The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) is an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangements with futuristic iconography. After Wood's departure in 1972, Lynne became the band's sole leader, arranging and producing every album while writing nearly all of their original material. From this point until their first break-up in 1986, Lynne, Bevan, and keyboardist Richard Tandy were the group's only consistent members.
Hooverphonic is a Belgian band that was formed in October 1995. Though originally categorized as a trip hop group, they quickly expanded their sound to the point where they could no longer be described as a singular genre, but rather encompass alternative, electronica, electropop, rock, and a mixture of others. The band originally called themselves Hoover, but later changed their name to Hooverphonic after discovering other groups were already using the Hoover name and to avoid any legal issues with the vacuum cleaner company.
Ultravox were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was their 1981 hit "Vienna".
William Lee Currie is a British multi-instrumentalist and songwriter from Huddersfield, England. He is best known as the keyboard and strings player with new wave band Ultravox, who achieved their greatest commercial success in the 1980s.
Visage were a British synth-pop band formed in London in 1978. The band became closely linked to the burgeoning New Romantic fashion movement of the early 1980s, and are best known for their hit "Fade to Grey" which was released in late 1980. In the UK, the band achieved two Top 20 albums and five Top 30 singles before the commercial failure of their third album led to their break-up in 1985.
James "Midge" Ure is a Scottish musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim, the diminutive form of his actual name. Ure enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980s in bands including Slik, Thin Lizzy, Rich Kids and Visage, and as the second frontman of Ultravox. In 1984, he co-wrote and produced the charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?", which has sold 3.7 million copies in the UK. The song is the second-highest-selling single in UK chart history. Ure co-organised Band Aid, Live Aid and Live 8 with Bob Geldof. He acts as a trustee for the charity and also serves as an ambassador for Save the Children.
Face the Music is the fifth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in September 1975 by United Artists Records and on 14 November 1975 in the United Kingdom by Jet Records. The album moves away from the large-scale classical orchestrated sound from the previous album, Eldorado, in favour of more "radio-friendly" pop/rock songs, though the string sections are still very prominent. The new sound proved successful for the group as Face the Music was the first ELO album to go platinum.
"Into the West" is a song performed by Annie Lennox, and the end-credit song of the 2003 film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. It is written by Lennox, Return of the King producer and co-writer Fran Walsh, and composed and co-written by the film's composer Howard Shore. The song plays in full during the closing credits of Return of the King, although instrumental music from the song plays at other points during the film itself.
"Nights in White Satin" is a song by the Moody Blues, written and composed by Justin Hayward. It was first featured as the segment "The Night" on the album Days of Future Passed. When first released as a single in 1967, it reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart and number 103 in the United States in 1968. It was the first significant chart entry by the band since "Go Now" and its recent lineup change, in which Denny Laine and Clint Warwick had resigned and both Hayward and John Lodge had joined.
Stephen John Harrington, known professionally as Steve Strange, was a Welsh singer. From the late 1970s, he was a nightclub host and promoter. He became famous as the leader of the new wave synth-pop group Visage, best known for their single "Fade to Grey", and was one of the most influential figures behind the New Romantic movement of the early 1980s.
Visage is the debut studio album by the British synth-pop band Visage. It was recorded at Genetic Sound Studios in Reading, Berkshire and released in November 1980 by Polydor Records.
"Fade to Grey" is a song by British synth-pop band Visage, released in November 1980 as the second single from their debut album, Visage (1980), on Polydor Records.
Fade to Grey: The Singles Collection is a 1983 compilation album by the British synth-pop group Visage.
The discography of the British new wave band Visage consists of five studio albums, eight compilation albums, one EP and nineteen singles. Formed in 1978, the band released their first single "Tar" on the short-lived Radar Records label in 1979, before signing to Polydor Records in 1980. Their second single, "Fade To Grey", was released soon afterwards and became an international hit. After three studio albums and several personnel changes, the group disbanded in 1985 though a new line-up emerged in the 2000s, again led by vocalist Steve Strange. In 2013, the band released a new album, Hearts and Knives, the first new Visage album for 29 years. The following year, the band released Orchestral, a partly live album featuring various classic Visage songs remade with a symphony orchestra. The band's final studio album, Demons to Diamonds, was released in November 2015.
Christopher Anton, alternately styled christopher ANTON,, is an American singer-songwriter. Anton is known for being the vocalist of the synthpop band Information Society, as well as the synth rock band Pseudocipher. In 2010, Anton gained popularity as a solo artist with the release of his cover version of the dance single "Fade to Grey". After the success of "Fade to Grey", Anton released his debut album Destination: X.
"Messages" is a song by English electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) from their self-titled debut studio album (1980). A re-recorded version of the song was released on 2 May 1980 as the album's third and final single, reaching number 13 on the UK Singles Chart and becoming OMD's first top-40 entry. As with their debut single "Electricity", "Messages" features a melodic synth break instead of a sung chorus.
"Telegraph" is a song by English electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), and the second single from their studio album Dazzle Ships (1983). "Telegraph" was originally slated to be the first single released, but being unhappy with the mix and with pressure from Virgin, the group instead opted for "Genetic Engineering".
Visage is a compilation video by the British band Visage, released in August 1985.
Samsons is a pop-rock band formed in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2003. As of 2022, the band currently comprises Adrian Martadinata (vocals), Irfan Aulia (guitar), Erik Partogi Siagian (guitar), and Aldri Dataviadi (bass).
Orchesography is the seventh studio album by English new wave band Wang Chung. It consists of the band's greatest hits re-recorded with the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.
