalist, John Foxx. This lineup debuted in 1977 with two albums: Ultravox!, an LP indebted to Roxy Music and Kraftwerk, and the more raucous, punkish Ha! Ha! Ha!. Ure replaced Foxx in 1979, setting the stage for the Vienna LP, a futuristic mix of jagged rock and crisp keyboard sounds that was overseen by the legendary German producer Conny Plank. The early ’80s found Ultravox enjoying more success with dramatic synth-pop singles “Dancing with Tears in My Eyes” and “Reap the Wild Wind” before the band broke up in 1987. They reunited several times with different lineups, including a fruitful revival from 2008 to 2013. Currie’s subsequent retirement from Ultravox left Ure in charge of keeping the group’s music and legacy alive, largely via solo tours.

ORIGIN
London, England
FORMED
1976
GENRE
Pop

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