OFF THE RECORDS - "Brilliant" remix by Ultravox

TALK TALK - "They want Ultravox become an X-Factor...!". Midge Ure speaks out!

"There was a reticence about doing this as we didn't know what the public response would be, and especially with a band like us, Ultravox just seemed to be a fantastic punch-bag for the media back in the day and we tended to think: "Do you really want to go and stick your head in the lion's mouth again?"

"But I think all that disappeared when we started working together again, it just felt natural, it felt right, it felt, not easy but comfortable and it was exciting because it was new technology. It was even more exciting when we decided to stand up for ourselves and say: "You know what? We're going to do it the way we want to do it. Whether it's for anybody else, this is how we want to do it." And there was something really nice about that. So the process of getting it right musically, first and foremost, was imperative.

"What happens to it now, when you give it to the wide world, is completely out of our hands so the response from people, the reviews, whether they like it or hate it, there's nothing we can do about it now, that's what making music is all about, you make what you think is right and then hopefuly it will translate into somebody else's life.

"The great thing about Brilliant I think, I'm not sure what Billy thinks about this, I think it's quite possibly the best collection of songs that we ever did. Period. And it's because Billy's continued writing, I've continued writing all the way through the twenty odd year break that we've had and I think that you can hear that. So that, in a way makes everything else redundant, it takes it really back to: 'Is this an intersting piece of music, is this an interesting lyric, is this a good melody, does this do something to you, does it make you cry or laugh or smile or dance or whatever?' That's the core of what it should be, and that's why we stopped talking to Universal because they didn't want that, thay wanted an X-Factor version of that and we weren't prepared to go there. It became very obvious to us they wanted a record with Ultravox's name on it, some signature sounds and my voice on it, but they weren't really interested in what the music was other than the fact was it commercially successful?, and that really hasn't made an awful lot of difference to us. When we got together in the first place, Vienna wasn't a commercially acceptable track, it was completely and utterly out there, it's only become successful and seen as an obviously commercial track in hindsight, but at the time it was radically different, so I don't think our attitude to that process has changed."

Tom Artrocker

Extracted from a full and fascinating interview with Midge Ure and Billy Currie, featuring more of Keith Martin's wonderful photos. Read the whole piece in the new issue of Artrocker available today from all good shops or direct from us here: artrockermagazine.com

NEWS WAVE/LET'S TOUR - It's the Ultravox Day! New "Brilliant" album out, new European tour dates!

Seminal electro pioneers Ultravox have issued the artwork for their first new album in 28 years, ‘Brilliant’ which is released on May 28th through EMI. The legendary quartet of Midge Ure, Billy Currie, Chris Cross and Warren Cann have created an album that not only stands alongside the finest work of their career but firmly places them as both a huge influence upon, and a vital contemporary force within, today’s musical climate.

Recorded in Canada, Los Angeles and the UK, ‘Brilliant’ is a stunning tour de force. “I think this record is probably the best one we’ve ever done,” explains Midge Ure, “because the songs are so much stronger than before. There’s a lovely naivety you have when you start out where you throw things together and think that they’re great and somehow that affects other people, but I think the fact that we’ve been working away separately over the years perfecting our art comes out on this record.”

The writing process for the twelve songs on ‘Brilliant’ started when Billy and Chris joined Midge at his house in Canada. “I have a house in the middle of the woods by a lake in Montreal and we realised if the three of us went to my house out there and sat down with some laptops, keyboards and guitars with no outside distractions at all, we could find out whether we were actually capable of writing something together again. And it was a phenomenal experience, a great bonding thing for the three of us; we just ate, slept and breathed music. It was a very, very instant thing, like getting back onto the horse again. We climbed back onto the saddle again and we were off and running.”

It was this sense of starting again that, according to Midge, really inspired the band. “That’s what we were trying to do when we first started, make something unique, something that came from the four of us. You can hear directly from what we were doing thirty years ago stuff that was coming out of deepest, darkest Germany - bands like Kraftwerk and Neu - but you can also hear the pop of Roxy Music and David Bowie and you put that mixture together and it becomes unique because nobody else sounds like that collective. But over the years we had an awful lot of followers and you can still hear some of that influence running through music today with other bands, the melody and the structure and the atmospherics.”

Yet the fact that the four members of Ultravox have come together again means that ‘Brilliant’ has the singular, unique sound which has inspired so many of today’s artists, but never been bettered.“If it was Ultravox with a slightly different line-up, if one of us wasn’t there it wouldn’t have that link but because the four of us are there together it has that link. Something about the persona of these characters coming together and those emotions turns it into something else.”

Further sessions in Canada and LA to record Warren’s drum parts followed leaving Midge, Billy and Chris to finish the recordings in their home studios. With the album almost complete they decided to bring in an outside producer to bring the whole album together.

“We didn’t want to lose the momentum and dry up after this amazing flurry of activity and great creative bubble,” recalls Midge. “So that’s when [producer] Steve Lipson came into the process at the end and helped us fine-tune everything. He’s very much a musician and became almost a fifth member of the band for a while, and he would challenge and question us on everything. We’d done about a year’s work on our own, very isolated and insular, and nobody else had heard anything. So once he came on board and got involved it just worked incredibly well.”

And the result is astonishing. From the opening, swelling barrage of ‘Live’ with its instantly identifiable piano motifs through the epic rock of ‘Flow’ to first single and title track ‘Brilliant’, there is no mistaking the sound of Ultravox; the huge choruses, the impassioned vocals, the driving rhythms and pulsing electronics.

‘Rise’ is a modern computer-pop classic while the likes of ‘Remembering’, ‘One’ and ‘Change’ evoke the cinematic atmospheres Ultravox do so well. Coupled with the widescreen drama of ‘Lie’, the chiming exoticism of ‘Satellite’, the sinister tension of ‘Hello’ and the chilling heartbreak of ‘Fall’, Ultravox have crafted an album that may well be ranked as their finest work to date.

The final part of the jigsaw puzzle was choosing which record company to release the album through, as the band had a number of offers on the table. But it was EMI, the band’s home for many years that they decided to return to. “We’ve always had the EMI connection through being signed to Chrysalis and EMI did such a fantastic job with the reissues around the ‘Return To Eden’ shows that it felt very natural. EMI got it, and understood what we were doing and understood the standards we have. We spent six weeks rehearsing for a three week tour to make sure it was as good as it could be and EMI are able to work to the same high standards.”

More info on the European tour dates below, with further details to follow on a few of the shows to follow where marked tomorrow.

Please note that Italy is the ONLY show in Europe which will have a presale. This presale will start on Wednesday 30th May for 24 hours only (link in listing below, no password required).

SEPTEMBER 2012 21 Bristol Colston Hall 22 Oxford New Theatre 23 Portsmouth Guildhall 25 Nottingham Royal Centre 26 Birmingham Symphony Hall 27 Hammersmith HMV Apollo 29 Guildford G Live 30 Manchester Palace Theatre

OCTOBER 2012 02 Southend Cliffs Pavilion 03 Ipswich Regent Theatre 04 Sheffield City Hall 06 Blackpool Opera House 07 Glasgow Clyde Auditorium 08 Gateshead Sage

OCTOBER 2012

• 10.10.12 - France, Paris, Trabendo - on sale 30th May
• 11.10.12 - Belgium, Antwerp, Trix Hall - on sale now / 0900 00 600
• 12.10.12 - Holland, Tilburg, Poppodium - on sale 2nd June / 0900 300 12 50
• 14.10.12 - Germany, Hamburg, Docks - on sale now / +49 (0)1805 570000
• 15.10.12 - Denmark, Copenhagen - MORE INFO TOMORROW
• 16.10.12 - Sweden, Malmö - on sale 30th May / +46 771 651 000
• 18.10.12 - Finland, Helsinki - on sale 30th May / 358 (0) 600-1-1616
• 20.10.12 - Sweden, Stockholm - on sale 30th May / +46 771 651 000
• 21.10.12 - Norway, Oslo, Rockefeller - on sale now / 00 815 11211
• 23.10.12 - Sweden, Gothenburg- on sale 30th May / +46 771 651 000
• 25.10.12 - Germany, Berlin, Columbiahalle - on sale now / +49 (0)1805 570000
• 26.10.12 - Germany, Mainz, Phoenixhalle - on sale now / +49 (0)1805 570000
• 27.10.12 - Germany, Leipzig, Haus Auensee - on sale now / +49 (0)1805 570000
• 29.10.12 - Germany, Munich, Kesselhaus - on sale now / +49 (0)1805 570000
• 30.10.12 - Austria, Vienna - MORE INFO TOMORROW

NOVEMBER 2012

• 01.11.12 - Switzerland, Zurich - MORE INFO TOMORROW
• 03.11.12 - Germany, Memmingen, Stadthalle - on sale now / +49 (0)1805 570000
• 05.11.12 - Italy, Milan - PRESALE 30th / general sale 31st May / +39 0253006501
• 07.11.12 - Germany, Köln, E-Werk - on sale now / +49 (0)1805 570000
• 08.11.12 - Germany, Bielefeld, Ringlokschuppen - on sale now / +49 (0)1805 570000

The Brilliant microsite has now launched, and you can either pre-order the album from there or directly from www.ultravox.org.uk/store.shtml. These are the same Amazon (worldwide), Townsend, HMV, Play & iTunes links that appear on the EMI microsite, and there is no difference to ordering from either; your order will be helping EV either from either location (thank you!).
You will still be able to view the video clips and competitions (all worldwide this time) which will appear on the microsite; no purchase is necessary to see them or to take part.

OFF THE RECORDS - Il "brillante" ritorno degli Ultravox!

(AGI) - Roma, 18 apr. - Emi e' orgogliosa di annunciare il grande ritorno degli Ultravox con il loro primo album di studio, "Brilliant", dopo 28 anni con la storica formazione che include Midge Ure, Billy Currie, Chris Cross, Warren Cann. La stessa con cui pubblicarono "Lament" nel 1984. A seguito del successo del tour "Return To Eden" con cui nel 2009 la line-up classica della band si e' ripresentata dopo 25 anni sulle scene, Midge Ure e soci si sono ritrovati in studio e hanno registrato una serie di brani inediti, dodici canzoni in tutto, che fanno parte appunto dell'album "Brilliant" in uscita il 29 maggio, che sara' seguito poi da un fitto tour inglese nei mesi di settembre e ottobre. Drammatico, passionale ed epico sia nei testi che nei suoni, "Brilliant" non solo e' una testimonianza concreta di quanto grande sia questa band, ma rappresenta un ulteriore valore aggiunto per uno straordinario catalogo di musica che oggi suona piu' attuale e influente che mai. Emersi dalla scena punk, new wave ed elettronica dei tardi anni 70, gli Ultravox si sono inventati una forma straordinaria di musica rock elettronica dalla potenza unica che consegno' alla storia degli anni Ottanta grandissimi canzoni quali 'Hymn', 'Dancing With Tears In My Eyes', 'The Voice', 'Reap The Wild Wind', 'Love's Great Adventure', 'We Came To Dance', 'One Small Day' e naturalmente l'atmosferica e intramontabile 'Vienna'. "Brilliant" porta gli Ultravox ad ampliare il loro modello classico ricordandoci la loro forza come compositori di altissimo livello. Tutti i dettagli sul nuovo album verranno rivelati presto assieme alle date del tour che la band intraprendera' entro la fine dell'anno.