![]() ![]() It was voted Britain's favourite single ever to peak at No. The single was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in February 1981, denoting sales in excess of 500,000 copies in the UK. "Vienna" is ranked as the UK's sixth best-selling single of 1981. It was kept off the top spot by John Lennon's " Woman" for a week and then by Joe Dolce's " Shaddap You Face" for a further three weeks. 2 on the UK Singles Chart without ever reaching the top. The single spent four consecutive weeks at No. But the band wanted to release it as a single and it became the album's third single in January 1981. Record company Chrysalis Records was reluctant to release the song as a single, as they thought it was too slow and too long to be successful. The song is the title track of the band's album Vienna, released in 1980. Ure said of the track: "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." Release and chart performance Ure is said to have been influenced by the Walker Brothers' 1978 single " The Electrician". In interviews at the time it was said that the song took its inspiration from the 1949 film The Third Man, which is based around the Austrian capital, but Midge Ure later admitted he made that up when asked what the song was about. Then he wrote the vocal part while bass player Chris Cross started playing some bass lines with his synthesizer. According to Currie, Ure was hesitant about the overly classical romantic feel of the orchestration, and said: "This means nothing to me", to which the producer Conny Plank replied: "Well, sing that then." Ure said that he had in his mind only the line "The feeling is gone, this means nothing to me – oh Vienna!" when he went into studio. The lyrics, which are about a brief love affair in the city of Vienna, were quickly written by Midge Ure. Then, Cann and the classically trained Billy Currie together wanted to create something that might sound like it had been written by a late-19th-century romantic composer, so they started creating the basic chords and sounds of the song, and the romantic viola solo was influenced by German composer Max Reger. The drum machine pattern created by Warren Cann was the basis of the song. Other sounds include a solid synth bass line played on a MiniMoog, an Elka string synthesiser and a Roland CR-78 drum machine. The song features a dramatic grand piano in the verses and chorus, and a viola solo in the middle of the song. It remains Ultravox's signature song, being their most commercially successful release and is often performed live by Ure in solo performances. The song was also performed at the 1985 Live Aid concert in Wembley Stadium. The song is regarded as a staple of the synth-pop genre that was popularised in the early 1980s. It was released as the album's third single on 9 January 1981 by Chrysalis Records and features Midge Ure singing the lead vocal. King’s Lead Hat (Live at The Lyceum 17/8/80)Ĥ." Vienna" is a song by British new wave band Ultravox from their 1980 fourth studio album of the same name. Face To Face (Live in St Albans 16/8/80)ģ. Vienna 40th anniversary 2LP vinyl (half-speed mastered)Ģ. ![]() The second bonus vinyl includes single versions and b-sides from the 4 singles released from the album, including a previously commercially unreleased US Promo Edit of Vienna, which is exclusive to this edition. The single went on to sell over half a million copies in the UK.ĢLP – This new vinyl edition has been mastered and cut at half-speed by Alchemy Mastering using the original 1980 production tapes. The album contains 4 UK Top 40 singles All Stood Still, Passing Strangers and Sleepwalk (which was recently reissued as part of Record Store Day 2020) and the title track Vienna which reached No.2 in the UK and Top 10 in seven countries around the world. ![]()
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