The brilliance of Billy Currie - electric viola and ARP Odyssey synthesizer - had his own inimitable signature sound.

They were one of the most innovative and influential bands of the 80’s, a fantastic time to be alive if you liked music. Warren Cann, the Drummer mixed traditional with digital drums effortlessly when digital first came on the scene, reverse engineered and rebuilt the drums to get the perfect understanding to sample and loop to create amazing rhythm . The four band members worked so closely the wrote and performed as a whole. EPIC MUSIC from the 80’s. Enjoy! 🎼🎤🎧🎸🎸🥁🎻🎹

check their legendary Return to Eden concert 2009 and see how the big boys do their stuff

When I bought this on vinyl in 1980, I had heard a couple of the singles. So I didn't expect this. It was mind-blowing to me and my love for this track has never waned. It still sounds fresh and awesome today. I went to their comeback tour and they started with this. Hearing it live gave me chills and the crowd cheered when Billy Currie stepped back from his synth to do his party piece! This is an album that sounds awesome from one song to the next. There is never an urge to skip tracks!

Saw them live at Sweetwater's festival Pukekawa New Zealand 1985 fantastic performance, miss those days...!!!

Brilliant. Ultravox’s single “Vienna,” changed the musical world here in the UK. I was maybe 11 and it was so otherworldly.

Love Astradyne since I first heard it in 1981.

RIP Chris Cross.

They started out as punk with synths and turned into what was called New Romantic. As a prog kid there was a lot for me to like with Ultravox when they hit this phase of keyboards and electric violins and Synth solos. Their bass player passed away this week.

I always thought of Ultravox as new wave, pop, rock with prog overtones. This tune would be great for TV or film soundtrack.

Billy Currie is a classically trained pianist and violinist which gives Ultravox their electronic/classical sound. Billy Currie and Midge Ure also played on Visage's first two albums and Billy Currie also backed Gary Numan/Tubeway Army on his first major tour. If you like this genre then check out Fade to Grey by Visage and Are Friends Electric? by Tubeway Army.....and Theme for Great Cities by Simple Minds.

Don't get confused when people start recommending "new wave" that sounds almost completely different from band to band, track to track. New Wave is a fairly wide and deep "genre", rife with sub-genres!

Rush referred to Ultravox as an influence in the early 80s. It sounded like some of Tony's solo stuff.

The joys of the "New Wave" genre is that, as others said, there were so many sounds and options. The Cars, Blondie, Ultravox, Strange Advance, Kraftwerk, Japan, Visage, Spandau Ballet, Roxy Music, Split Enz, Depeche Mode, Yaz, The Psychedelic Furs, The Fixx, Gang of Four ... just a small sampling of bands that were all labelled "New Wave" yet all had such different sounds and styles.

"The Voice".... amazing.

great band great album😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

Great reaction! I love the Midge Ure Ultravox era (starting with this album), the lead single "Vienna" from this album us iconic! Billy Currie is a synth magician!

Ultravox's best tracks can be found on their albums Systems of Romance (with John Foxx on vocals), Vienna and Rage in Eden (with Midge Ure on vocals), all three co-produced by the band and legendary German producer Conny Plank. In my opinion their other albums didn't reach these creative heights.

So much to say about this one: 1. "Vienna" is one of my favorite early 80s albums, period. 2. Ultravox isn't really new wave. They often got lumped in with the "New Romantic" movement of the early 80s, but they were really their own thing, combining Kraftwork-style electronic Krautrock with very British post-punk energy and a great sense of melody to make music that was uniquely their own. They're almost their own genre. 3. For years I only owned the U.S. vinyl album, with "Astradyne" closing Side One. In the mid-2010s I picked up the European CD release, which had the songs on Side One in almost exact reverse order, with "Astradyne" opening the album. THAT took some getting used to. 4. Their bass player Chris Cross (not to be confused with soft rock artist Christopher Cross) died earlier this week. He was a founding member, and may I believe have played in every incarnation of the band. A sad loss. Glad you enjoyed this so much, Lee! You have a lot more great music of theirs to look forward to, from both this album and its follow-up "Rage in Eden" (and even the one that came after that, "Quartet," and maybe even the one before it, "Systems of Romance," with a different singer and guitarist). Happy listening!

Your musical journey is as wide as the ocean. So lucky you have 60 years of greatness to discover

This was a great reaction. Thank you. I'm so happy to see an almost 30 year old listening to an almost 45 year old Ultravox song. I've been a fan since 1980. You should listen to the entire Vienna album. It's an amazing experience to listen to all the songs together. I liken it to listening to Soundgarden's Superunknown or Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral albums. They're pretty much masterpieces. Actually as for Ultravox, Vienna, Rage in Eden and Quartet are an amazing set of music. As much as I absolutely love Vienna, if I had to pick one Ultravox album to listen to forever, it would have to be Rage in Eden. I believe that was the band at the height of their powers. Also, RIP to Chris Cross. He past away on 3/25/24. Cheers to him and the music he leaves with us.

Billy Curry also played on Steve Howe's Turbulance album with Bruford on drums. Great album.

Talk Talk - Life’s What You Make It Cars - Heartbeat City Billy Idol - All Summer Single Yaz - Situation Blondie - Union City Blue

Great reaction Lee, this was my fav band growing up, be great if you did stick with this album, it’s a winner! Tracks like new Europeans, western promise and private lives all stick out, not forgetting Vienna, prob what song they are best known for.. on a side note, Steven Wilson seems to be working his way through remastering all their albums and has already did the Vienna album 😁😁👍

Check this from their live reunion show ten or so yrs ago. It's on YT somewhere.

Midge Ure's prior band "Visage" had the UK hit single "Fade to Grey" in 1980. Definitely worth a listen if you have a liking for New Wave synth. 😊

Midge Ure's vocals are incredible. He's very distinctive like a Gabriel or Collins. There are lots of amazing techno or new wave bands from the 80's. The rabbit hole will be deep.

I think Gary Numan has cited Ultravox as an influence. "Savage" would be a great Gary Numan album to start listening to...😉

You should listen to their hit Vienna :)

Astradyne live - Chris Cross playing bass guitar & a synth at the same time. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/e5Obib2ktJerc58.html

Midge! Edit: Your speech @ the end: you have imposter syndrome. I have it too.

Genesis jumped on the New Wave bandwagon but weren't really New Wave.

Wrong Ultravox 😏 (just kidding, it's a matter of taste of course, but the first three albums with John Foxx singing show a totally different - and much better IMO - band).