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 (Visage and The Anvil) and five Top 30 singles before the commercial failure of their third album (Beat Boy) led to their break-up in 1985.
Pioneers of the New Romantic movement, Visage emerged in 1978 from the London club Blitz, a neo-glam nightspot which stood in stark contrast to the prevailing punk mentality of the time. Spearheading Blitz's ultra-chic clientele were Steve Strange, a former member of the punk band the Moors Murderers,
and DJ Rusty Egan, onetime drummer with the Rich Kids; seeking to record music of their own to fit in with the club's regular playlist (a steady diet of David Bowie, Kraftwerk, and Roxy Music), Strange and Egan were offered studio time by another Rich Kids alum, guitarist Midge Ure. In late 1978, this trio recorded a demo which yielded the first Visage single, an aptly futuristic cover of Zager & Evans' "In the Year 2525."
Adding Ultravox keyboardist Billy Currie as well as three members of Magazine, bassist Barry Adamson, guitarist John McGeoch, and keyboardist Dave Formula, Visage signed to Radar
Records to release "Tar" in September 1979, followed a year later by their self-titled debut LP. The album yielded a major single in "Fade to Grey," an instant club classic that heralded synth pop's imminent commercial breakthrough. The follow-up, "Mind of a Toy," was a Top 20 hit, but after releasing 1982's The Anvil, Visage began to disintegrate: first Ure exited to focus all of his energies on fronting Ultravox, then Currie and Formula broke ranks as well. 1984's Beat Boy was the group's final recording, although a remixed "Fade to Grey" was a U.K. Top 40 hit during the early '90s.
Great synthesizer music is like a strong opiate that soothes the weary soul. Many bands have tried to
make synthesizers the hallmark of their sound, and have failed miserably. It’s too formulaic, too predictable, too bland, too much like elevator muzak. But those who are successfully able to blend synths with guitars, bass, drums, and more, have produced some of the most jarring and emotionally charged music to come out of the 80’s era.
Visage is one such band. Founded in London in 1978, the original members were Steve Strange, Rusty
Egan, and Midge Ure (Ultravox). Billie Currie (Ultravox), John McGeoch (Magazine, Armoury Show, and Siouxie &The Banshees), and Dave Formula (Magazine) joined Strange, Egan, and Ure in the studio to record the band’s self-titled first album.
After a handful of false starts, Strange reincarnated the group in the 2000s. After several television
appearances, and a re-recording of "Fade to Grey," new material finally appeared in 2007 in the form of a charity single "Diary of a Madman." In early 2013, Strange announced the third incarnation of the band, this time featuring Strange, Steve Barnacle, Lauren Duvall, and former Ultravox and Magazine member Robin Simon. That same year, the group released their fourth studio album, Hearts and Knives, coming some 29 years after 1984's Beat Boy.
The live album, Orchestral, which saw the band rework their back catalog with the help of the Prague
Philharmonic Orchestra, appeared at the end of the following year. On the February 12, 2015, Strange passed away as the result of a heart attack while in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. The group's final album, Demons to Diamonds, which was partly recorded before Strange's death, was released at the end of 2015, with the companion release, Darkness to Diamond, following a few months later in early 2016.
The band has seen various line-up changes over the years, all fronted by vocalist Steve Strange, who
resurrected the band name in the 2000s. In 2013, the most recent line-up of the band released Hearts and Knives, the first new Visage album in 29 years. The band's fifth and final album, Demons to Diamonds, was released in 2015, nine months after Strange had died following a heart attack.
Visage is the debut studio album by the British new wave band Visage. It was recorded at Genetic
Sound Studios in Reading, Berkshire and released on 10 November 1980 by Polydor Records. With apologies to Spandau Ballet, Ultravox, and even Duran Duran, this is the music that best represents the short-lived but always underrated new romantic movement. That's fitting, because Visage's frontman, Steve Strange, was the colorfully painted face of the movement, just as this album was its sound.
Warming up Kraftwerk's icy Teutonic electronics with a Bowie-esque flair for fashion, Strange and the
new romantics created a clubland oasis far removed from the drabness of England's early'80s reality and the brutality of the punk response to it. And no one conjured up that Eurodisco fantasyland better than Visage, whose "Fade to Grey" became the anthem of the outlandishly decked-out Blitz Kids congregated at Strange's club nights.
TRACKS
01. Visage 3:46
02. Blocks On Blocks 3:48
03. The Dancer 3:55
04. Tar 3:32
05. Fade To Grey 3:58
06. Malpaso Man 4:04
07. Mind Of A Toy 4:35
08. Moon Over Moscow 3:50
09. Visa-Age 4:24
10. The Steps 3:12
Personnel
Visage
Steve Strange – lead vocals
Midge Ure – guitar, backing vocals, synthesizers
John McGeoch – guitar, backing vocals, saxophone
Dave Formula – synthesizer
Billy Currie – electric violin, synthesizer
Rusty Egan – drums, backing vocals, electronic percussion
Additional personnel
Barry Adamson – bass guitar (1, 2, 4)
Chris Payne – synthesizer (5)
Cedric Sharpley – drums, electronic drums programming (5)
Brigitte Arens – voice (5)
Thank you very much - a fine collective of Artists who released strong/quality music; together & apart.
ReplyDelete