| Visage | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 1980 | |||
| Recorded | 1979–1980 | |||
| Studio | Genetic Studios, Reading, Berkshire, England | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 38:27 | |||
| Label | Polydor | |||
| Producer | Visage, Martin Rushent | |||
| Visage chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Visage | ||||
| ||||
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.
Visage was released in November 1980. It reached No. 13 in the UK and was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry in March 1981. [1] [2] "Fade to Grey" was released as a single and became a hit, reaching No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart and Top 10 positions in Europe, including No. 1 in Germany and Switzerland. Further singles, "Mind of a Toy" and the title track "Visage" were also UK Top 30 hits. The album was reissued as an expanded CD edition remastered from the original master tapes by Rubellan Remasters in the US in 2018. [3]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Robert Christgau | B− [5] |
| Smash Hits | 5/10 [6] |
Aaron Krehbie of Digital Audio commented that "Moon over Moscow" and "Blocks on Blocks" are "perfect examples of Visage at its best". However, Krehbie also opined that the album was not "the group's best effort", preferring the group's next album, The Anvil . [7]
In his retrospective review, Dan LeRoy of AllMusic wrote "this is the music that best represents the short-lived but always underrated new romantic movement", calling it "a consistently fine creation". [4]
All tracks are written by Visage (Billy Currie, Rusty Egan, Dave Formula, John McGeoch, Steve Strange and Midge Ure), except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Visage" | 3:53 | |
| 2. | "Blocks on Blocks" | 4:00 | |
| 3. | "The Dancer" | Egan, Ure | 3:40 |
| 4. | "Tar" | Barry Adamson, Currie, Egan, Formula, McGeoch, Strange, Ure | 3:32 |
| 5. | "Fade to Grey" | Currie, Chris Payne, Ure | 4:02 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Malpaso Man" | 4:14 |
| 7. | "Mind of a Toy" | 4:28 |
| 8. | "Moon Over Moscow" | 4:00 |
| 9. | "Visa-age" | 4:20 |
| 10. | "The Steps" | 3:14 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Fade to Grey (Dance Mix)" | 6:41 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "We Move" | 4.00 |
| 12. | "Fade to Grey (Dance Mix)" | 6.43 |
| 13. | "Mind of a Toy (Dance Mix)" | 5.15 |
| 14. | "Visage (Dance Mix)" | 6.03 |
| 15. | "We Move (Dance Mix)" | 6.29 |
| 16. | "Frequency 7 (Dance Mix)" | 5.03 |
| 17. | "Second Steps" | 5.27 [8] |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| France (SNEP) [18] | Gold | 100,000* |
| Germany (BVMI) [19] | Gold | 250,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) [20] | Silver | 60,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
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.
Journeyman is the eleventh solo studio album by Eric Clapton. Heralded as a return to form for Clapton, who had struggled with alcohol addiction and recently found sobriety, the album has a 1980s electronic sound, but it also includes blues songs like "Before You Accuse Me", "Running on Faith", and "Hard Times." "Bad Love" was released as a single, reaching the No. 1 position on the Album Rock Chart in the United States, and being awarded a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance in 1990. "Pretending" had also reached the No. 1 position on the Album Rock Chart the previous year, remaining at the top for five weeks.
"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.
Into the Great Wide Open is the eighth studio album by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Released in July 1991, it was the band's last with MCA Records. The album was the second that Petty produced with Jeff Lynne, following the successful Full Moon Fever (1989).
"The Damned Don't Cry" is a song by British synth-pop group Visage, released as a single by Polydor Records in 1982.
Still Life is a live album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 1 June 1982. Recorded during the band's 1981 American tour, it was released in time for their 1982 European tour.
Rusty Egan is a British pop musician and DJ, 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 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. He played drums on a remixed version of Phil Lynott's song "Yellow Pearl", which the BBC used as the Top of the Pops theme tune from 1981 to 1986.
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.
"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.
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.
"Mind of a Toy" is the third single by the British synth-pop group Visage, released on Polydor Records in March 1981. It was taken from the band's eponymous debut album, following up their international hit "Fade to Grey".
"Tar" is the debut single by the British synth-pop group Visage, released in 1979.
"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.
The Damned Don't Cry is a compilation album by the British synth-pop group Visage released in 2000.
Master Series is a compilation album by the British synth-pop band Visage released in 1997.
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 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.
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.
Brilliant is the eleventh and final studio album by British synth-pop band Ultravox, released on 25 May 2012 by Chrysalis Records. It is the group's first studio album in 18 years, and the first in 28 years from the "classic" Ultravox line-up of Midge Ure, consisting of Billy Currie, Warren Cann and Chris Cross. The title track was released as its lead single, and premiered on 17 April 2012 on BBC Radio 2.
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.
