ULTRAVOX

Random and bite-sized facts on all things on the mythical figures that made up Ultravox. Totally random but totally fascinating if you're into it. Do you know Ultravox now?

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A non-album single from the 'Metamatic' era

John Foxx released “Burning Car” in 1980, following his debut solo album Metamatic. The single paired the stark, machine-driven title track with “20th Century” on the B-side. Both belong to the same period in which Foxx was exploring how synthesizers and drum machines could create music that felt cold, mechanical and strangely atmospheric, without relying on the usual conventions of guitar-led rock.

Front Cover

Back Cover / Record Label

Underpass 7" Front Cover

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JOHN FOXX WAS BORN DENNIS LEIGH

John Foxx was born Dennis Leigh in Chorley, Lancashire. He moved to London and studied at the Royal College of Art, where he became increasingly interested in combining art, technology and music.

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TIGER LILY STARTED AT ART COLLEGE

In 1974, Leigh formed the band that would eventually become Ultravox. The original group was called Tiger Lily and began with Leigh, guitarist Stevie Shears and bassist Chris Allen, who would later become known as Chris Cross.

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WARREN CANN ANSWERED AN AD

Canadian drummer Warren Cann joined Tiger Lily after answering an advertisement for a drummer in Melody Maker. Leigh invited him to meet the band, and Cann soon became one of the key members of the group.

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CANN WAS IMPRESSED BY FOXX'S SONGS

When Warren Cann first met the group, John Foxx played him some of his songs on acoustic guitar. Cann later recalled being impressed by the songs and particularly by Foxx's lyrics.

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BILLY CURRIE JOINED AS A VIOLINIST

Billy Currie joined Tiger Lily in late 1974. Although he would eventually become one of Ultravox's most recognisable keyboard players, he initially joined the group primarily as a violinist.

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THE BAND HAD SEVERAL NAMES BEFORE ULTRAVOX

Tiger Lily was only one of several names used by the group. They also tried names including The Zips and Fire of London before John Foxx came up with Ultravox!

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FOXX WANTED THE NAME TO SOUND LIKE A MACHINE

John Foxx chose the name Ultravox! partly because he wanted it to sound like an electrical product. The exclamation mark was also a nod to the German experimental group Neu!, whose name was styled in a similar way.

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THEIR FIRST SINGLE WAS A FATS WALLER SONG

Before they were Ultravox!, the band released "Ain't Misbehavin'" as Tiger Lily in 1975. It was a cover of the Fats Waller song and was backed by an original song called "Monkey Jive".

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AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' HAD AN UNUSUAL ORIGIN

"Ain't Misbehavin'" was recorded because a friend of the band's manager was putting together a film using old 1920s footage. The song was wanted as the soundtrack, giving the struggling young band a chance to make a record and earn some money.

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THE MONEY BOUGHT BILLY CURRIE AN ELECTRIC PIANO

John Foxx later recalled that the money from the "Ain't Misbehavin'" project was used to buy Billy Currie an electric piano. At the time the band was extremely short of money, so even relatively small amounts could make a significant difference to their equipment.

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FOXX SPENT HIS ART COLLEGE GRANT ON EQUIPMENT

John Foxx said that he spent his art college grant on musical equipment while the band was getting started. The group was developing its sound with very limited resources, long before it had a record deal or a professional studio budget.

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THEIR FIRST GIG WAS IN CHORLEY

Ultravox's early incarnation played its first gig in Chorley in April 1974. The show was followed shortly afterwards by an important appearance at London's Marquee Club.

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FOXX CHOSE WARREN CANN HIMSELF

John Foxx later said that Warren Cann was the only musician he specifically asked to join the original band. He felt that drummers varied greatly in quality and wanted Cann because he believed he had the right approach.

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THE FIRST ULTRAVOX! ALBUM CAME FROM A VERY DIFFERENT BAND

By the time Ultravox! recorded their first album in 1977, the band had moved a long way from the early Tiger Lily sound. The record combined aggressive guitar rock with synthesizers, violin, electronic textures and John Foxx's detached vocals.

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BRIAN ENO WAS INVOLVED WITH THE FIRST ALBUM

Brian Eno worked with Ultravox! on their debut album, contributing synthesizer parts and helping shape the record's experimental electronic sound. Eno had recently left Roxy Music and was working with Island Records, the label that also signed Ultravox!

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FOXX AND ENO HAD MET AT ISLAND

John Foxx and Brian Eno had already encountered each other through Island Records before working together on Ultravox!'s debut. Foxx was attracted to Eno's approach to electronic sound and experimentation.

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ULTRAVOX! WERE ALREADY USING SYNTHESIZERS BEFORE PUNK

Although Ultravox! became associated with the emerging punk and new-wave scene, their music was already incorporating synthesizers and electronic sounds when their first album appeared in 1977. The combination of electronics with loud guitars became one of the defining features of the Foxx-era band.

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MIDGE URE JOINED A BROKEN BAND

When Midge Ure joined Ultravox in 1979, the band was in a difficult position. John Foxx had left, guitarist Robin Simon had gone and the group had been dropped by their record label. Ure later recalled that they were essentially broke and many people thought the band was finished.

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URE SAID YES ALMOST IMMEDIATELY

When Billy Currie asked Midge Ure if he would join Ultravox, Ure said it took him about a nanosecond to accept. He already knew Currie from working on the Visage project and had been a fan of the earlier Ultravox.

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THE NEW ULTRAVOX COULD BARELY AFFORD TO REHEARSE

Ure and the other members put whatever money they had together to hire a rehearsal room for a couple of hours. They arrived with basic equipment, plugged in and started playing. Ure later said that the sound they made was so powerful that he knew immediately the new line-up was going to work.

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URE HAD ALREADY BOUGHT A SYNTHESIZER

Before joining Ultravox, Midge Ure had bought a synthesizer for his previous band The Rich Kids. He wanted to combine electronic sounds with rock music, but the other members were not convinced by the idea. Ure later took that approach directly into Ultravox.

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VISAGE HELPED BRING URE INTO ULTRAVOX

Midge Ure and Billy Currie had already been working together on Visage when Ure joined Ultravox. The connection between the two projects was important: Ure's relationship with Currie through Visage was one of the reasons he was approached about joining the band.

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URE WAS STILL IN THIN LIZZY

When Midge Ure joined Ultravox, he was also involved with Thin Lizzy. He had joined the band for touring and was still committed to those dates while the new Ultravox line-up was taking shape.

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VIENNA WAS WRITTEN ON THE ROAD

Much of the material that became Vienna was developed while Ultravox were touring America in 1979. The band was still finding its identity with Ure when the songs were being written, so the album was effectively created while they were becoming a new version of Ultravox.

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VIENNA TOOK ONLY THREE WEEKS

The Vienna album was recorded in around three weeks. Most of its songs had already been developed and played live, which meant the band could enter the studio with much of the material already worked out.

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THE BAND WENT TO GERMANY FOR THE SOUND

Ultravox worked with German producer Conny Plank on Vienna. Plank had already become associated with experimental electronic music, and his studio near Cologne gave the band the environment they wanted for combining synthesizers, guitars, electronic drums and violin.

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ASTRADYNE WAS THE FIRST TRACK ON VIENNA

Vienna opens with "Astradyne", an instrumental lasting more than seven minutes. It contains no lead vocal and was one of the tracks that immediately established the stark, atmospheric direction of the new Ultravox.

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CHRYSALIS THOUGHT THE ALBUM WAS CRAZY

When Ultravox presented Vienna to Chrysalis Records, the record company was reportedly shocked that the album began with the long instrumental "Astradyne". Midge Ure later recalled that they thought starting an album with an eight-minute instrumental was commercial suicide.

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VIENNA WASN'T AN IMMEDIATE HIT

The Vienna album was released in July 1980 but initially made only a modest impact. The title track was released as a single later that year, but it did not become the huge hit it would eventually become until it was reissued in early 1981.

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THE VIENNA SINGLE WAS NEARLY A DIFFERENT RECORD

Ultravox did not originally expect "Vienna" to become their biggest single. The band had already released "Sleepwalk" and "Passing Strangers" from the album before the title track was chosen for release.

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VIENNA BECAME ULTRAVOX'S BIGGEST HIT

"Vienna" eventually reached number two in the UK in early 1981 and stayed there for three weeks. It was kept off the top spot by Joe Dolce's "Shaddap You Face", but became the defining hit of the Midge Ure era.

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RAGE IN EDEN WAS MADE COMPLETELY DIFFERENTLY

After the success of Vienna, Ultravox deliberately avoided simply making another version of the same album. They went to Conny Plank's studio in Germany without finished songs and spent three months creating Rage in Eden from scratch.

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URE CONSIDERS RAGE IN EDEN SPECIAL

Midge Ure has described Rage in Eden as one of his favourite Ultravox albums. Unlike Vienna, much of it was created directly in the studio, giving the record a darker and more experimental atmosphere that the band could not have achieved by simply rehearsing finished songs beforehand.

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VIENNA WAS MOSTLY FILMED IN LONDON

Despite looking as though it was filmed almost entirely in Vienna, much of Ultravox's "Vienna" video was actually shot in London. Russell Mulcahy used locations around Covent Garden and the old Kilburn Gaumont Theatre to create the film-noir atmosphere.

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THE BAND PAID FOR THE VIDEO THEMSELVES

Chrysalis Records initially refused to finance a video for "Vienna", so Ultravox borrowed the money themselves and went ahead. The video cost around £6,000, which was a substantial amount for the band at the time.

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THEY ONLY SPENT ONE DAY IN VIENNA

Most of the location work was done in London. The band and a tiny film crew flew to Vienna for a single day to capture the shots that could not be recreated in Britain, including the cemetery sequence.

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THE CEMETERY WAS THE REAL VIENNA

The cemetery scenes were filmed at Vienna's Zentralfriedhof. The distinctive monument seen in the video and on the single sleeve is the grave monument of Carl Schweighofer, a nineteenth-century piano manufacturer.

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THE WHITE HORSE WAS IN LONDON

The memorable opening shot of the white horse walking along cobbled streets was filmed in Covent Garden rather than Vienna. Russell Mulcahy used the London location to create the impression that the band had been transported into another city and another era.

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RUSSELL MULCAHY WANTED A FILM NOIR FEEL

Russell Mulcahy deliberately approached "Vienna" like a miniature film rather than a conventional performance video. He drew on the atmosphere of classic film noir and used dramatic lighting, slow movement and wide-screen compositions to give the song a cinematic quality.

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THE THIRD MAN WAS A MAJOR INFLUENCE

The video was heavily influenced by Carol Reed's 1949 film The Third Man, which was set in post-war Vienna. The reference was deliberate, helping give the video its shadows, European atmosphere and sense of mystery.

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MULCAHY HAD AN UNUSUAL FIRST IDEA

When Russell Mulcahy first heard "Vienna", he imagined filming the band in gondolas. He had not initially realised that the song referred to Vienna rather than Venice. The idea was quickly abandoned, but Mulcahy still created the elaborate European atmosphere he had imagined.

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ULTRAVOX RE-EDITED THE VIDEO THEMSELVES

The band became much more involved in the editing of "Vienna" than they had been with their previous videos. Warren Cann later recalled that Ultravox re-edited the first version they were shown because they had developed a much clearer idea of how they wanted the finished film to look.

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PASSING STRANGERS WAS THE VIDEO THAT CAME FIRST

Before "Vienna", Ultravox had already worked with Russell Mulcahy on the video for "Passing Strangers". Its cinematic black-and-white style helped establish the visual approach that would be developed much further for "Vienna".

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PASSING STRANGERS WAS FILMED LIKE A SHORT FILM

The "Passing Strangers" video used black-and-white photography, dramatic lighting, special effects and fast editing rather than simply showing Ultravox performing. It helped establish the band's increasingly cinematic visual identity.

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ALL STOOD STILL WENT BACK TO THE STAGE

After the cinematic approach of "Vienna", Ultravox used a very different idea for "All Stood Still". The video was essentially a performance piece, showing the band playing the song rather than constructing another elaborate film narrative.

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VISIONS IN BLUE CAUSED PROBLEMS FOR TV

The video for "Visions in Blue" caused controversy because it contained brief nudity. The original version was rejected by the BBC and MTV, and an edited version had to be produced for television transmission.

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DANCING WITH TEARS IN MY EYES TOLD A STORY

The video for "Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" was another deliberate move away from simply showing the band performing. It told a dramatic story about a nuclear disaster, following Midge Ure as he tries to get home to his family before the catastrophe arrives.

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ULTRAVOX MADE VIDEOS PART OF THE MUSIC

By the early 1980s, Ultravox were treating their videos as part of the identity of the songs rather than simply promotional footage. "Vienna", "Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" and "Visions in Blue" each created a distinct visual world around the music.

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CHRIS CROSS WAS THERE BEFORE ULTRAVOX EXISTED

Chris Cross was actually Christopher Allen when he joined John Foxx and Stevie Shears in Tiger Lily in 1974. He was there from the beginning, before the band became Ultravox!, making him one of the few musicians to remain throughout both the Foxx and Midge Ure eras.

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HE WASN'T JUST THE BASS PLAYER

Cross became increasingly interested in electronic instruments. During the late 1970s he experimented with an EMS Synthi AKS, and after Midge Ure joined Ultravox he acquired a Minimoog, which he used particularly for bass sounds.

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HIS MINIMOOG HELPED SHAPE THE VIENNA SOUND

Cross used his Minimoog alongside Warren Cann's drum machines, producing the repeating synthesizer bass sounds heard on tracks including "Vienna" and "All Stood Still". It was another example of Ultravox treating electronic instruments as part of the rhythm section rather than simply adding them as decoration.

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CHRIS CROSS CO-WROTE VIENNA

The title track of Ultravox's biggest hit was credited to all four members of the classic line-up: Warren Cann, Chris Cross, Billy Currie and Midge Ure. Cross was therefore one of the four writers behind "Vienna", rather than simply the bass player performing on it.

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HE WAS ONE OF TIGER LILY'S ORIGINAL MEMBERS

When Tiger Lily formed in 1974, Cross was using the name Chris St. John. The band went through several changes before becoming Ultravox!, but Cross remained at the centre of it. His career with the group eventually stretched from 1974 to 1989, with a later return for the Ultravox reunion.

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HE AND MIDGE URE BECAME CLOSE FRIENDS

Cross and Ure became close after Ure joined Ultravox. Away from the band they also worked together on music videos, including Bananarama's "Shy Boy" and Fun Boy Three's "The Telephone Always Rings".

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HE RETURNED FOR ULTRAVOX'S REUNION

Cross returned to Ultravox when the classic line-up reunited in 2009. He then co-wrote the songs on the band's 2012 album "Brilliant" with Midge Ure and Billy Currie.

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CHRIS CROSS WAS THERE AT THE START AND THE END

Cross began with the group when it was still Tiger Lily, helped shape its electronic sound as Ultravox developed, co-wrote "Vienna", and eventually returned for the band's final chapter. He was one of the constants running through the whole Ultravox story.

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BILLY CURRIE WAS A VIOLINIST BEFORE HE WAS A SYNTH PLAYER

Billy Currie was originally trained as a violinist and later studied viola at music college. When he joined Ultravox, he was initially regarded primarily as a string player. It took about a year for him to move into the keyboard role that would become just as important to the band's sound.

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HE DIDN'T FIRST PLAY SYNTHESIZERS IN ULTRAVOX

Currie had already discovered the possibilities of electronic strings before becoming Ultravox's main keyboard player. He became fascinated by the Elka Rhapsody string synthesizer because of the cold, distinctive sound it gave the music.

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THE ARP ODYSSEY CHANGED HIS SOUND

In 1977 Currie bought an ARP synthesizer because he wanted to take the sounds he was getting from string machines somewhere completely different. The ARP Odyssey eventually became one of his signature instruments, particularly for the fluid, pitch-bending solos that became part of Ultravox's sound.

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VIENNA WAS CURRIE'S CHANCE TO USE HIS CLASSICAL TRAINING

When Ultravox began writing "Vienna", Currie wanted the music to have the feel of late-19th-century Romantic composers such as Grieg and Elgar. That classical influence became one of the things that separated the song from ordinary electronic pop.

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THE VIOLIN SOLO WAS DELIBERATELY OVER THE TOP

Currie had been listening to the German composer Max Reger while working on "Vienna". He deliberately played the violin solo in an exaggeratedly romantic style, with heavy vibrato. What could have sounded old-fashioned became one of the most recognisable parts of the song.

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CURRIE DIDN'T THINK VIENNA WOULD BE A HIT

Even after recording the finished track, Ultravox didn't think "Vienna" was obviously the hit from the album. Currie actually had to fight for the song to be released as a single because he was proud of it and didn't want it overlooked.

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HE BOUGHT A VIOLIN IN COLOGNE DURING RAGE IN EDEN

While Ultravox were making "Rage in Eden" at Conny Plank's studio in Cologne in 1981, Currie bought a violin there. He immediately used it on the album, including the solo on "The Ascent".

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THE SAME VIOLIN WAS USED ON THE THIN WALL

Currie had bought another electric violin during the "Vienna" tour at the end of 1980. He used it almost immediately, including for the solo near the end of "The Thin Wall". Conny Plank even analysed its frequencies in the studio and used extensive EQ to compensate for what was missing from the instrument.

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CURRIE HELPED GIVE ULTRAVOX ITS UNUSUAL IDENTITY

Ultravox could have been another guitar and synthesizer band. Currie's violin and viola gave the music something much stranger. He could move from classical-sounding strings to analogue synthesizer solos, often within the same song.

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WARREN CANN HELPED INVENT ULTRAVOX'S ELECTRONIC RHYTHM

Warren Cann didn't simply replace a conventional drum kit with drum machines. He experimented with ways of combining electronic percussion, acoustic drums and synthesizers, helping create the hybrid sound that became one of Ultravox's trademarks.

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THE CR-78 HELPED MAKE VIENNA

Cann's Roland CR-78 drum machine was crucial to "Vienna". The machine was primitive by modern standards, with very limited programming, but Cann found ways of getting much more out of it. He later said the CR-78's limitations actually helped make the song possible.

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HE MODIFIED HIS DRUM MACHINES

Cann and his technicians modified commercially available drum machines so he could alter their sounds and rhythms beyond what the manufacturers originally allowed. His Roland TR-77 was heavily modified, with separate outputs and controls that changed the character of its individual sounds.

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HE CREATED THE VIENNA RHYTHM

Cann came up with the distinctive rhythm that opens "Vienna" and played the idea to the other members of Ultravox. He later recalled simply saying, "How about this?" The rhythm became one of the most recognisable drum patterns in British pop.

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THE THUNDER SOUND WAS ELECTRONIC

The huge thunder-like sound heard in "Vienna" wasn't an ordinary acoustic drum. Cann used a Synare III electronic percussion instrument to create it, adding another layer to the song's unusually dramatic rhythm.

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HE BUILT A SEQUENCER FOR ULTRAVOX

Cann developed a Trigger Recorder Sequencer that could generate click pulses and keep drum machines, electronic percussion and Chris Cross's synthesizer parts synchronised. It was used during the recording of "Vienna" and "Western Promise".

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HE WAS ALREADY THINKING ABOUT PROGRAMMING

Cann saw drum machines as more than a way of replacing a drummer. He was fascinated by their ability to capture an idea and reproduce it precisely, then allow the pattern to be edited and rebuilt. He considered programmability more important than simply making a machine sound like an acoustic drum kit.

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HIS EQUIPMENT BECAME KNOWN AS THE IRON LUNG

By the height of Ultravox's electronic period, Cann had accumulated so much equipment around his drum kit that the rest of the band nicknamed the entire setup "The Iron Lung". It included multiple Simmons drum synthesizers, Roland drum machines, a Linn LM-1, a LinnDrum and other electronic equipment.

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HE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST DRUMMERS TO USE THE LINN LM-1

Cann acquired a Linn LM-1, one of the earliest programmable digital drum machines, and regarded it as one of the most important instruments of his career. Its ability to programme and edit rhythms opened up possibilities that conventional drumming couldn't provide.

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ULTRAVOX STILL CONSIDERED THEMSELVES A ROCK BAND

Despite all the technology surrounding Cann, Ultravox didn't see themselves as an electronic band replacing rock instruments. They regarded the electronics as something to combine with the traditional instruments. That mixture of acoustic playing and programmed sounds was central to their identity.

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BAND AID CHANGED ULTRAVOX'S DIRECTION

When Midge Ure became heavily involved with Band Aid and then Live Aid, Ultravox took a break. Ure then finished his solo album "The Gift" and toured it. By the time he returned to Ultravox, he felt the band had changed while he had been away.

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THE FOUR MEMBERS HAD STARTED MOVING IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS

Midge Ure later said that the differences between the members had become much bigger during their time apart. What had once been small disagreements had grown into fundamental differences about where Ultravox should go next.

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WARREN CANN LEFT BEFORE U-VOX

The first major break in the classic line-up came in 1986 when Warren Cann was dismissed from Ultravox because of musical differences. Big Country drummer Mark Brzezicki was brought in to record the next album.

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CANN'S DEPARTURE WAS A MAJOR CHANGE

Cann had been with Ultravox since 1974 and was responsible for much of the band's distinctive electronic percussion. Losing the drummer who had helped create the rhythms of "Vienna", "The Voice" and "Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" meant that the classic four-piece was already gone before "U-Vox" was completed.

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U-VOX WAS RECORDED WITHOUT WARREN CANN

With Mark Brzezicki on drums, Ultravox recorded "U-Vox" at several studios including Conny Plank's studio in Cologne. The album was released in October 1986 and reached No.9 in Britain, continuing the band's run of Top 10 albums.

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MIDGE URE THOUGHT U-VOX WAS UNFOCUSED

Ure later described "U-Vox" as an unfocused album. It was deliberately different from the familiar Ultravox sound, with orchestration on "All in One Day" arranged by George Martin and The Chieftains appearing on "All Fall Down".

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THE SINGLES WERE NO LONGER HITTING THE SAME HEIGHTS

"Same Old Story" reached No.31 in Britain, followed by "All Fall Down" at No.30. "All in One Day", released in 1987, reached only No.88. The album itself still made No.9, but the singles showed that Ultravox were no longer enjoying the enormous momentum of their earlier years.

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THE SPLIT WASN'T A BIG BLOW-UP

Midge Ure later described the end of Ultravox as something that "frittered out" rather than one huge argument. After the "U-Vox" tour, it became clear that the members were no longer working towards the same thing.

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URE WAS THE ONE WHO SAID HE WAS LEAVING

Ure eventually told the others that he was leaving. His view was that there had been an Ultravox before him, so there was no reason there couldn't be an Ultravox after him. The others did not want to continue without him, and the band ended in 1987.

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THE END CAME SEVEN YEARS AFTER VIENNA

Ultravox's classic Midge Ure line-up had transformed the band from a struggling post-punk group into one of Britain's biggest electronic rock acts. Seven years after "Vienna" changed everything for them, the group had played its final tour and walked away.

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ULTRAVOX HAD THREE VERY DIFFERENT ERAS

Ultravox's history can be divided into three distinct periods: the John Foxx years, the Midge Ure years, and the later line-ups after the original band split. The music changed dramatically between them, but the name survived all three.

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THE BAND MADE THREE ALBUMS BEFORE VIENNA

By the time "Vienna" arrived in 1980, Ultravox had already released three albums: "Ultravox!", "Ha! Ha! Ha!" and "Systems of Romance". None had reached the UK album chart, making the success of "Vienna" a remarkable turnaround.

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CONNY PLANK CONNECTED TWO ERAS OF ULTRAVOX

Conny Plank produced "Systems of Romance" with the John Foxx line-up in 1978 and then worked with the Midge Ure line-up on "Vienna" and "Rage in Eden". The same German producer was therefore involved at two crucial points in Ultravox's development.

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GEORGE MARTIN PRODUCED ULTRAVOX

After working with Conny Plank on their previous albums, Ultravox turned to George Martin for "Quartet" in 1982. The man who had produced The Beatles was now producing one of Britain's leading electronic bands.

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QUARTET PRODUCED FOUR TOP 20 SINGLES

"Quartet" was unusually successful as a source of singles. "Reap the Wild Wind", "Hymn", "Visions in Blue" and "We Came to Dance" all reached the UK Top 20, giving the album four separate chart hits.

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THEY HAD SEVEN CONSECUTIVE TOP 10 ALBUMS

Between "Vienna" in 1980 and "U-Vox" in 1986, Ultravox placed seven consecutive studio albums in the UK Top 10. "Vienna" reached No.3, "Rage in Eden" No.4, "Quartet" No.6, "Lament" No.8 and "U-Vox" No.9, while the run began with the chart success of "Vienna".

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THEY NEVER HAD A UK NUMBER ONE SINGLE

Despite sixteen UK Top 40 singles and some of the biggest songs of the early 1980s, Ultravox never reached No.1. "Vienna" came closest, spending three weeks at No.2 in 1981.

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THEY WERE MORE THAN A SYNTH-POP BAND

Ultravox combined synthesizers with electric guitar, bass, electronic and acoustic drums, violin and viola. Their records could move between punk, glam rock, electronic music, classical influences and atmospheric instrumental music without settling comfortably into one category.

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THEIR INSTRUMENTAL TRACKS WERE IMPORTANT

Ultravox were willing to give unusually large amounts of space to instrumental music. "Astradyne", which opens "Vienna", lasts more than seven minutes, while later albums continued to use extended instrumental passages rather than treating them as short introductions.

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ULTRAVOX KEPT CHANGING PRODUCERS

The band's major albums involved some very different production partnerships: Brian Eno and Steve Lillywhite worked on the first album, Conny Plank became important during the electronic transformation, and George Martin produced "Quartet". Each period gave the band a noticeably different character.

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THE BAND EVENTUALLY REFORMED AFTER SIXTEEN YEARS

The classic line-up reunited in 2008 after being apart for more than two decades. They toured together and released "Brilliant" in 2012, their first studio album with that line-up since "U-Vox" in 1986.

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THE REUNION ALBUM REACHED THE TOP 25

"Brilliant" reached No.21 in the UK album chart in 2012. It meant that the classic Ultravox line-up could still make the British album chart more than 25 years after its previous studio album.

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THE CLASSIC LINE-UP'S FINAL SHOWS WERE WITH SIMPLE MINDS

Ultravox's final performances came in 2013 when they joined Simple Minds as special guests on a four-date UK arena tour. What had started with Tiger Lily in 1974 therefore ended with the classic line-up sharing a stage with another major band from the same era.

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