"Visage" | ||||
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Single by Visage | ||||
from the album Visage | ||||
B-side | "Second Steps" | |||
Released | 3 July 1981 | |||
Recorded | Genetic Studios, 1980 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:51 | |||
Label | Polydor | |||
Songwriter(s) | Steve Strange, Midge Ure, Billy Currie, John McGeoch, Rusty Egan, Dave Formula | |||
Producer(s) | Midge Ure, Visage | |||
Visage singles chronology | ||||
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Alternative single cover | ||||
"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.
In the UK, the single was available in three different covers, each featuring vocalist Steve Strange, by photographers John Timbers, Robyn Beeche and Brian Griffin.
The music video for the single was the first of two Visage videos directed by Midge Ure. The video includes footage shot at the Blitz nightclub in London's Covent Garden, which was the focal point of the New Romantic scene in the early 1980s. It was included on the Visage video album in 1986. [1] A then-unknown Jacquie O'Sullivan (who would join Bananarama in the late 80's) appears briefly at the beginning of the video as one of The Blitz's customers on the bar counter.
Chart | Peak position |
---|---|
Germany [4] | 41 |
Ireland [5] | 22 |
United Kingdom [6] | 21 |
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".
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.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
"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.
"Night Train" is the sixth single by the British synth-pop group Visage, released by Polydor Records in June 1982.
"Pleasure Boys" is a song by the British synth-pop group Visage, released as a single on Polydor Records in October 1982.
"Love Glove" is a song by the British synth-pop group Visage, released as a single on Polydor Records in August 1984. It was the first single to be released from Visage's third album, Beat Boy, and peaked at #54 on 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.
"Beat Boy" is a 1984 song by the British synth-pop band Visage, released as a single in November 1984.
Visage is a compilation video by the British band Visage, released in August 1985.
"I Can't Even Touch You" is a song by the British singer-songwriter Steve Harley, which was released in 1982 as a non-album single under his band's name Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel. The song was written by Harley and produced by Midge Ure.
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.