THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
532-Ultravox-Vienna.
1981-Number 2 single.
Best Bit-At 3.08. It was an American vocalist imitating an Italian accent that stopped this song from being a UK Number 1 single, and initiating the most asked Pop quiz question ever. Which song stopped ‘Vienna’ from getting to Number 1? In 2012 ‘Vienna’ was named the greatest ever single to peak at Number 2 in the UK, in a poll carried out by ‘BBC Radio 2,’ and the official chart company. I have to beg to differ, as there are several songs which reached Number 2, a lot higher placed in this ‘1000 Best Songs’ list.
Ultravox were formed in London, England, in 1974, originally calling themselves ‘Tiger Lily,’ before the name change to ‘Ultravox!’ in 1976. The exclamation mark was in tribute to the German band ‘Neu!,’ but was later dropped. The original line up included John Foxx, who left to pursue a solo career in 1979, and guitarist Steve Shears, who left in 1978. The other three original members who were Bill Currie, (see also best songs 543) Warren Cann, and Chris Cross, (1952-2024) were joined by Midge Ure (see also best songs 543 and 455) in 1979, to complete what is considered the groups classic line up. ‘Ultravox’ probably took their name from the Latin, ‘Ultra,’ meaning ‘beyond,’ and ‘Vox,’ meaning voice. ‘Ultravox’ were active until 1987, but have reformed with old and new members on two further occasions, before the band was finally retired in 2013.
The discography of Ultravox includes 11 studio Albums released between 1977-2012, and 32 singles released between 1975-1995, there are also three box sets, six extended plays (EP’s,) 16 official compilation Albums, and six live Albums available. In the UK, 17 of their singles have reached the top 40, with ‘Vienna’ charting the highest at Number 2, while in America on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, only ‘Reap the Wild Wind,’ from 1982, has made any impression, when reaching Number 71.
‘Vienna’ was the third of four singles released from the fourth studio Album of the same name by Ultravox, from July 1980. The song was co-written by Warren Cann, Chris Cross, Billy Currie, and Midge Ure, (the four members of Ultravox at that time) with the production being by the German music producer Conny Plank, (1940-1987) who had previously worked with, among many others, ‘Kraftwerk,’ (see also best songs 41) and Brian Eno (see also best songs 766-302-190-118-109 and 57.)
Midge Ure (see also best songs 543 and 455) was born James Ure, on October 10th, 1953, in Cambuslang, (on the outskirts of Glasgow) Scotland, his stage name, ‘Midge,’ is a phonetic reversal of Jim, a hypocorism of his given name. Midge Ure began his music career in 1972 as the guitarist in the Glasgow group ‘Salvation,’ In April 1974 he took over as the groups lead singer, and then in November 1974, the band changed its name to ‘Slik,’ and with Bill Martin, (1938-2020) and Phil Coulter, writing for them, they had a UK Number 1 hit with ‘Forever and Ever’ in 1975. Also in 1975, Midge Ure turned down an offer to be the lead vocalist of the ‘Sex Pistols,’ (see also best songs 576-92 and 27) stating that he felt at the time that Malcolm McLaren (1946-2010) (see also best songs 751) had ‘His priorities completely wrong,’ a position he later reversed. After parting ways with ‘Slik’ in 1977, Midge Ure next joined the ‘Punk Rock’/New Wave’ group ‘Rich Kids,’ and charted with the single ‘Rich Kids’ (1978-UK Number 24.) Midge Ure then left the ‘Rich Kids’ stating musical differences, as he and fellow ‘Rich Kids’ band member Rusty Egan were now getting into ‘Electronic’ music, and were wanting to incorporate synthesizers, this led to them forming ‘Visage’ (see best songs 543) with Steve Strange (1959-2015) in 1978. By 1979 ‘Ultravox’ had all but collapsed, and it was Billie Currie (a founding member) who persuaded Midge Ure to join forces and resurrect the group. But of course Midge Ure will always be best remembered for his charity work, and the co-writing, with Bob Geldof, (see also best songs 632 and 455) of the charity single ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ (see also best songs 455) which has sold in excess of 3.7 million copies in the UK, and is the second best selling song of all time in that country. As a solo artist, Midge Ure has released eight studio Albums between 1985-2017, and 25 singles between 1982-2022, there are also eight official compilation Albums, and 15 live Albums available. In the UK, six of his singles have reached the top 40, with ‘If I Was’ from 1985, making the Number 1 spot.
The lyrics for ‘Vienna’ were written by Midge Ure about a brief love affair in the city of Vienna. Bill Currie has said that Midge Ure was hesitant about the classical romantic feel of the songs orchestration and said, ‘This means nothing to me,’ to which the songs producer Konrad Plank replied, ‘Well sing that then.’ Midge Ure has said, ‘We wanted to take the song, and make it incredibly pompous in the middle, leaving it very sparse before, and after, but finishing with a typically over the top classical ending.’ Midge Ure has also said that inspiration for the song came from ‘The Walker Brothers’ 1978 song ‘The Electrician.’
We walked in the cold air, freezing breath on a window pane. Lying and waiting, a man in the dark in a picture frame, so mystic and soulful, a voice reaching out in a piercing cry.’