"Passing Strangers" | ||||
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Single by Ultravox | ||||
from the album Vienna | ||||
B-side |
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Released | 10 October 1980 | |||
Recorded | February 1980 | |||
Studio | RAK, London | |||
Genre | Post-punk, electronic, new wave | |||
Length | 3:48 | |||
Label | Chrysalis Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | Warren Cann, Chris Cross, Billy Currie, Midge Ure | |||
Producer(s) | Ultravox and Conny Plank | |||
Ultravox singles chronology | ||||
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"Passing Strangers" is Ultravox's second single from Vienna , the band's first album with Midge Ure, released on Chrysalis Records on 10 October 1980. [1]
A fast-paced guitar track recalling early John Foxx-era Ultravox, Passing Strangers ultimately failed to live up to the top 30 success of its predecessor "Sleepwalk". It stalled at #57 in the UK charts despite having a music video (directed by Russell Mulcahy and featuring Barbie Wilde and Tok from Tik & Tok) and release on 12" format alongside the regular 7", both of which "Sleepwalk" lacked. [2] The video was shot in Beckton Gas Works, London.
The single contains two live b-sides; "Face To Face", an original Ultravox track that was never recorded in studio, and a live cover of the Brian Eno song "King's Lead Hat". [3] "Face to Face" was taken from a show in St Albans City Hall. The complete show was released on the 40th anniversary Vienna box-set 2020. [4]
Chrysalis Records is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Agency.
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".
James "Midge" Ure is a Scottish musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim, a hypocorism of his given 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.
"Vienna" is a song by British new wave band Ultravox from their 1980 fourth studio album of the same name. It was released as the album's third single on 9 January 1981 by Chrysalis Records and features Midge Ure singing the lead vocal.
Warren Reginald Cann is a Canadian drummer, drum machine programmer and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the British new wave band Ultravox, for which he was one of the main songwriters.
Shock were a music/mime/dance/pop group that was notable in the early 1980s for supporting English new wave groups such as Gary Numan, Adam and the Ants, Depeche Mode and Famous Names, led by Steve Fairnie.
Rage in Eden is the fifth studio album by British new wave band Ultravox, released on 11 September 1981 through Chrysalis Records. The album reached #4 in the UK album charts and was certified Gold by the BPI for sales in excess of 100,000 copies.
"The Thin Wall" is Ultravox's first single from the Rage in Eden album, recorded in Conny Plank’s Studio in Cologne, Germany and released on Chrysalis Records on 14 August 1981.
"Sleepwalk" is a song by Ultravox, released on 20 June 1980 as the first single from their fourth album Vienna, and their first with Midge Ure as frontman. It was Ultravox's first UK top 30 chart hit, reaching number 29 in August 1980.
"Visions in Blue" is Ultravox's third single from the Quartet album, recorded in Air Studios, Montserrat and released on Chrysalis Records on 11 March 1983. The single peaked at #15 in the UK charts on 26 March. A video was produced, but was banned by the BBC and MTV due to brief nudity; an edited version was later provided for broadcast on Top of the Pops.
U-Vox is the eighth studio album by British new wave band Ultravox, released on 13 October 1986 by Chrysalis Records. It was the band's fifth album during the Midge Ure era, and the final one featuring the band's 1979 lineup, with the exception of Warren Cann, for nearly 26 years. The Ure-era lineup would eventually reform in 2008. It was also the last Ultravox album to reach the top 10 of the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number nine.
Monument, released in 1983, is a live album by the British band Ultravox. It is the soundtrack to the live video of the same name, recorded at the London Hammersmith Odeon during the band's 1982 "Monument" tour. The album peaked at no.9 on the UK album chart and was certified Gold by the BPI in January 1984 for 100,000 copies sold.
"The Voice" is Ultravox's second single from the Rage in Eden album, recorded in Conny Plank's Studio in Cologne, Germany and released on 30 October 1981. It peaked at #16 in the UK singles chart, #27 in the Irish Singles Chart and #29 in the New Zealand Singles Chart.
"Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" is the second single from Lament, Ultravox's seventh studio album, released on 11 May 1984.
Dancing with Tears in My Eyes is a 1995 compilation from British band Ultravox covering their output with Midge Ure, recorded from 1980 to 1986. The album was released by EMI in the label's "Music For Pleasure" series. It was re-released in 1996 by the Disky label with the same title, then in 1997 by EMI as The Best of Ultravox in the label's "Centenary Collection", and again in 2003, again with the latter title.
"To Cut a Long Story Short" is the debut single by the English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released on 31 October 1980. The band began recording the song before they were signed to a record label because of the interest they had generated with a debut concert for patrons of the exclusive weekly London nightclub the Blitz as well as a Christmas party at that establishment. After having tried other popular genres, the band had been preparing to make their debut as performers of dance music and wanted the public to associate them with the young crowd who met at the Blitz every Tuesday. They needed their guitarist/songwriter, Gary Kemp, to come up with something that they could feel confident about presenting to the top tier of the club's regulars at their first performance.
Vienna is the fourth studio album by British new wave band Ultravox, first released on 11 July 1980 through Chrysalis Records. Vienna was Ultravox's first album with their best-known line-up, after Midge Ure had taken over as lead vocalist and guitarist following the departures of John Foxx and Robin Simon, as well as the group's first release for Chrysalis.
This is the discography of the British post punk / synth-pop band Ultravox. While active from 1975 to 1996, the band released a number of LPs and CDs, although more discs were released after their demise. An anthology disc was planned, according to their official web page.
The Best of Ultravox is the seventh compilation by Ultravox, released on EMI Gold records, in 2003, being one of the more recent compilation albums of the band. The songs of the disc are from the success era of the band, in the 1980s, while Midge Ure was the singer.
"The Freeze" is a song by the English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released on 12 January 1981 as the follow-up to their debut single, the number 5 UK hit "To Cut a Long Story Short". As was the case with that release, the 7-inch single of "The Freeze" featured a dub mix on its B-side, and the 12-inch single had two additional mixes of the song geared toward dance clubs. The cover art used for both formats of the single also repeated its predecessor in having a simple black-and-white classical motif. This design, however, was also seen on the sets of the music video for the song. Reviews of "The Freeze" were mixed. It reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart.