SOUNDTRACK4LIFE: THE B-SIDES: Ultravox!

Wednesday, 14 October 2015

Rewind: 1977 Ha! Ha! Ha! - Ultravox!

Ha! Ha! Ha! - Ultravox!

Island

Produced by Steve Lilywhite and Ultravox!

Released 14th October 1977

Did Not Chart!

Personnel
Ultravox!
    Warren Cann – drums, vocals, rhythm machine on "Hiroshima Mon Amour"
    Chris Cross – bass, vocals
    Billy Currie – violins, keyboards, synthesiser
    John Foxx – vocals, guitar on "Hiroshima Mon Amour"
    Stevie Shears – guitar

Additional personnel
    C.C. (from Gloria Mundi) – saxophone on "Hiroshima Mon Amour"

2006 Reissue with 6 Bonus Tracks

I'm sure I knew this before but maybe had forgotten, but Ultravox! with John Foxx on lead vocals never had a Single or Album that charted (getting to #26 in Sweden with the debut album the exception)! Can you believe that? It is most bizzare indeed because at the time, at least in my little world, Ultravox! were one of the biggest bands!

Eight months after their debut album Ultravox! released their second with Ha! Ha! Ha! The 8 Track album contained two singles (ROckWrok and Frozen Ones) and one of their finest songs I think in The Man Who Dies Every Day. Hiroshima Mon Armour was played on the Old Grey Whistle Test.

John Peel Session November 1977.

Recorded 21st November

Broadcast 28th November

01. My Sex

02. The Man Who Dies Every Day

03. Artificial Life

04. Young Savage

Monday, 1 June 2015

Alphabet Beats #143: U is for....Ultravox! (1976-79)

U is for...

Today's choice on Alphabet Beats is a band that I have a fond affection for and whose music was clearly something very fascinating in the years of Punk and New Wave. Click on the links to enjoy the music.

The life of Ultravox can be seen as a series of movements:

01. The John Foxx Years (1974-79)

02. The Midge Ure Years (1979-88)

03. The Midgeless Years (1992-96)

04. The Return of the Midge Years (2009-Present)

For the purposes of this post it is the First Movement that is of particular interest to me. It's not that I didn't particularly like what followed in 2-4 because there are a few songs that I do like but the original line up of the band just appealed to me more.

I was wondering how best to describe the music of early Ultravox! and the best thing I could come up was this: The Glam of Roxy Music meets the Art of David Bowie meets the Rockiness of The Doctors of Madness on the way home!

Ultravox! began life as Tiger Lily in 1973, in 1974 they played their debut show at The Marquee supporting The Heavy Metal Kids, recorded a cover of the Fats Waller song 'Ain't Misbehavin' (backed by 'Monkey Jive') in 1975, began a process of name changes mid-1976 after their live shows came to the attention of Island Records who promptly signed them. Island Records wanted them to be called The Zips (obviously so they could flaunt them as "the Punk band they signed") but the band eventually settled on Ultravox! because no one else liked it and according to Warren Cann, "It sounds like an electrical device and that's what we are".

Their first recorded music on Island Records was in 1976 on the Sampler 'Rock and Reggae and Derek and Clive'. It was the song 'The Wild, The Beautiful and The Damned'. As they had not quite settled on the choice of name it was simply credited to ?

Their debut single ('Dangerous Rhythm'/'My Sex') was released in January 1977 and the album followed on the 25th February. Some songs on the debut were written and performed when they were Tiger Lily. The standout track for me on this is 'The Wild, The Beautiful and The Damned'.

In 1977 they played the Reading Festival (one of the only Punk/New Wave Bands to do so, and they would return again in 1978).

Prior to the release of the debut album they supported Eddie and the Hot Rods at The Rainbow. Obviously Island Records were demonstrating their wisdom here because the Hot Rods were filming the show and recording and in kind of a two for one deal label mates Ultravox! were added to the bill and their set was recorded also (tracks from it were released as B-sides and on a Live EP).