The story goes like this . . . Ultraxox were dropped by Island records after three albums failed to take the worlds by storm (I remember being distinctly unimpressed by the at the Reading Festival in '78 and can never forgive them for being a huge influence on Gary Numan).
After a subsequent self-financed (ie hand-to-mouth) American tour in '79, John Foxx called it a day, and the remaining members (Billy Currie and Robert Simon) started hanging out at "Club For Heroes" ("Heroes" as in the Bowie track) where the resident DJ was was Rusty Egan.
Now, the club's doorman (ie the fascist on the door who doesn't let you in if you're not dressed right) and Egan's flatmate was Steve Strange. Egan had also been the drummer in the Rich Kids (Glen Matlock's post-Pistols group), whose guitarist was one Midge Ure.
Still with me?
Add this lot to John McGeoch and Dave Formula from Magazine ("Shot By Both sides" is an excellent track but never really got them tbh) , shove them into a studio with some of these new-fangled synthesizer thingies and you end up with the defining moment in Blitz-kid style.
(I didn't have to tell you that Steve Strange was the clown character in Bowies "Ashes To Ashes" video did I?)
2 comments:
like on MAN i _totally disagree_ ;-)
please, give the first three albums of the _original_ ultravox! a listen and you find out the difference between the "real stuff" and some kinda "mother's little helper"-easy listening muzak.
i also saw them live at saarbrücken (i worked at that show as handyman) for an "unikult"-concert, 200 hundred people in the room and that show was just GREAT!. they were for sure not the band for a festival, right, so you missed the essence.
they were in a row after eddie & the hot rods and a furious "raven" show by the stranglers the most impressive punk/new wave shows from those unikult-concerts, where i also met ie. steve hillage one day.
oki, greez from germany and ... one more time ... please do yourself a chance to find out, why i'm so enthusiastic on the _real_ ultravox and so _bored_ on mark2 ...
Rusty Egan chatted my girlfriend up...he didnt get off with her...but if I hdnt have been there I think she would have gone with him...Midge Urgh was also in Slik...you know the Band that wanted to be the Bay City Rollers...The Rich Kids were great though...so I neraly forgave Midge for Slik...just thought I would mention that. Ultravox were a different band with Foxx saw them many many time more Punk/New Wave than Ures Ultravox that were more "New Romantic"
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