I remember the first time that I heard Vienna back when it first arrived. I could not believe what I was hearing, the feeling was truly incredible . When I listen to it today the feeling is exactly the same, how wonderful. The anthem of my life.
That song feels magnetic and keeps my brain in wonder - oh, how can these harmonies sound good together? oh, wait, what did you just do? oh, I had no idea you can do it this way! - no matter how many times I listen to it.
Absolutely agree. I don't remember when I first heard it but listening back today even my kids think it's ridiculously good. I'd almost go as far as to say its best song ever made!
I listen to Vienna probably twice a week for the last 42 years!! I was 13 when it came out, every song i like since is based on this song. I always listen from the Album to get my favorite synth sound fully in the intro :)
Yes , I agree is one of the most beautyful songs ever written. Vocal delivery, arrangements, everything is perfect. We can not say the best just because There has been so much amazing music through the decades .
That was fantastic....great to hear from Billy! This just reinforces my opinion that adding Midge Ure to Ultravox was the best thing to happen to music in the 80s......what a legend!!!!
Midge Ure in the early 80s: phenomenal voice; cool as f*ck; not a handsome man. Midge Ure in the 2020s: phenomenal voice; cool as f*ck; drop dead gorgeous.
In 1984, in Segovia (Spain), a techno - pop group called Mecano was in a live concert recording their album (Mecano en Concierto). They invited Warren Cann to play the drums, and other guy to play keyboards called Hans Zimmer.
so in the early 1980's i was 11 yrs old and living in the USA. Now MTV comes on and would only show a piece of this video like in a commercial and I always wondered what it was. of course now I know UltaVox
...not the full story how Visage Fade To Grey came to be! For those who don't know about it's origin. Chris Payne, Gary Numan's keyboard player between rehearsal during The Touring Principle tour played would some ideas he had. Billie Currie had joined Numan's band for that tour. Billie heard Chris playing & offered some of his own ideas. Together, Chris & Billie continued to developed the tune whilst on that tour which they named the tune as Toot City. BIllie tried to get a record deal in the notion that the tune would be released as Currie & Payne but this didn't work out. Billie continued with Ultravox. Midge Ure got to hear Toot City and he transformed this tune into what is now Fade To Grey. But don't take my word for it . Use the LINK below to watch Chris Payne explain about Fade to Grey🙂 m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AmF_jeokUX8.html
this video wasn't about fade to grey..... it was abut Vienna! Midge pretty much said everything you just did but in a much more condensed way. you do understand how editing for television works right?
🤔 That maybe so but when referencing Fade to Grey, Midge missed out mentioning Chris Payne's name which gives out a false impression to the uninitiated, that it was just midge & billie currie that composed FTG 🙂
Paul Lycett you don’t know that he missed it out!!! This piece was edited to less than 15 mins total! That is how tv editing works... chris Payne wasn’t pertinent to the creation of Vienna Billy Currie was! For someone so obsessed with fine detail, you would think you would have the decency to spell BillY Currie’s name correctly! 🙄
Simply unimaginable isn't it. Mind you it was the early 80's so not suprised looking back:). If I could be permanently stuck in the 80's I would. Much better than these shite times.
As a kid i was just AMAZED shaddap (notably a song NEVER played on the radio anymore since 1981) was at number one back then , kinda reveals how the top 40 works, i recently watched the story of top of the pops and back then the Gallup Poll company compiling the charts would not be able to monitor ALL sales in the UK apparently so took sales counts just at certain record shops, sometimes record producers found out which shops these were and sent people to buy up remaining stock to keep there own record high up in the top 40, maybe that had something to do with it....:)
Awesome video 😊 I first heard the song in episode 1 of Ashes To Ashes when Alex Drake (Keeley Hawes, Lara Croft's old voice) arrives back in the 80's after being shot in the head. Love the 80's (born in 85) and also that show, a better follow-up to Life On Mars. Gotta re-watch the DVD box set.
Yeah, that came out about now in 1976, I liked "The Kid's A Punk" from July more and by some kind of a coincidence punk rock started a month after its release. Slik's last record was in the autumn, "Don't Take Your Love Away" then they packed it in and Midge resurfaced in The Rich Kids, Visage and Ultravox then solo. Midge also co-wrote "Yellow Pearl" with Philip Lynott in 1980.
Midge has changed so much...I remember that Slik record, around my tenth or eleventh year. I wonder what that spider is doing now- maybe he has started his own group , LOL
John Foxx and the original Ultravox were just brilliant in there genre, Midge Ure changed that genre and is brilliant in his own right. You are correct about John Foxx, he is enormously talented, his latest stuff all these years later is classic
Ah, but Currie speaks about Songs... With a capital S, not about "songs", with brackets around the word. Pre Ure Ultravox is not A and probably not even B-class. And that is not because it has been also commercially rewarding. Even if these songs would not have become big hits, they would have been A class.
You obviously didn't pay attention when the Bowie part was told. It doesn't have to mean anything, it just has to sound great and set your own creativity at work to come up with your own explanation what it could mean. The lyrics of 1970's band Yes too don't mean anything. In stead of going from A to Z, those lyrics go from F to K, than back to C, B, A, make an odd jump to X etc. And even will throw in figures or letters only used in other languages.
Fairly certain it was a Roland CR-78, heavily modified by Warren Cann. The "thunder" sound was made with a Synare drum synth I think, it's a handclap sound tuned very low with some echo added.
