Book review: ULTRAVOX – Every Album, Every Song by Brian J Robb

SonicBond Publishing [Publication date: 26.07.24]

Ultravox had 17 UK top 40 singles between 1981 and 1984, yet never had a number one single. ‘Vienna’ was famously kept of the top spot by Joe Dolce’s ‘Shaddap You Face’ (a song that also topped eight other nation’s charts!). They continued up until 2013 in various guises but never matched those early to mid 80′s chart and touring success.

Ultravox formed back in 1973 with John Foxx at the mic stand and the three album released under his time with the band are given a good and fair appraisal by the author.

Right from the start Ultravox worked with many top name producers including Brian Eno, Steve Lillywhite, George Martin and Conny Plank. Each had an effect on the band’s sound at that time and Robb gives credit to this, as well as the band’s own production and writing talents.

Reading this had me listening again to the two 90′s albums from Ultravox with Billy Currie the only member from the original and classic 80s line-ups. 1994′s ‘Ingenuity’ featured Dare guitarist Vinnie Burns and vocalist Sam Blue, who recorded the Burns Blue album with Vinnie Burns. You can’t go wrong with any album by Ultravox, bar the rightly panned ‘U-Vox’ which this fan has no desire to listen to again even after reading about it. Midge Ure stated in his memoir it should have been titled ‘U-Bend’!

However, there is not much mention of the solo output of each band member. Even a brief overview would be appreciated by the casual reader, especially as Midge Ure continues to tour and has had a successful solo career.

One of the best ‘On Track…’ books I have read as Brian Robb gives an informative history of the band, backed by various archive interviews from the various band members, and gives a fair appraisal of each album. Makes for a perfect introduction to the band and their wonderful music. ****

Review by Jason Ritchie

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)