| The Anvil | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 26 March 1982 [1] | |||
| Recorded | 1981 | |||
| Studio | Mayfair, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 40:33 | |||
| Label | Polydor | |||
| Producer | Visage & Midge Ure | |||
| Visage studio album chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Anvil | ||||
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The Anvil is the second studio album by the British synth-pop band Visage, released in March 1982 by Polydor Records. The album reached No. 6 in the UK and was certified "Silver" by the British Phonographic Industry in April 1982.
The Anvil was recorded in the latter part of 1981 at Mayfair Studios, London by the same line-up of the first album, except for John McGeoch who had left both Visage and Magazine to join Siouxsie and the Banshees. Original Visage bassist Barry Adamson rejoined as a session musician and contributed to several tracks. [2]
The Anvil was released in March 1982. It reached No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart, [3] which was the band's highest ever chart peak in the UK, and was certified "Silver" by the British Phonographic Industry in April 1982. [4] The album sparked a brief controversy at the time of its release for being named after New York's famous gay bar/nightclub of the era.
The album's first single was "The Damned Don't Cry" which was released three weeks ahead of the album and reached No. 11 in the UK Singles Chart. [3] The second single released was "Night Train" in June 1982, reaching No. 12. [3] The album's title track was remixed and released as a promo single as well as a German-language 12" version ("Der Amboss"), and "Whispers" was also released as a single in Japan (where both it and "Night Train" were used in TDK television commercials).
The album's front cover photograph was taken by Helmut Newton. The original vinyl release of the album came in an embossed/textured sleeve (considered as deluxe packaging for the time), and a limited number of copies (3,000) came with a free poster of Steve Strange posing with a number of models at the Hôtel George-V in Paris (the poster is an extended shot of the 12" single cover of "The Damned Don't Cry").
The Anvil was the last Visage record to feature Ultravox frontman Midge Ure, who left the band after its release. Commenting on his departure the following year, Ure stated:
"The trouble with Visage was that there were too many chiefs, six characters all wanting an equal say without putting in an equal amount of work. I was doing most of the writing and producing, and we all knew Steve [Strange] was the frontman, but when it became successful, jealousy and the nasty side of the business crept in. That was never the way it was intended.
— Midge Ure, 1983 [5]
In later years, when reflecting upon the album, Ure also stated he felt the track "Again We Love" would have been a good single. [6]
The album's first release on the compact disc format was in Germany in 1983. It was re-issued on CD in the United States in 1997 by One Way Records, complete with two bonus tracks (though they are tracks from the 1980–81 era and not that of The Anvil). The Anvil was re-issued in the UK on CD by Cherry Red Records on 17 March 2008, containing six bonus tracks and detailed liner notes. A Remastered Edition, mastered from the original tapes, was released on CD in the US in 2020 by Rubellan Remasters including all the B sides and Dance mixes from the singles. [7]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| Record Collector | [9] |
| Smash Hits | 5/10 [10] |
In his retrospective review, Dan LeRoy of AllMusic wrote that "almost all the band's efforts on The Anvil are extremely well-crafted synth pop." [8] Emily Mackay of Record Collector opined that the album "[still] sounds remarkably fresh." [9]
All tracks are written by Visage (Billy Currie, Rusty Egan, Dave Formula, Steve Strange and Midge Ure)
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Damned Don't Cry" | 4:43 |
| 2. | "Anvil (Night Club School)" (known as "The Anvil" elsewhere, including various compilation albums and singles) | 4:39 |
| 3. | "Move Up" | 4:25 |
| 4. | "Night Train" | 4:29 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Horseman" | 4:41 |
| 2. | "Look What They've Done" | 4:49 |
| 3. | "Again We Love" | 4:44 |
| 4. | "Wild Life" | 4:24 |
| 5. | "Whispers" | 5:39 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "We Move (Dance Mix)" | 6:28 |
| 11. | "Frequency 7 (Dance Mix)" | 5:02 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "We Move (Dance Mix)" | 6:28 |
| 11. | "Frequency 7 (Dance Mix)" | 5:02 |
| 12. | "The Damned Don't Cry (Dance Mix)" | 5:45 |
| 13. | "Motivation" | 3:51 |
| 14. | "I'm Still Searching" | 3:41 |
| 15. | "Mind of a Toy (Dance Mix)" | 5.14 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Motivation" | 3:45 |
| 11. | "I'm Still Searching" | 3:38 |
| 12. | "We Move (USA Unreleased Single Remix)" | 3.43 |
| 13. | "The Damned Don't Cry (Dance Mix)" | 5:43 |
| 14. | "Night Train (Dance Mix)" | 6.07 |
| 15. | "The Anvil (Dance Mix)" | 6.13 |
| 16. | "Pleasure Boys (Dance Mix)" | 6.55 [11] |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI) [18] | Silver | 60,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
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, 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.
Rich Kids were a short-lived new wave band from London, founded in 1977 by Glen Matlock following his departure from the Sex Pistols. The band also included future Ultravox member Midge Ure and Rusty Egan, who both later founded Visage together. They released one album and three singles during their existence, from March 1977 to December 1978.
"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.
"The Damned Don't Cry" is a song by British synth-pop group Visage, released as a single by Polydor Records in 1982.
Rusty Egan is a British pop musician, although he has only ever held an Irish passport. He is the former drummer of the British new wave band Rich Kids. They consisted of former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock, with Steve New and fronted by Jim Midge Ure, from their inception in March 1977 to their disbanding in December 1978. He continued working with Ure, and later collaborated with The Misfits, Skids, Shock, and Visage. However, Egan did not return to Visage when they reformed with a new line-up in 2004.
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.
"Tar" is the debut single by the British synth-pop group Visage, released in 1979.
"Night Train" is the sixth single by the British synth-pop group Visage, released by Polydor Records in June 1982.
"Visage" is the fourth single by the British synth-pop group Visage, released by Polydor Records in July 1981. It is the title track from Visage's eponymous debut album. The single peaked at no.21 in the UK Singles Chart.
"Pleasure Boys" is a song by the British synth-pop group Visage, released as a single on Polydor Records in October 1982.
The Damned Don't Cry is a compilation album by the British synth-pop group Visage released in 2000.
Lament is the seventh studio album by British new wave band Ultravox, released on 6 April 1984 by Chrysalis Records. It was the last album featuring original drummer Warren Cann until the band's reunion album Brilliant in 2012. The album peaked at number eight on the UK Albums Chart and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 8 June 1984 for shipments of 100,000 copies. It also reached number 25 in Germany and number 115 in the United States.
U-Vox is the eighth studio album by British new wave band Ultravox, released on 9 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.
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.
If I Was: The Very Best of Midge Ure & Ultravox is a 1993 compilation album by Scottish musician Midge Ure, featuring songs from his solo career and as part of the new wave and synthpop band Ultravox, along with Ure's collaborations with Mick Karn, Phil Lynott, Visage, and charity supergroup Band Aid.
