The advent of the Eighties saw the synthesiser (which debuted in Sixties with the Mellotron and the Moog) power its way into ubiquity on the airwaves and on stage. It was also the era when Ultravox, a band that dominated and, arguably, defined Eighties music, rose from obscurity to all-conquering prominence.
To begin with, Ultravox were somewhat mercurial in their music. Under the aegis of their vocalist, John Foxx (aka Dennis Leigh) from 1973, they dabbled in genres ranging form glam to punk to synthpop. Heavily indebted to the art-school musicians of the era such as David Bowie and Roxy Music, they still failed to garner appreciable sales of albums or singles.
However, the last track on the second album, Ha!-Ha!-Ha! - an album dominated by electric violin and punkish guitar - featured the first use of a drum machine. The synth-pop prototype, "Hiroshima Mon Amour", has remained a favourite with critic and fan alike.
The third album, Systems Of Romance in 1977, was again met lukewarm criticalresponse and massive public indifference. By 1980, the band had disintegrated; dropped by their Island label had them (the Ultravox catalogue expunged and replaced by a compilation); Foxx gone solo; keyboardist and violinist Billy Currie was playing and touring with Foxx-influenced Gary Numan and bassist Chris Cross dabbling in projects with members of The Pretenders and Eddie & the Hot Rods.
It was into this cavernous breach into which Midge Ure stepped. A multi-talented musician - a guitar god and a keyboard king, as well as a a vibrant vocalist, - Ure re-juvenated the moribund Ultavox in 1980.
His C.V. indicated of his versatility with stints in the semi-glam Slik, outfit, the punkish Rich Kids (Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols) and, most recently, helping power the muscular rock of Thin Lizzy.
This, the band's third mutation, released their debut album, Vienna in July of 1980. One of the tracks, "Sleepwalk", had been released a few weeks earlier in an effort to cement their relationship with new label, Chrysalis. It became the band's inaugural Top 40 single in the U.K., thus achieving its purpose and paving the way for a "Vienna" title track and album.
"Vienna" embodied variety and versatility. A number of different styles make an appearance here, from the minimalist approach of the brooding "Mr. X" to the sweeping breadth of instrumental "Astradyne", with synth-rock numbers like "Passing Stangers" parading within its walls.
It was a soft parade to some; Rolling Stone panned the album and rated it as worth just two stars from five.
"Here, the band simply runs up the flag of significance by utilizing bombast: overblown arrangements, familiar and banal electronic effects. The results sound less like Ultravox' old mechanized enervation than the more-is-more "progressivism" of, say, the Moody Blues anachronistic, pretentious and worn. Debra Rae Cohen (RS 338).
It still hit the charts twice, the second occasion seeing it hit number three spot in 1981.
The same year, the release of Rage In Eden turned out to be less of the same. In addition to singles "The Thin Wall" and "The Voice", there was a long track in three parts on the second side. This led to unfavourable comments and comparisons with early Genesis.
In 1982, the band enlisted the services of legendary Beatles engineer George Martin, who once again demonstrated his deft touch. With Quartet, Ultravox produced their biggest U.S. seller. The follow-up Monument tour was recorded for another U.K. Top Ten release.
The hits kept rolling, as they say, with no less three charting singles from Lament in 1984. This was the final studio outing for what many consider to be the 'classic' Ultravox. Following in Sir Bob Geldof's Live Aid, the band took a break while Ure succesfully experimented with a solo career, scoring a number single and number two album in the U.K.
On re-grouping in 1986, drummer Warren Cann was ejected to be replaced by Mark Brzezicki from Big Country. The resulting sessions culminated in U-Vox, widely regarded - even by the band members - as the nadir of Ultravox's creative output. Despite it charting well, both Midge Ure and Chris Cross the bassist left soon after it release. The following, the remnant decided to call it a day, the band dissolving in 1988.
There was something of a name-only reformation of the band running form 1992-1996. Billy Currie was the sole original. Warren Cann, Chris Cross, Billy Currie and Midge Ure plan a reformation UK tour in April 2009, entitled "Return to Eden", the first time the quartet have performed since Live Aid