Song · Ultravox
“Reap the Wild Wind” by Ultravox
From the album Quartet (1982)
“Reap the Wild Wind” by Ultravox appears on 12 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1983 and 2021. It was first released in 1982 on the album Quartet. Its best result is #90 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1983. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #183 alternative song of 1983 and #2,801 alternative song of all time.
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Ultravox went to George Martin for Quartet in 1982, and "Reap the Wild Wind" was the first single out of those sessions, recorded at AIR Studios in London and on Montserrat with Geoff Emerick engineering. Two old Beatles hands behind the glass, with Midge Ure, Billy Currie, Chris Cross and Warren Cann sharing the writing credit out front.
What they built is synth-pop on a cathedral scale: synthesizers swirling up in great banks, drums booming, Ure singing as if he's addressing the back of the balcony. Not everybody bought it. Simon Hills of Record Mirror sneered at the pomp and reckoned Martin and Emerick had turned the band into a pop answer to Rush. The song still got to 12 in Britain, and it's the only Ultravox single ever to reach the Billboard Hot 100.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 90 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1983 | 91 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 356 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) | 495 |
| 1989 | 337 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989) | 500 |
| 1991 | 394 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) | 500 |
| 1992 | 291 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) | 500 |
| 1994 | 445 | Live 105 | Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) | 500 |
| 1994 | 425 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) | 500 |
| 1996 | 421 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) | 498 |
| 1999 | 819 | Q101 | Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 1017 |
| 2002 | 1217 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 1285 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2021 | 842 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s | 909 |
Also listed as: Reap The Wild Wind.
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