Ultravox are the most underrated band of the 80s. Both the John Foxx and Midge Ure versions of Ultravox produced some of the most beautiful and haunting songs of the era. Listen to 'Systems of Romance' and tell me they didn't lay the blue print for all the new wave bands to follow (and garner more success, infuriatingly), they were so ahead of their time. And Midge Ure took the brilliant foundation of Ultravox and made it even more spectacular with songs like 'Vienna', 'Dancing With Tears In My Eyes' and 'Reap The Wild Wind' (one of my favorite songs of all time). I get so annoyed that they aren't as well known as they should be, they truly were pioneers of the genre.
By 29 I was all given up about being a musician. Then, as a last ditch effort, I auditioned in Vienna and my life changed. Now, eight years later, I am paying my bills singing opera in Austria, but I am and always shall be a rocker at heart. Every time I drive up the Autobahn and see the Vienna skyline popping up at the horizon, I think of this song and thank Ultravox in silence, inspiring me to go out there and (litterally) shout my voice out loud. :P
Midge was a very busy person in the 80s. He had his hands in so many projects and is a great example of a human being. Thank you for bringing this story to light for people that may not know! Rock on brother!
I like a lot of what Midge and Ultravox did but man his take on Bowie's man who sold the world is cool as hell, as is Nirvana's cover of it on the MTV Unplugged show.....seriously unplugged was the last cool thing MTV had going
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 yep, I met Midge & Paul Young together after a great gig I saw both co-headline, was really happy when he played Fade to Grey!!
Midge Ure opened for Howard Jones this summer. He performed for a half hour and sang Vienna and Dancing with Tears in My Eyes. I was impressed with his singing, guitar and keyboard playing.
Awesome. Midge is a great guy. I've interviewed him a couple times and found him to be really down to earth. and kind. Thanks for sharing your memories Catherine.
It was great to see both of these acts again this year, since the last time I'd seen either was back in July of 1989. Howard Jones was touring his "Those Who Move Clouds" tour, and Midge was his opener, promoting the Answers to Nothing album. Suffice to say, both were amazing (I still have tour buttons and shirts somewhere), and Howard was probably the most technically proficient musician I've ever seen live, with one of the most polished shows I've ever seen.
I continue to love this song. So haunting and unforgettable. I was a teenager in the 80's. About 6 years ago, my husband and I planned a European trip and I knew I had to make the first stop Vienna. We did, it did not disappoint. It was also used in the Americans. Every single time I listen to this song, I can lose myself in this amazing feeling. People who love this song knows just what I mean.
I'm so very jealous that you got to interview him. ☺️ I've been a rabid fan of Midge Ure since his Ultravox days. I saw him in concert in 1990 and again in 2015, the latter just him and a guitar, and he's still amazing. 🥰
It's rare for you to feature a piece I'm not already familiar with and remember from back in the day. I have honestly never heard this one before. And now I have. Adding it to the playlist, and thank you so much for the gift of new old music.
Super interview! Midge always gives good conversation and Professor always knows the right questions to ask. I first saw Ultravox on the Quartet tour in L.A. and years later in 2009, saw their reunion show in London with the same friend who I went with in 1983 and ended up on the bands extras DVD. Great full circle Ultravox moment.
"Vienna" is one of the finest songs ever recorded. The fragile beginning with the nice synth in the background and Midge who sings over it, this sets the stage. And it all breaks down with "This means nothing to me". First I thought that the song lacks a meaning. But it's the melancholy at the end of a romance in a foreign city. I am sure that most New Wave music would never have happened without this masterpiece. Having said this, this means that I would never have started making music myself without "Vienna". Thank you for this video. And all the people who love music have to thank Midge Ure for this glorious song.
After hearing "Do they know it's Christmas?", our feeble response, "We are the world." was a cheesy, trite embarrassment. Even half the people who sang "We are the world." didn't like the song. It reminded me of the first Frosted Mini Wheats commercial.
@@pcno2832 I still think We Are the World is the world's worst song to ever hit #1... Even Mr. Blobby a few years later shoots it out of the water on stylistic points...
Great interview with Midge. Wasn't that familiar with this tune but have a newfound respect both for him and the challenges he and his bandmates faced in making it. We forget how much technology has changed since those not so long-ago days. Thanks Adam!
"If I was" and "" Dancing With Tears In My Eyes" had to be some of the best songs of that era. I always though Midge was one of the better and more creative artists.
There's a great 12" mix of If I Was and Dancing With Tears In My Eyes is one of the most simultaneously melancholy and upbeat songs of the eighties, given its subject matter of the last hours before a nuclear war. The lyric, sentiment and vocal delivery are very poignant in that context. It worked both as a chart hit and piece of social commentary at the time and still sounds fresh today.
One of my favorite songs all time! This song was a game changer and I immediately recorded it off MTV and was so impressed with the direction video could help change the whole music scene. Midge Ure is a fantastic interview with the amount of effort that went into making this masterpiece of music and he broke it all down. I was disappointed when MTV didn't give us more of Ultravox. Great interview I would have never know Midge was a punk rocker first then a heavier band, quite a life!
When I first heard this song on my TV sometime during COVID, I immediately has to turn it off and go listen to it in my bedroom. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Such a masterpiece. Made me an Ultravox fan for life.
You can’t imagine how much I love this album. Vienna in my opinion was s one of only a few albums that work as a whole piece. Where every song progresses into the next and moves you when listening from start to end. Only a few albums have moved me like this. The others are dark side of the moon, sheer heart attack and a night at the opera.
I was a huge MTV fan when it was new. And, I remember when this song was in the rotation. It was so new, fresh, and different. I loved the way the music and the video worked so well together to tell the story. The different elements of the song were so amazing too. Midge sang it beautifully. The beat (although electric) wasn't stale at all. In fact, it actually made the song come alive. And, the accents of the classical instruments were absolutely spot-on. I'm also a big fan of learning how music is engineered and produced. And, it was very interesting to hear what the band had to go through in the early '80's to get this terrific song recorded. Thanks for sharing.
It’s a really cool video. So cool that I sat there speechless and stunned throughout. It almost sounded like a classical composition, something that Mozart or Beethoven would have written.
I really enjoy listening to Midge talk about music. Very articulate and passionate about the craft. If you haven’t before, check out some of their eighties concerts. Amazing how they transfer the sounds from those recordings to such clean live performances!
I discovered Ultravox in the early 80s, pre Do They Know It's Christmas. I was very much into British pop and discovered the band and Midge's amazing voice. ..had a little crush on him lol When the LiveAid DVD was released, I watched Ultravox 's performance over and over again. Thanks for sharing his amazing talent with us Adam! Greetings from Bermuda 🇧🇲
I know nothing of this song , the band or this man , but he certainly is intertwined with bands that I know of , this is another reason why I subscribed to your channel, to be educated by the professor of rock , glad to hear him mention kraftwerk, the pioneers of synth
I loved this song so much, I loved Midge Ure as well, he had a great solo album and I also love his Scottish Brogue. The fact he co-wrote my favorite 80's xmas song Do They Know It's Christmas is also very cool. I had his solo album Answers To Nothing and played it all the time in high school.
I recently discovered “Vienna” here on RU-vid after searching for “Dear God” by Midge Ure. I gave it a listen and immediately added it to my 80’s playlist. “Shaddap Yo Face” is almost as mind boggling as “Disco Duck” being a # 1 hit.
I would disagree, only on that the 80's was a decade rhat began with Country & Western topping the charts, and ended with L.A. Glam and hip hop dominating...the Decade was more diverse, musically, then any before or since, giving us New Wave, Hip Hop, Euro-Wave, Heavy Metal, Punk, and, of course, all the legends of that Decade like Whot ey Houston, Michael Jackson, U2, Metallica, et cetera...was a fun decade to be a kid, THAT, I'm sure, we can agree on...
The 80's were a strange time for music, we had the New Wave movement, but we also had all the Hair Metal bands and glam, not to mention the start of Metallica & Megadeath on the harder side of metal sound. Country music started making a cross over movement somewhere between outlaw country & 70's easy listening music. Electronic drums were everywhere from pop music to ZZ-Top & White Zombie. One band that managed to be on the charts nearly every year and was on every radio station was the 70's band Foreigner...& for some reason hasn't ever been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame..& let's not forget all the new wave Motown dance music being everywhere. What a time to be alive..we had everything from the Thomson Twins to Metallica..Head Bangers Ball To Solid Gold, Soul Train & American Band Stand..
I'm agreeing with the OP and the replies, because the 80s were incredibly diverse musically but for me most of the defining best of stuff was what I called then New Wave. Genre definitions have crystallized since then but I'm talking personal perception in the moment. My defining 80s band is still Talking Heads who had releases that fit several different genre definitions and that's part of why they are so perfect a representation of the decade.
I bought the album within its first couple of weeks of release having heard the track Astradyne on a late night radio show. Blew me away and still a favourite 43 years later.
"Shaddup You Face" was on the radio in the US. There was even an interview with Joe Dolce in People magazine. It was funny as heck - I always had a smile on my face when it came on the radio.
I “discovered” Ultravox from watching your channel Professor, and I have loved the doors it opened to a musical history beyond what I was exposed to. Thank you.
Ultravox had two of my favorite songs of the 80s, Sleepwalk and Reap the Wild Wind. They were part of the early British new wave that never caught on big in America, and were pushed aside when the more poppish MTV British wave hit.
I think the Britons did it best with new wave. They were MASTERS of it. I know there are some Americans who also made new wave music in the 80s, and although I love those songs, I will always be Team Britain. 24/7/365
Love this song! Thanks so much for giving us Midge's background in music; I had no idea. Ultravox's performance of "Vienna" during Live-Aid is one of its highlights. Some have said that Midge's vocals during that song is one of the best live vocals of all time. I have Lament on vinyl - also a great album.
Dancing with tears in my eyes and Reap the wild wind are awesome songs. They were the ones that turned me on to Ultravox in the 80s! Great video. Thanks for bringing back memories.
First time I heard of Ultravox was the song "Dancing with tears in my eyes " in the 80s. Thank you sir for going into in depth analysis of the song "Vienna " with Midge Ure. Cheers from Ottawa.
I love your show because there are songs like this one that were obviously well known but completely sneaked past my radar. I know Dancing With Tears In My Eyes from my childhood but there are always those songs that you just never manage to hear for some reason yet discover 30+ years after the fact.
Ive been wondering, since I discovered your videos, if you would ever discuss Midge Ure and his genius contributions to music. Yet again, another fantastic video.
Still sounds as good today. I loved when it was used in the Hunting Venus skit. I remember BBC Radio 1 DJ Peter Powell championed the song, he was desperate for it to get to number one! We were all routing for it on Tuesday lunchtime when the charts were broadcast back then. I used to smuggle a radio into school.
Had a week away from POR... so now I'm catching up. Wouldn't want to miss anything as great as a Midge Ure interview. I'd listen to him speak about music for hours and hours. What's fascinating and enlightening to learn is that musical talent and creativity may play a part BUT the work ethic! The hours and hours of complex, intricate work required to make the 'magic' is remarkable. I enjoy the results immensely, very grateful for Midge. Cheers
Midge Ure is just a brilliant and talented man and has made Ultravox one of my favorite bands. Their album "The Collection" is just pure perfection. You need to do more on the whole discology and not just one song 😀 🙏
I absolutely loved this song way back when. I don't remember how I discovered it but I know I was the only one of my friends group that knew who they were. Like my own little secret. Now Ultravox and Midge solo are a big part of my 80s playlist on spotify.
Me, 1980’s …as a teenager in rural New Hampshire, wearing out multiple Ultravox cassettes - still one of my absolute favorites- it brings me to a place of longing that really spoke to my isolation at the time…
Passing Strangers is still one of my favourite songs off the Vienna album and the video like Vienna is great, definitely another under-rated song. Such a good album perfect intro with Astradynne setting the mood and other stand-outs like New Europeans following.
back when I worked at a roller rink in the early '80s that "Shaddap You Face" song got a lot of play because the little kids loved it. I thought it was clever and funny at first but easily grew tired of it!
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980I wish that was true but the Chicken song by Spitting Image and Star Trekkin by the Firm proved novelty records were still going strong in the 1980’s.
Ultravox is my end-all-be-all top favorite all-time band. Midge's voice is so pure and beautiful. So many fantastic Ultravox songs. I was a DJ in the 80s, and enjoyed spinning a little U-Vox.
I first discovered Ultravox when their song Dancing With Tears In My Eyes became a hit in Canada. I bought The Collection, which was an early Greatest Hits album and discovered lots of great songs by the band. Vienna always gives me chills when I listen to it. It's a very unique song. You're right about Shaddap You Face. That song was a huge hit in Canada and I hated it (but I like Disco Duck). Another great song by Midge Ure is That Certain Smile, from his solo career. Visage is pronounced vee-zahj. Visage means "face" in French.
Depeche mode (via Daniel Miller) and New Order were some of the first bands to employ sequencers. (In New Order's case they left in programing errors in Blue Monday) It really wasn't until the midi standard (or the Fairlight II's Page R sequencer) you could do complex arrangements. So while these songs seem simple today they actually took a fair amount of headaches to pull off. People wanted to write them off as "button pushers" but they neglect the work put into it. Much respect for the early synth bands
Half of the video to Vienna is filmed in central London, the other half in Vienna. I saw Midge Ure in Southport, near Liverpool, in the hot summer of 1995, and it was a good concert. Not so sure about the mandolin solo from one of the band but apart from that....He was not given enough credit for his role in Band Aid in 1984 and Live Aid in 1985. He had a brilliant UK number one with If I Was in late 1985. Dear God was the lead single from the Answers to Nothing album in 1988, another good track.
The 80's were a strange time for music, we had the New Wave movement, but we also had all the Hair Metal bands and glam, not to mention the start of Metallica & Megadeath on the harder side of metal sound. Country music started making a cross over movement somewhere between outlaw country & 70's easy listening music. Electronic drums were everywhere from pop music to ZZ-Top & White Zombie. One band that managed to be on the charts nearly every year and was on every radio station was the 70's band Foreigner...& for some reason hasn't ever been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame..& let's not forget all the new wave Motown dance music being everywhere. What a time to be alive..we had everything from the Thomson Twins to Metallica..Head Bangers Ball To Solid Gold, Soul Train & American Band Stand..Thanks Adam for all your hard work and dedication. I hope you have a great Holiday season this year..Peace..Joe
"Do they know" had meaningful effects. Poor people were not being told when Christmas time was. Band Aid's awareness campaign insured that no matter how poor you are, you will know if it is or is not Christmas season. Band Aid followed up with "If they don't have a bank account do they know the bank holidays?" and "Don't let them Pass Over Passover."
My first exposure to Midge was on the PBS music instructional show called "Rock School." He was on the episode about singing and vocalists. Where's my video on The Tubes Prof? I'm waiting.
It is a great song and does still sound fresh. I was 11 years old when it came out. I recall playing rugby at school and having the song in my head. It was winter time and it was so apt.
As far as Ultravox comes, it was "Reap the Wild Wind" that got me to buy my first Ultravox album. What blew my mind with this video is I had only associated Midge Ure with the "We Are the World" types of compilations, never realizing he was part of Ultravox. PLUS, I was a huge Sex Pistols fan in the 70s (I was the punk rocker who also listened to Blondie and ABBA) ... all types of music tickled my ear and it all depended on my mood that day. THIS is a great interview, Adam, thank you!
I love Vienna (and Fade to Grey) but down here in Australia we loved Joe Dolce and there was never a skate session where the dj didn't get everyone up to sing Shaddap Your Face.
Oh, It WARMES my 💖 to see #MidgeUre and #UltraVox getting credit and airtime. LOVE IT❣ First time I heard the music, was I lent a tape from a friend; Oh you should listen to this... and I was BLOWN away. But actually my first song with ULTRAVOX, was the VOICE, and I was BLOWN AWAY! Still today, if I want to get a boost, I put on the LIVE performance of the VOICE, with the EPIC el. DRUM solo. 🥰 I CLAIM M I D G E U R E was the FIRST WHITE RAPPER; the THIN WALL..... the verses, TRY FOLLOWing and singing along. You have to have your tounge straight in your mouth, fo' sure. 🤪 Biggest regreats is that I missed their live performance in Bergen, Norway. Due to sudden illness, I was not able to do the 20 hr drive southwest to attend the concert, and I couldn't afford the air fare at the time. 😭
I never got the opportunity to see Ultravox once I'd become aware of them. Midge did a solo Australian tour around the same time as Band Aid hit the charts, but I didn't go as I was hoping Ultravox would tour Australia. I finally got the chance to see Midge when he toured Australia in 2020, just as Covid started. Midge played probably the last concert in Sydney before we got locked down. It was a good night. Midge played the Visage song 'Fade to Grey', the complete Vienna album, most of the Ultravox hits & a few of his solo songs. If Midge tours Australia again I'll be there!!
Ultravox was my fav band when I was a teen. And ... yes, it started with Vienna and climaxed with the album "Lament". What a great time that was. This kind of music will never return. So let's enjoy the best time of music that there ever was.
While the professor always talks about the music artists, and songs that he loves, he rarely lets on specific music genres that he hates. From this video and a pattern I've noticed, there is clearly a music genre that he does hate. It is the novelty song genre. He is a fan of artists who take famous hit songs and parody them like Weird Al does but not novelty songs that are created from scratch. First, he expressed his dislike for "Disco Duck" and now "Shaddap You Face." As been said before, music is subjective, everyone is entitled to his or her own taste and there is no universal right or wrong answer to what is good and what is bad. Here is my own personal opinion: I've always enjoyed novelty songs. The decades of the 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's produced many that I really like. It was the gloomy, depressing, 90's which was the decade that ended the novelty song genre. In 1977, I bought the 45 to "Disco Duck" and in 1981 I bought the 45 to "Shaddap You Face". They are both fun, nonsensical, comedic songs which I would rank up there as 2 of my favorite novelty songs. Remember, novelty songs were not created to take seriously. They were created to just have fun with them and have a good laugh. If others want to express dislike towards them, to each their own. However, I will still enjoy them.
Adam’s not wrong. A lot of novelty songs grate on my last nerve, from Disco Duck to The Candy Man to Shaddap You Face to My Ding-a-Ling to Stars on 45. Of course I make a HUGE exception for Weird Al because he was a part of my growing up, but another novelty song that is just right for me is Alley Oop by The Hollywood Argyles. It is super entertaining and such a great song.
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 I never said he was wrong. When it comes to music, there is no definitive right or wrong answer to what is a good song or bad song. Nothing is universal and you're always going to get many different opinions. Awhile ago, I remember someone asked Adam if there was any artist that he didn't like. He replied by stating he did not care for the music of ABBA. While ABBA is one of my favorite artists from the 70's, I know that Adam doesn't like them so their music will not be featured in any episode on this channel. Also, Since Adam has such diverse tastes in music, I wondered if there was any specific music genre which he didn't like. Today's episode really answered my question. A few weeks ago, he called "Disco Duck" the worst number one song of all time. Today, he called "Shaddap You Face" the worst number one song of 1981. Now, what do those 2 songs have in common? They are both novelty songs. While he has done many episodes on Weird Al and is obviously a fan, he doesn't like or have anything positive to say about other novelty songs. He's not wrong to feel that way. It's his personal taste and opinion. However, I have an entirely different opinion regarding those 2 songs and the entire novelty song genre and that was the purpose of my comments. Incidentally, there are many people in the comments who've said they like "Shaddap You Face" (as was the case in the comments for the "Disco Duck" episode) so I'm definitely not alone in liking and defending these novelty songs.
@@stephenhanft1226 I have to side with Adam on Disco Duck and Shaddap You Face, and I am just NOT an ABBA fan either. But that’s the good thing about music, you have many different defensible claims and it’s always fun to discuss our favorite songs and albums and even the ones we hate.
I've never really disliked novelty songs, I just accept them when they come along. "They're Coming to Take Me Away", "Purple People Eater", Dickie Moore's bits-and-clips style "Flying Saucer" and "Mr. Jaws", "Monster Mash" even "Running Bare" (a direct parody that pre-dates Weird Al) would be the start of a great April 1st playlist. Toss in some Weird Al stuff and rarities like "Battle of New Orleans" and most of Jim Stafford's repertoire; you could spend hours smiling or groaning (or both).
I saw the video first and that got me! The moment I was a Ultravox fan. I’ve seen Midge sing it live numerous times and it still gets me. One of the truly great songs of the 80’s.
Oh my god Vienna the album is one of only a few albums I believe works a whole album where every song is good and progresses the album forward. Every song is so good. I can listen to that album from start to end any day and it still sounds so good. What a musical masterpiece. Western promise is the greatest pre lead up song to Vienna. I can go on and on
i LOVE this song. I love the album, I love his cover of Man Who Sold The World, and also his bands song "all stood still." Whenever I get a chance I tell my co workers about Ultravox and how amazing his music is
I love his song Dear God, and a song he did with Schiller, Let it Rise, which, by the way, is my favorite song that he wrote and sang. The live version is phenomenal! Check it out!
The first time I heard Shaddap You Face was on a K-tel compilation album called “Certified Gold” that I found on the side of a dirt road in the fall of 1986 where it was tossed from a car after getting ate up. And it just so happened to be that song and a live concert version of Kenny Loggins’ I’m Alright on the reverse side that was hanging out. I wonder which song was playing when it crawled to a stop.
Adam, even though it was in passing, great to hear the not often mentioned Rich Kids get a nod. If anyone hasn't heard their pop punk classic Ghosts of Princes in Towers, run don't walk...
Love Ultravox and I thank the new wave streaming stations I listen to for introducing me to them. I do prefer "Dancing With Tears in My Eyes" and "Reap the Wild Wind" over "Vienna," though, but that's just me.
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 That band had a 7" ...I don't have it. Systems Of Romance edges out HA HA HA ! as my favorite. Like the first Foxx solo Metamatic which never has been released in the 🇺🇸
I first heard Vienna on 80 hours of the 80's on VH1 about 15 years ago. Hearing that song made me look more into Ultravox and Midge and have been a big fan ever since! My wife and I have seen Midge live 3 times and my oldest son loves midge!
My parents have the single of Shaddup Your Face on record. I remember listening to it a lot when I was a kid (in Australia). I didn't hear Vienna until I was in early 20s.
Vienna is one of my 10 favorite albums of all time but I must admit the song itself is only the 5th best track on the album in my opinion. I know it was a huge hit but that album was amazing. Sadly despite some other good songs on other albums they could never re-create the magic of the Vienna album (not that it would have been easy to do) What a great album
@@ProfessorofRock I live in Melbourne, Australia which is where Joe Dolce recorded it. We have a huge population descended from Greek and Italian migrants and this song is a staple at every party they throw.
@@gavburger I understand that Joe Dolce Music Theatre was a sort of left wing artistic collective if I am not mistaken. The song is harmless, I can see why it would go down well with the Greek and Italian communities (and everyone else for that matter), and the fact he was left wing is always a bonus in my eyes. The song irritated a lot of people in the UK in the eighties but looking back it is just pleasant and harmless fun.
"Vienna" was almost too elegant, too moving, too powerful, too haunting to be regarded as mere synth pop. Truly an exceptional sonic and emotional experience. A lot of the early music by "Muse" really reminds me of Ultravox
Never heard this song before, but I DID hear the "Shaddupaya Face" song. They played it all the time during that summer when I was a kid. I always thought it was Father Guido Sarduci.
What can I say? This was a very informative show; Prof - U really blow me (& many others away) w/your daily 'classes' lol - I have this LP (Sleepwalk is my fave track); Don't wanna 'knit pick' Midge's commentary, but fer sure - Vienna is another world dream state tune!!! THANK YOU.
