Ultravox once had an exclamation mark after their name and a singer called John Foxx (real name Dennis Leigh), but once both of these were out of the way they were free to enjoy the chart success which had previously eluded them, adding Midge Ure and his teen-idol sensibilities to the team and going on to create some classic pop. Their grandiose ballad "Vienna" (1981), complete with a heavily stylized video pastiche of The Third Man, epitomized Britain's late 70s New Romantic fad.

Nonetheless, the earlier incarnation, Ultravox! with Foxx, were a more interesting proposition by far. After a false start as Tiger Lily, Foxx, bassist Chris St John (who later became Chris Cross), Canadian drummer Warren Cann, Billy Currie (keyboards/violin) and Steve Shears (guitar) burst on to the new wave scene of 1976. They were a little too arch and knowing to be accepted as anything other than gatecrashers at that year's private punk party, with their obvious Bowie and Roxy Music mannerisms, but they were a mesmerizing live experience. Foxx cut a heroic figure at the centre of a maelstrom whipped up by the slashing feedback of guitarist Shears and Currie's frenzied violin.

Live, they managed to retain both pace and melody, but even with the help of producer Brian Eno, Ultravox! (1977) failed to recapture their on-stage energy. Even so, the scope of their intentions was confirmed by the contrast between its last two songs -the roaring "The Wild, The Beautiful And The Damned" and the wonderfully pretentious and narcissistic "My Sex".

Despite a considerable live following, single releases failed to connect with a wider public. But, if frustration and bitterness were detectable on the second album Ha Ha Ha! (1977), it was all the more magnificent and animated for it. Melodies were often reduced to disdainful monotones and an embittered Foxx bickered in a voice stripped of any resonance, being particularly convincing on "Artificial Life". Backed for much of the time by banshee howls of disgust and shrill guitars, the only respite was offered by Currie's Satie-inspired keyboard intros, and the lush sax and layered building sound of the closer "Hiroshima Mon Amour".

Ha Ha Ha! was Ultravox!'s finest hour, but it didn't chart and, with replacement guitarist Robin Simon, the band sulked off to Germany and the guidance of Conny Plank. The weary result, Systems Of Romance (1978), was their final release for Island, and, by 1979, Foxx had left for a solo career and further explorations of urban isolation. (Highlights were collected on the 1988 compilation, Assembly.)

Simon joined Magazine, while the other band members decided to stick together and look for a new singer. Ure, who'd already made one quantum leap from the teenybop Slik to The Rich Kids with ex-Sex Pistol Glen Matlock, proved nothing if not versatile; while rehearsing with vox, he stood in as Thin Lizzy's guitarist on a US tour.

Ure and Currie joined Steve Strange in Visage, and scored a Top 10 hit with "Fade To Grey" (1980), only weeks before "Vienna" became Ultravox's biggest hit and best-remembered track, beginning a string of hit singles which continued through the early 80s, compiled on the 1984 album, The Collection.

It was a kind of end. The same year Ure struck a partnership with Bob Geldof for Band Aid, and subsequently pursued a successful solo career, while Cann left the band in 1986, replaced by Big Country's Mark Brzezicki, for the LP, U-Vox. By 1987, Ultravox had folded, although Currie, Simon and vocalist Marcus O'Higgins carried on - forgettably -as U-Vox, eventually returning in 1993 as Ultravox with new vocalists and further synth-pop albums, most recently Ingenuity (Resurgence 1997)

Thanks to Warren Cann for clearing up a few misconceptions

Slow Motion (1993; Spectrum). A useful budget-priced compilation of the first three albums. Undeniably pretentious, but high on melody, attitude and enjoyment.

The Collection (1984; Chrysalis). From "Vienna" and "Dancing With Tears In My Eyes" to "We Came To Dance", here's a race through Ultravox's early 80s pop incarnation. Doubtless currently available at a secondhand shop near you, testimony to the fickle nature of pop.

Ada Wilson

Taken from the Rough Guide to Rock. © Rough Guides Ltd. First edition published Aug 96 / Nov 96 (USA). Distributed by Penguin.
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