Ultravox

Ultravox started life in London as Tiger Lily, and for their first few years they were John Foxx's band, all chilly ambition and nervy electronics. When Foxx walked out in March 1979 to go solo, it looked like the end. Instead it was the start of something much bigger. Midge Ure, who had been working with keyboardist Billy Currie on the studio project Visage, stepped in as singer, guitarist and frontman, and with Chris Cross on bass and Warren Cann on drums, the lineup that people remember clicked into place.

Vienna, in 1980, was the statement of intent: synthesizers stacked into grand, glacial melodrama, with Ure's voice soaring over the top, and its title track became their biggest hit and the one the countdowns have never let go of. Quartet brought "Reap the Wild Wind" in 1982, and Lament gave them "Dancing With Tears in My Eyes" and "White China" in 1984. From 1980 to 1986 they were a fixture of the British charts, before the band split in 1987.

A Currie-led lineup tried again in 1992 without much luck, but the classic four reunited in 2008, toured, and released Brill!ant in 2012. The last shows came in 2013, on an arena tour with Simple Minds, and by 2017 Currie and Ure agreed the story was over.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.