re:VOX

14/08/2024

The new edition of Classic Pop contains an exclusive interview with "the surviving members of" Ultravox (words that are still hard to process) in support of the almost upon us Lament boxset. This is followed by an official advert for the set, as well as four star feature review later in the issue.

In the latest issue of Classic Pop we have an exclusive cover feature interview with Alison Moyet as she makes her much-anticipated return after seven years away with new studio…

29/07/2024

The new issue of Vive le Rock ( #114) carries the latest in the (new) wave of positive for reviews for the Rusty Egan Presents: Blitzed boxset - well worth a listen.

VIVE LE ROCK 114 WITH... WEST LONDON REVOLUTIONARIES! WITH THE CLASH, KILLING JOKE, MOTORHEAD, HAWKWIND, PINK FAIRIES, DEVIANTS, BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE & MORE! PLUS THE INTERRUPTERS MARCH VIOLETS MILLIE MANDERS REDD KROSS COCKNEY REBEL BAD NERVES REBELLION FEST PREVIEW HUNG LIKE HANRATTY AMIGO THE D...

17/07/2024

Subscribers to the Classic Pop magazine newsletter have just received a link to an exclusive lyric video set to Steven Wilson's promo edit of his White China remix.

07/07/2024

Meanwhile, in the wake of the release of John Foxx's excellent Electricity and Ghosts art book, #15 of Blitzed magazine - out this Thursday gone - carries an exclusive, career-spanning interview.

07/07/2024

Lament - sells out! No sooner had I posted the story about the track-listing appearing on Amazon downloads than the full details of all the CD and vinyl permutations, and other merchandise, surfaced within a day-or-so.
Unfortunately, as regular followers of this and my other FB pages know, other responsibilities sometimes curtail any time that I might have to post quick updates, so apologies that I wasn't able to follow up on this one sooner, especially as the first 500 units of the CD box came with an extra promo 7", which sold out within days of the initial announcement (which, alas, I wasn't able to snaffle up in time).
The Super Deluxe Edition website then announced a BluRay release of the entire package, which as of last night had also almost sold out, with a final call for pre-orders, retailing at a very reasonable £25 plus P+P.

27/06/2024

I've been keeping an eye out for the first mention of the contents of Ultravox's forthcoming Lament Deluxe Edition set, and sure enough, having not checked for a few days its popped up on Amazon's download page, with details of the LP box set as well. With five LPs my hunch that the RSD mini-LP (running at 33 1/3, although not noted as such) marked #6 was an add-on appears to have born fruit :)

There's some nice stuff here, not least all the US tracks in one place at last, and (as far as I can see) no odd missing tracks (such as the odd absence of the Reap 7" edit last time around).

But, speaking personally, what I'm most excited to see here is not only Rivets on CD at last (which I'm presuming is the full-length cinema version - there's a shorter, more familiar TV edit - that was included on the interview cassette that came with 1984 tour programme), as well as two different iterations of the abandoned Levi's follow-up 'Threads'. The final commercial sunk, and was tracked by flimsy, soundalike music; quickly replaced in the schedules by the Rivets ad once again!

Speaking of the 1984 Set Movements tour, the recording from 7th June featured here is a stonker - with some lovely rearrangements ands performances of classic tracks - once did the rounds on bootlegs for many years, albeit in truncated form, so I'm particularly thrilled to see its full inclusion here at long last. The previously released cut of White China (live) came from a different night to this show.

A release date of Friday 6th September is given, which makes sense, and although the download list is one long chain of tracks, they do seem to be in album-by-album order, so in the list below I've put breaks in for what seems to make sense as the likely content of each individual CD.

White China (2024 Remaster) 03:52
One Small Day (2024 Remaster) 04:34
Dancing With Tears in My Eyes (2024 Remaster) 04:40
Lament (2024 Remaster) 04:42
Man of Two Worlds (2024 Remaster) 04:29
Heart of the Country (2024 Remaster) 05:08
When the Time Comes (2024 Remaster) 04:59
A Friend I Call Desire (2024 Remaster) 05:10

White China (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix) 03:56
One Small Day (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix) 04:31
Dancing With Tears in My Eyes (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix) 04:41
Lament (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix) 04:41
Man of Two Worlds (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix) 04:32
Heart of the Country (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix) 05:06
When the Time Comes (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix) 04:59
A Friend I Call Desire (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix) 05:12
Easterly (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix) 03:52
Building (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix) 03:14
Love's Great Adventure (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix) 03:10

White China (Extended Re-Mix) 09:02
One Small Day (Extended Re-Mix) 08:46
Dancing With Tears in My Eyes (Blank & Jones so8os Reconstruction) Ultravox feat. Blank & Jones 06:00
Lament (Moby Re-Mix) Ultravox feat. Moby 04:27
Man of Two Worlds (Extended Version) 08:06
Heart of the Country (Extended Re-Mix) 08:15
When the Time Comes (Steven Wilson 12" Re-Mix) Ultravox feat. Steven Wilson 07:20

One Small Day (U.S. Single Edit / 2024 Remaster) 04:39
Easterly (2024 Remaster) 03:49
Dancing With Tears in My Eyes (Single Version / 2024 Remaster) 04:10
Building (2024 Remaster) 03:11
One Small Day (U.S. Club Version / 2024 Remaster) 07:45
Lament (Single Version / 2024 Remaster) 04:18
Heart of the Country (Instrumental / 2024 Remaster) 04:26
Love's Great Adventure (2024 Remaster) 03:07
White China (Live at Hammersmith Odeon June 1984 / 2024 Remaster) 03:46
Man of Two Worlds (Instrumental / 2024 Remaster) 04:32
White China (Rough Mix Sept ‘83) 03:51
Man of Two Worlds (Monitor Mix Aug ‘83) 04:46
Lament (Backing Track Sept ‘83) 05:18
Dancing With Tears in My Eyes (Piano Version) 03:20
Love's Great Adventure (Work in Progress Mix) 03:09
Threads (Version 1) 01:04
Threads (Version 2: Love’s Great Adventure) 01:12
Rivets 00:57

One Small Day (Special Re-Mix / 2024 Remaster) 07:50
One Small Day (Special Re-Mix Extra / 2024 Remaster) 08:31
White China (Special Re-Mix / 2024 Remaster) 08:23
Dancing With Tears in My Eyes (Special Re-Mix / 2024 Remaster) 10:01
Dancing With Tears in My Eyes (U.S. Extended Re-Mix / 2024 Remaster) 07:43
Lament (Extended Version / 2024 Remaster) 08:03
Heart of the Country (Special Unedited Re-Mix / 2024 Remaster) 12:00
Love's Great Adventure (Extended Version / 2024 Remaster) 05:43
One Small Day (Final Mix / 2024 Remaster) 07:37

Live at Hammersmith Odeon, London 7th June 1984 - Part 1
Man of Two Worlds 04:10
Passing Strangers 05:10
We Stand Alone 06:09
New Europeans 04:18
I Remember (Death in The Afternoon) 05:07
Visions in Blue 04:33
Heart of the Country 04:52
Western Promise 06:35
Vienna 05:00

Live at Hammersmith Odeon, London 7th June 1984 - Part 2
Reap the Wild Wind 03:48
We Came to Dance 02:35
White China 03:46
One Small Day 04:31
Hymn 04:49
The Voice 07:09
Lament 04:46
Dancing With Tears in My Eyes 05:07
All Stood Still 04:48

14/06/2024

Talking of Record Collector #559 (July 2024), a few pages further on finds Nick Dalton in the books section discussing John Foxx's forthcoming new tome Electricity and Ghosts - a half-a-page feature split equally between his four star review and a brief chat with John concerning how his artwork has always developed in tandem with his music, and his love of "going against trends".

14/06/2024

The reviews are in this week... and they're all full of praise for Rusty Egan Presents Blitzed!, some three years in the works. Mojo #569 (August 2024) devotes all most half-a-page to its four star review from Victoria Segal, while over in the back pages of Record Collector #559 (July 2024) Jeremy Allen has a whole page split between his 2/3-of-page four star review and a short conversation with Rusty below. Doubtless there's more still to come.

13/06/2024

It's John Foxx's turn to get an exclusive 7" from Electronic Sound magazine :-)

Tying into his new book Electricity and Ghosts (Rocket 88), this issue focuses on his extraordinary catalogue of artwork, dating back to the 1970s. Here he talks about his favourite pieces, resulting in "a fascinating glimpse into his artistic approach and the aesthetic principles he applies to both his imagery and his records".

To get the exclusive white vinyl 7", pairing 1980's 7" A-side Miles Away with 1997's Sunset Rising from the first Cathedral Oceans album, you'll need to head over to their online shop. These bundles tend to sell out quickly, so don't delay!

John Foxx Issue + ‘Miles Away’ / ‘Sunset Rising’ white vinyl seven-inch

06/05/2024

Bank holiday quickies... The week before last saw the latest edition of Uncut magazine ( #326, June 2024) go on sale, containing an obituary for Chris Cross, followed by my own in Blitzed magazine ( #14, May 2024) out last Friday. I'll keep you posted as and when others appear. In the meantime, the still present edition of Electronic Sound ( #112) magazine carries a news item about BBC Archives releasing a classic in studio clip of Ultravox during the recording of the Lament album, coincidentally or not perfectly timed for the forthcoming 40th anniversary boxset to come soon.

15/04/2024

Finally, a few other items in this long overdue catch-up.

Shockingly, no Ultravox album made Uncut's recent 500 Greatest Albums of the 1980s... ranked! bookazine, although Foxx's Metamatic did, placing at #144.

Elsewhere, readers may wish to check out Tom Doyle's absorbing book Running up that Hill - 50 Visions of Kate Bush (Nine Eight Books - £20 rrp), for an amusing anecdote concerning Midge Ure's tribute to Bush at a past Q awards event. Check out: bonnierbooks.co.uk

15/04/2024

Its obviously been a very sad time following the death of Chris Cross recently. Even though this reinforces the end of anything more in the way of tours or new recordings, we still have the continuing boxsets to enjoy, and I'm pleased that Chris was able to contribute to at least this years Lament set (and possibly could have been involved in any outline planning for U-Vox, if that's next in line).

I was heartened to see how much newspaper coverage Chris garnered in addition to all the on-line tributes, as this is so often only reserved for the lead singer or headline soloist within a group. After initial press reports in the Daily Express, Sun, Mirror and i (although the Metro and Standard may also have done so, but I wasn't able to access copies to check), subsequent editions of The Times and Daily Telegraph ran substantial summaries in their obituary pages.

I'm very grateful that I got to interview him twice, and met him shortly after that first chat - in a meet-and-greet previously reviewed in re:VOX some years back now - and, as you'll have guessed, I'm planning a special tribute issue in place of some of the content originally selected for #22. This is something that I never envisaged we'd be handling any time soon. Our thoughts go to all the past members of Ultravox over the years, and his friends and family.

15/04/2024

The latest issue of Electronic Sound magazine covers the year 1981, and so touches upon Vienna's success, in another of their month-by-month feature pieces. It was announced a few days ago that they'd found some warehoused stock of 2020's Herr X 7" single, although this may not be available by now.

1981 Issue + ‘Avant 81’ green vinyl three-track seven-inch EP

15/04/2024

It's Rusty's world, we're only living in it!

In the lead up to Egan's long-ago conceived boxset - Rusty Egan presents Blitzed (Demon Records) - gathering up some of the many tracks that he played in the legendary club, there are interviews aplenty to enjoy.

Sadly, there wasn't time to mention the first of these that featured in last month's issue of Electronic Sound ( #111) - with commentary by Billy Currie, Robert Elms, Richard Burgess and many others - but right now you'll find a Steve Strange cover-fronted interview with Egan in the latest edition of Classic Pop magazine out last week ( #87, May/June 2024), with the exclusive subscriber cover featuring instead a text-less cover of a sharply-dressed Rusty c. 1980 or so instead. https://shop.classicpopmag.com/store/products,classic-pop-87-mayjun-2024_2219.htm

Look out for another interview soon in the pages of the May-dated Blitzed magazine, which should also contain an obituary for Chris Cross that I managed to compile mere days before it went to print.

Postage & packaging included

23/02/2024

Finally, at least for tonight, a pre-order has just gone up for the next edition of the bi-monthly Blitzed magazine. Past the cover featured headline interview with Boris Blank, you may find one familiar by-line - a new interview that I completed with Richard James Burgess just before Christmas. Long time readers may recall that we last spoke back in 2010, so a lot's happened to both of us since then! https://blitzedmag.com/product/blitzed-issue-13-march-2024/

However, so keen was Richard to continue talking after the deadline for that piece had passed, that our continued conversation will appear as a separate interview in the next print edition of re:VOX sometime later this year (so we will still, very likely, be one Ultravox boxset behind).

In the latest issue of Blitzed, we have an exclusive interview with Boris Blank of Yello, discussing the 3D soundscape of his new album Resonance. There’s also insight into his unique approach to crafting Yello’s distinctive take on electronic music.

23/02/2024

Continuing with their run of era-defining boxsets, Cherry Red is set to release Moving Away from the Pulsebeat (1977-1981), a 5 CD look back at the post-punk British music scene (CRCD5BOX169). Ultravox are represented on the very first disc by Hiroshima Mon Amour, although which of the two studio versions they've selected here isn't specified.

105 TRACKS CHARTING THE BRITISH POST-PUNK EXPLOSION 1978-1981. A COMPENDIUM OF FAMILIAR NAMES, UNDERGROUND ODDITIES AND FRESHLY EXCAVATED HISTORICAL NUGGETS.

23/02/2024

And while we're still talking about Midge, a recent post from Ultravox Unofficial reveals that on Saturday 13th July this year, he has the honour of performing at Castle Nights; the first "full-scale cultural event" to ever be held at Szymbark Castle, near Llawa in Poland.
In the meantime, you can see Midge on stage at the Old Vic theatre, or at least the actor playing his part, in the limited run of the musical Just for One Day based on the Live Aid extravaganza, recently reviewed across the national press (albeit rather mixed, it has to be said, but don't let that stop you).

Featuring the songs of Bob Dylan, David Bowie, The Who, U2, Queen, The Police, Elton John, Paul McCartney, The Pretenders, The Cars, Status Quo, Paul Welle

23/02/2024

Talking of RSD 2024, don't forget Midge Ure too! The Gift (Early Versions) does what it says, bringing together the demos previously only available on CD as part of last year's The Gift boxset, while adding one exclusive here - an early version of the single-only track Call of the Wild. This carries the extension catalogue number CHRR1508.

23/02/2024

Time for a well overdue catch-up! First up comes Record Store Day, which looks to be expensive one for us, besides the two items that I'm mentioning here.
You'll have seen the news of the latest Ultravox release by now - four Steve Wilson remixes on 12" in a die-cut sleeve, compiled as a lead-in to this year's Lament boxset - but what you may not have seen is the full track list.
This contains three songs that were never released in 12" extended versions at the time. So on the A-side there's Steve's takes on White China and Man of Two Worlds, while on the flip-side he tackles When the Time Comes and A Friend I Call Desire. The catalogue number is UVX7, with the sleeve featuring a mysterious #6 as part of the artwork.
While its been made generally known that only two of these tracks feature on the box set, with the other two exclusive to this 12", intriguingly the listing on Brighton's Resident Records website seems to indicate that the new box set will also feature a full-length remix album of the Lament album, set to feature contributions "from the likes of Steven Wilson, Moby, Blank & Jones" - a curveball that we certainly weren't expecting for any of these deluxe editions.

02/02/2024

Feel free to share this long overdue update on progress on From Cents to Pence! Oh, and you might want to check out Doctor Who Magazine #600 (out yesterday) too!

A blog about Ultravox, UK comics, and other projects from Rob Kirby.

26/01/2024

Having just completed writing up a long overdue batch of book reviews for the next edition of re:VOX (hopefully this spring, before you all ask), which included a look back at John Foxx's long-awaited Quiet Man tome from Rocket 88, I see there's a new book from John coming out via the same publisher this year :)

This time around it's his visual archive that's being opened up in a new art book: Electricity and Ghosts - The Art of John Foxx. This will come in two editions, one of which will come in a slipcase with a signed print and, as with The Quiet Man, will include a list of all those who pre-ordered it.

There's no release date yet, but you can find more details here:

Electricity and Ghosts: The Visual Art of John Foxx, published by Rocket 88.

20/01/2024

Speaking of John Foxx, the latest edition of Electronic Sound ( #109) is out. A themed edition concerning ambient music, an accompanying double CD Ambient Light/Ambient Dark- available through their web-store - contains The Sea Inside from last year's The Arcades Project, perhaps selected with the forthcoming vinyl release in mind. While the magazine is available in newsagents, copies of the magazine and CD eco-pack can be bought here:

Ambient A To Z Issue + ‘Ambient Light / Ambient Dark’ double CD

20/01/2024

A pre-order window for the latest John Foxx vinyl release on 23rd February has opened at both Townsend Records and Burning Shed. Bringing things right up to date this time, they're offering a limited edition transparent blue vinyl edition of last year's The Arcades Project, Foxx’s first solo piano album.

Reviews for The Arcades Project: ‘Delicate evocation of the ambience of a city’s galleried passages.’Mojo 4 ****'This exquisite and refined solo piano work is a fine addition to a body of work made by an artist always investigating memory and imagination.’ The Quietus Album of the Month...

20/12/2023

A belated end of the year round-up of recent news items follows, starting with the latest edition of Retropop ( #23, Jan 2024), whose Top 10 Reissues chart ranks the Super Deluxe Edition of Quartet at #4 and the Deluxe Edition of The Gift at #6.

Meanwhile, David Po***ck delivers a positive three star review for that debut solo outing box set from Midge in the latest edition of Record Collector ( #552, Christmas 2023).

And finally, two from Anthem Publishing. Classic Pop 1984, the latest in their annual yearbook series, features a behind the scenes on the making of the Band Aid single, including commentary from Midge. That year's stand out Ultravox release, Dancing with Tears in My Eyes, is then ranked at #24 in their top 40 singles round-up from the year.

Lastly, the latest regular edition of Classic Pop itself ( #85, Jan/Feb 2024) features a four star review of the highly recommended latest photo book from Sheila Rock - From Billy's to the People's Palace. Expect a review in a books special review section in an upcoming edition of re:VOX. Elsewhere, Ian Peel rates Love's Great Adventure as one of the best of the new singles especially attached to a greatest hits album.

02/10/2023

Midge Ure was interviewed in yesterday's Culture section in The Sunday Times - with all the rumours swelling about of late he promises a show concentrating on the songs with no guests, orchestra or band reunions.

03/09/2023

Triple new term thrills - this week's new edition of Blitzed ( #10) arrives in stores with a major interview with Midge Ure, plus interviews with Billy Currie (with a Quartet flavour) and Rusty Egan.

02/09/2023

In a wonderful act of circularity, it was revealed last month that Hans Zimmer has invested in the purchase of the former BBC Maida Vale studios, where he once performed a powerful session as Helden with Warren Cann back in 1983 (although the press pieces at the time only referred to his comment about "squaring the circle"). The studios will be renovated and the facility used for educational and other music-related purposes, keeping this historic venue very much alive and kicking.

02/09/2023

In other recent news, the late designer/costumier Michael Baldwin is revealed in the still current edition of Mojo ( #359, Oct 2023) as the extra who played the monacled count in the classic Ultravox video for Vienna, who later appeared in clips for XTC, Bonnie Tyler, Elton John and others.

02/09/2023

It's back to school time, and there's plenty to get excited about, what with Midge Ure's fascinating Q&A in The Guardian's Saturday magazine today, and a five page feature in the new Classic Pop ( #83, Sept/Oct 2023), plus four star review and Chrysalis full page advert for his forthcoming super-sized reissue of The Gift.

08/08/2023

The vinyl reissue of John Foxx's The Golden Section album, and the accompanying Annexe compilation LP, both receive four star reviews from Nick Dalton in the latest edition of Record Collector ( #548, Sept 2023).