Vienna is a song of the British band Ultravox appearing on the homonymous album released in 1980 . She is released as a single , as the third part of the album, the.

She gets a major success in Europe and in Oceania ( 2 e in the UK and in New Zealand , number one in Belgium , the Netherlands , and Ireland ).

This ballad synthpop, whose atmosphere is inspired by the film The Third Man , becomes the flagship song of Ultravox post John Foxx , with the use of synthesizers allied with the piano and the viola , the drum machine , and the vocal flights of Midge Ure . His success makes the group one of the spearheads of the new wave. Midge Ure cited as a musical influence a song of The Walker Brothers , The Electrician , appearing on the album Nite Flights released in 1978 1 .

The clip, funded by the group itself after the record company refused to do so, is directed by Russell Mulcahy 2 . It was shot partly in black and white in Vienna , Austria .

Vienna was awarded at the Brit Awards ceremony in 1981 (Best British single) 3 . In 2012 , the song was voted the number one favorite single in the UK according to a poll by BBC Radio 2 and the Official Charts Company 4 .

In 1992 a new version of the song is recorded under the title Vienna 92 . The newly reformed group is then simply composed of Billy Currie and Tony Fenelle. The single does not enter the charts. On the other hand, the following year, the original version comes out as a single to promote If I Was: The Very Best of Midge Ure & Ultravox compilation and again ranks in the best sales in the UK and Ireland.

List of titles

Written and written by Midge Ure, Billy Currie, Chris Cross and Warren Cann, except mentions.

Original version (1981)

Herr X is the German version of the title Mr. X which appears on the album Vienna .

  • 45 rpm
    1. Vienna (Single edit) – 4:37
    2. Passionate Reply – 4:17
  • Maxi 45rpm
    1. Vienna – 4:53
    2. Passionate Reply – 4:17
    3. Herr X – 5:49

Reissue (1993)

Wastelands , Answers to Nothing and Call of the Wild belong to Midge’s solo repertoire.

  • 45 rpm
    1. Vienna – 4:37
    2. Wastelands (Ure, Daniel Mitchell) – 4:22
  • Maxi CD
    1. Vienna – 4:37
    2. Answers to Nothing (Ure) – 3:40
    3. The Voice – 4:24
    4. Wastelands (Ure, Mitchell) – 4:22
  • Maxi CD
    1. Vienna – 4:37
    2. Call of the Wild (Ure) – 4:18
    3. One Small Day – 4:27
    4. Hymn – 4:24

Vienna 92

  • 45 rpm
    1. Vienna 92 (The classic mix) – 4:35
    2. Systems of Love (Currie, Rod Gammons, Tony Fenelle) – 4:31
  • Max 45 rpm and maximum CD
    1. Vienna 92 (The classic mix) – 4:35
    2. Vienna 92 (Goodnight Vienna remix) – 7:31
    3. Systems of Love (Currie, Gammons, Fenelle) – 4:31

Rankings

Classification (1981) Best
position
 Germany ( Media Control AG ) 5 14
 Australia ( ARIA ) 6 11
 Austria ( Ö3 Austria Top 40 ) 7 8
 Belgium (Flanders Ultratop 50 Singles ) 8 1
 Ireland ( IRMA ) 9 1
 New Zealand ( RIANZ ) 10 2
 Netherlands ( Nederlandse Top 40 ) 11 1
 United Kingdom (UK Singles Chart) 12 2
Ranking (1993) Best
position
 United Kingdom (UK Singles Chart) 12 13
 Ireland ( IRMA ) 9 20

Reversals

Artists having resumed the song on record 13 . In parentheses, the album on which it appears.

  • Kirlian Camera ( Todesengel The Fall of Life 1991 )
  • Vic Reeves (compilation Ruby Trax 1992 )
  • Celestial Season ( Solar Lovers 1995 )
  • The King’s Singers ( 1997 Spirit Voices )
  • Gregorian ( Masters of Singing 2000 )
  • Russell Watson ( The Voice 2000)
  • Clawfinger ( A Whole Lot of Nothing 2001 )
  • Infernal ( From Paris to Berlin 2005 )

Midge Ure solo regularly takes the title on stage.

Notes and references

  1. ↑ ( en ) Nite Flights , chronicled by Dave Thompson on Allmusic  [ archive ]
  2. ↑ ( in ) Interview with Warren Cann (see January 15, 1981 – Vienna released as a single)  [ archive ]
  3. ↑ ( in ) 1001 Songs: You Must Hear Before You Die , Robert Dimery, Cassell Illustrated, 2010 ( ISBN  978-1844036844 )
  4. ↑ ( in ) Ultravox’s Vienna tops ‘number two’ poll – BBC News  [ archive ]
  5. ↑ ( de ) Musicline.de – Ultravox  [ archive ] . GfK Entertainment . PhonoNet GmbH. Accessed January 22, 2015.
  6. ↑ ( in ) ” AMR Top Singles of 1981 ”  [ archive ] , Top100 Singles (accessed 23 January 2015 )
  7. ↑ ( de ) Austrian-charts.com – Ultravox – Vienna [ archive ] . Ö3 Austria Top 40 . Hung Medien. Accessed January 22, 2015.
  8. ↑ ( nl ) Ultratop.be – Ultravox – Vienna [ archive ] . Ultratop 50 . Ultratopand Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Accessed January 22, 2015.
  9. ↑ a and b ( in ) ” The Irish Charts – All there is to know ”  [ archive ] , IRMA (accessed January 22, 2015 )
  10. ↑ ( in ) Charts.org.nz – Ultravox – Vienna [ archive ] . RIANZ . Hung Medien. Accessed January 22, 2015.
  11. ↑ ( nl ) Nederlandse Top 40 – Ultravox search results  [ archive ] . Nederlandse Top 40 . Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Accessed 22 January 2015.
  12. ↑ a and b ” Ultravox Artist Official Charts ”  [ archive ] , Official Charts Company
  13. ↑ ( in ) Cover versions of Vienna – Secondhandsongs  [ archive ]