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Why Ultravox decided to give 'Vienna' another whirl


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Live Aid was a career-defining moment for many who took part. U2's profile rose dramatically. Global interest in Queen was entirely revitalised. Bob Geldof was hailed as a modern-day saint. For Ultravox, however, it was a very different story.

read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/r...ther-whirl.html

source: Telegraph.co.uk

"Vienna" is Ultravox's third single from their fourth album of the same name (and the first under Midge Ure's leadership). The single was released on Chrysalis Records on January 15, 1981, peaking for 4 weeks at #2 in the UK singles chart. It was ranked at #1 on the countdown of the Top 75 Songs Of The 1980s by BJMA in 2008.

"Vienna" is a haunting ballad filled with piano and violin compositions. The song is regarded as a staple of the New Romantic music and fashion that was popular in the early 1980s.

The song takes inspiration from the 1948 film The Third Man, which is based around the Austrian capital Vienna.

The single was re-released by Chrysalis in 1993 in the UK to promote a Midge Ure/Ultravox greatest hits compilation and peaked at #13 in the UK charts. It remains to this date Ultravox's signature song, being their most commercially successful release and is often performed live by Midge Ure on solo performances.

The music video, directed by Russell Mulcahy is particularly evocative of The Third Man. It was Ultravox' second video, after Passing Strangers (also with Mulcahy), and cost £6000–£7000, footed by the band after Chrysalis refused to fund it.

image: Fair Use/iorel69.files.wordpress.com: ULTRAVOX....to revisit VIENNA.

post-193-1239175028_thumb.jpg

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