@84heroes1 I totally agree with you. Ultravox were one of the best bands of their time. Japan & Simple Minds were also way up there imo. I also love the music of John Foxx (a way under-appreciated musician). That being said, however, I still don't like Accidently Kelly Street by Frente...)
Haha Kraftwerk?I love Ultravoxs' music but melody over bands like Chicago or Journey I don't think so.Melody for a new wave band maybe to be fare but not over all because then you have to consider Queen and Queensryce.@84heroes1
Mr. X is the menacing antifather figure whom we would all like to kill and cannibalize to gain his powers, his strength. But we search and search and when we do find him, he is half-spider, half-human and kills and eats us. At least if you take Sigmund Freud over the edge as I have here. Honestly, I've always loved this song and thanks for posting it. The cannibalism comments are fer da lulz
I doubt anyone will believe me saying I'm 16. This song is so strange, mysterious and spooky - but absolutely BRILLIANT, Love Ultravox - this and Vienna are my 2 favourites from them, both incredible.
@mrdubstepism I have to ask though - how many people your age do you know that even know who Ultravox are? I can honestly say about 1 - and they only know them because of me
@mrdubstepism Yeah :( I really love all the older music - it seems that a very large amount of people today are all into Rap and Screaming People but Im still into artists like Ultravox, Simple Minds, OMD, and quite a few of the 80's artists
@davyjones800 Well I'm quite in to my dubstep as my profile name suggests. but love the music from the mid 60s to the late 80s im not too keen on disco tho i must say!!! :~)
Well i guess you should have been sitting next to Warren while recording this track in studio.Gives me the chills still!! In a positive way that is! I love his deep,sexy voice! i always have and i always will.
"Foxx had performed "He's a Liquid" and "Touch and Go" live with Ultravox before leaving the band in 1979. Drummer Warren Cann, for one, appeared to consider them to be Ultravox, rather than John Foxx, numbers and noted that the band did not receive any credit for them on Metamatic.[5] Notwithstanding, when Ultravox adapted the tune from "Touch and Go" for the song "Mr X" on Vienna (1980), their first album following Foxx's departure, Foxx was not credited."
Love this track! Only just really getting into Ultravox stuff from past Systems Of Romance.
Really like the 'mood' of this track. Would it be unrealistic to assume this song (or album for that matter) had an influence on YMO's 'BGM' and 'Technodelic' albums from 1981? The part in Mr X from around 1:41 onwards sound so similar to parts of them.
Pretty sure BGM is from 1980, it says so in the liner notes of the Alfa Records release. And YMO were always pretty much self-sufficient in terms of musical ideas, any similarities are most likely a coincidence. Perhaps some of the same synthesizers were used.
@stripedhyenuh@stripedhyenuh BGM was 1981. Multiplies was the year before. I'm not saying they ripped them off by any means haha, just influenced by them in the way that many greats were influenced by contemporaries, Bowie and his love of Kraftwerk for example :)
You know, I used to think this was the cheesiest song off of their cheesiest album. But if you get past the basic drum machine setting and the initial trite impact of the lyrics, this is actually a great song. I'm not being sarcastic--you have to stick with this song. It's worth it. MR X!!!
Great Track and Album, was my very first, got it after liking Vienna as a mite. Thought they were so cool and lead me to look into other similar spheres of music, must have worn this track out, Must admit I accidently scratched it .. thats the way it goes, still feel Vinyl has more depth to it ??..
hey there Fra70, i used to travel around germany in the 80's and early 90's, and this was definetley cold war music. that part you mention between 1,40 and 2,15 was also my favourite part of this song. it had a funny feeling it was like dr who theme in a peculiar sort of way
yes,,, there is a pool of ultravox songs ( Mrx , I remember , Private lives , New Europeans , monument ,we stand alone ...) that give me the colours , the mood and the "architecture" of a period of european history ,,, something that no other european bands have done .
Great song for sure. But I have a big question regarding it. The music is almost exactly the same from John Foxx's "Touch and Go"........ ¿? who stole it from who? as Her X is from the Midge era, not Foxx era? Did Foxx share this music to Ultravox later when he left the band??? Great mistery for me. Somebody knows?
Was`nt the vocal by Warren Cann?, check original album, should be I`ve listened to this track so much...great band still one of my favourite albums too..
Just to add my voice to the whole Mr. X vs. Touch and Go debate, there are a few tracks that turn up on live Foxx-era Ultravox bootlegs--He's a Liquid is one--that were credited as being written by Ultravox. Then they turn up on Metamatic written by Foxx. Ultravox was a collaboration with an amazing group of musicians--and, hey, Futurists, Saying so-and-so did that is and made it better is not so clear. Personally I think their underrated and deserve accolades alongside Kraftwerk/ the Velvets.
We all know John Foxx was Ultravox's first singer, but Midge Ure brought the band to the next level. Vienna is sheer genius, especially for the time. This band's influence made me the keyboard player I am today-SYNTHETAMINE
@rtsinisterI love this band. I used to liston to this album Vianna with head phones on a turntable. When I lived with my grandmom. I dont think they were to botherd. but I would fall asleep with in turning. Mr X Vienna and something else I can't remember. It was 1980 I learned to play the violin because of them too.
@rtsinister I have to agree. However, Ultravox in the foxx era and ultravox 1980's and even the 1990's versions were all different. Perhaps they should of been called differnet bands in retrospect?
"Mr. X" has much more dramatism thanks to the violin entries and sublime synth effects, far beyond of the monotony of Kraftwerk, mind you I don't find Kraftwerk bad, but U- vox are simply genius
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
When Mr Foxx was with the band Ultravox! were a truly great outfit, innovative and original. With Ure, however, they turned into a pomp rock band. This track is OK, but as someone said earlier...this ia rip-off of Foxx circa Metamatic, and in turn Foxx was 'inspired' heavily by Kraftwerk.
Also, if you give it a short, sharp twist, it should come straight off in your hand!
wow!!! - I've been an avid foxx fan for 30 yrs & never noticed it (doh) - thanks for the heads up - and you're absolutely right - been playing the two back to back for an hour - 1979 for metamatic as I remember it - marchish - Vienna october at the earliest...
Quite a blatant runoff of 'showroom dummies' by Kraftwerk on their 'Trans Europe Express' album. I'm 45 now and amazed at the impact Kraftwerk has had. No one wanted to listen to them in these days. I was considered a bit funny to be buying all their albums
Oh wow! Just rediscovered this track today... after 20 odd yrs. Sounds even better than I first remembered! Classic song & I can't stop listening. Can't believe it's taken me so long to find it again. I agree with poster(s) about the Germanic feel...LOVE everything about this song, esp the electric violin segments. P.S. Purchased the Ultravox cassette from a 2nd hand music shop today - a great find!! (although I still have the album from 1980 when I originally bought it).
The critical importance of intention. What is the intention of the Mr xs of this world ,the ones who control and manipulate absolutely everything. The recent financial collapse is a calculated move. For those of you with open enquiring minds i leave you with a thought,is it just a coincidence that the term "New world order" which was first used by the prophet for our age Baha'u'llah in 1844 has been hijacked by world leaders ,starting with Bush senior. Watch very carefully.
weirdsvillelife.Mate you are right.There is far far more going on here than meets the eye.Things are starting to accelerate and I don't think most of us will like the whats coming.
just seen em at the bic in bournemouth for the first time..excellent! the video backdrop to this was awesome too as well as a very hypnotic giant swinging lightbulb glowing to another track...midges voice was superb and the band were really tight...good times!
saw them at sheffield city hall last wednesday they were awesome. would love to go again on this tour. doubt i'll make plymouth pavillions this time but would fuckin love to.
Going to see them on the 27TH at Plymouth Pavillions.....exactly 28 years after seeing the Vox play at Cornwall Coliseum in 1981 Monument Tour....AWESOME then....Fuckin AWESOME now.....just sheer abstract brilliance.....
The minimalistic ahead-of his-time approach that make this tune timeless has to be a lot of Plank's production in my opinion.Later tunes by Ultravox doesn't sound so unique and futuristic.Even the rest of the Vienna album fails to reach that intring yet simple athmosphere.
Have you listened much to Kraftwerk? This sounds very much like them. Maybe because of Conny Plank?
This was almos 30 years ago, and though Kraftwerk had also done some futuristic stuff by then, does not make this any less futuristic. The prove is how fresh and evocative it still sounds...
Yes, I have listened a lot to Kraftwerk. To me this sounds _very much_ like the way Kraftwerk sounded about 5 years before. Actually, so much so that I think it is derivative. I like other songs by Ultravox more.
you must realise at this time alot of british music was influenced by kraftwerk ie ultravox human league and the normal.they will all say that as well
Very nice synth sound, really like it would not been created on this globe... Fly into the distance... Meet the asteroids... It is the REAL Trance sound...
Yes, it was a thin wall, if only people knew what it means to be so cowardly you don't dare to press past a RICE paper wall when you had the chance, pting rather to go back to the good old MUDD munching muck, and iron walls, and emptiness. You can be an eternity drilling affirmations and trying to convince what?
Didn't we crumble those walls down? What are those barriers that keep many back...is it Mr. X?
In our language we say, that if you steal something, at least do it from the proper source :-) Anyhow, Kraftwerk's influence on the so-called synthpop (and lter techno) era is so huge, you just cannot missed them from any list of 80's biggest bands. Ultravox is one of my fav from that time. Now I am 35, but the "Reap.." is in my head since 15 years...
Remember getting this album at about 16 and I was very fond of it. This song however, is just a Kraftwerk pastiche not much more. It is a funny thing that Bowie was accused of ripping off Kraftwerk when none of his songs really sounds like Kraftwerk. But this really does.
Sorry zwetwezen but you are mistaken ULTRAVOX! first formed in 1974 under the name Tiger Lilly and became ULTRAVOX! in 1976 releasing 3 albums before Gary Numan's Cars. Anyone with the slightest interest in the band should visit their website and click on history to read Warren Cann's fascinating account of early ULTRAVOX. This track was written before Ure joined the band note the similarity with John Foxx's Touch & Goalthough JF didnt credit the band with contributing and vice versa
Agree totally....Ultravox was the first of many new romantic bands ever to take center stage whipping hits after hits after hits......One of my favorite new wave bands!!
when i was in atlanta, elkins institute in 1985, i used this song as my video project. It is why i love ultravox, before they went a bit romantic. and that voice, perfect.
it's a kind of music between the first Visage's album and the anvil. I can imagine very well Steve Strange perform that (what a shame for steve). Ultravox is a great group, excellent music.
Gary Numan's music like "Cars" and "Are friends electric" are from 1979,this album of ultravox is from 1980, so no,gary numan hasn't got his ideas from Ultravox,believe me.
Numan was inspired by the Foxx-era Ultravox - or at least he was fan of them. Numan had several influences - Kraftwerk, Bowie, T. Rex - but he never sounded like any of them. I still consider Numan highly original.
I remember when I bought this album (28 years ago!!!), I would always come to this track first. Thank you 0x51d for recording this and uploading for all us Mr. X (and Ultravox) fans.
I recall seeing a video clip with this song in 1980 in a discotheque. If my memory is correct (obscure clouds and no law enforcement back then!) there was a guy in the video running from something and wearing sunglasses. Fantastic time and even better music back then!!!
This is my favourite Ultravox track. Dark electronica that brings back so many vivid memories. Makes you wonder if songs like this are helped by having a video or left to your imagination who Mr X is. Brilliant! Thanks for posting.
You are so right! i think this track is incredibly atmospheric. I play it when driving at night and it creates a really eerie atmosphere. When he says, I have a funny feeling I know who he is, that's a spine chilling moment. Fantastic-Ultravox don't get the respect they deserve- thanks for posting.
I totally made the same correlation about a week ago when I decided to play those two tracks back to back. Its an amazing sound in both cases. I don't know which track I like more.
@84heroes1 I totally agree with you. Ultravox were one of the best bands of their time. Japan & Simple Minds were also way up there imo. I also love the music of John Foxx (a way under-appreciated musician). That being said, however, I still don't like Accidently Kelly Street by Frente...)
deepdroner 2 months ago
Haha Kraftwerk?I love Ultravoxs' music but melody over bands like Chicago or Journey I don't think so.Melody for a new wave band maybe to be fare but not over all because then you have to consider Queen and Queensryce.@84heroes1
blitzspeer 6 months ago
Krafwerk uber alles!!!
sarettabruxada 6 months ago
Mr. X is the menacing antifather figure whom we would all like to kill and cannibalize to gain his powers, his strength. But we search and search and when we do find him, he is half-spider, half-human and kills and eats us. At least if you take Sigmund Freud over the edge as I have here. Honestly, I've always loved this song and thanks for posting it. The cannibalism comments are fer da lulz
OutlandsCommunity 8 months ago
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OutlandsCommunity 8 months ago
wow wow new wave synthpop love it very much
djmusicjac 9 months ago
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Warren242 9 months ago
I've got a funny feeling I know who he is..... Mr. X
mgm2112 10 months ago
HI MY FRIEND - TOO AM """MÍSTER X""" OF THE MADE IN BRAZIL !!!!
READ MY MUSIC IN MY CHANNEL AND CONTRACT ME IF THEY LIKE OF MY SONG !!!
THANK VERY MUCH !!!!
1959MISTERX 10 months ago
HI MY FRIEND - READ MY FUNK IN MY CHANNEL : YOU LOVE ME??? - IN BRAZIL: VOCÊ ME AMA???
THANK VERY MUCH !!!
1959MISTERX 10 months ago
ingenious
fixvelo 10 months ago
yes great song the album is good but thats best track on my view
blue4u1873 11 months ago
GREAT SONG, DISCOENEX LIKES.
michaux6000 1 year ago
I doubt anyone will believe me saying I'm 16. This song is so strange, mysterious and spooky - but absolutely BRILLIANT, Love Ultravox - this and Vienna are my 2 favourites from them, both incredible.
davyjones800 1 year ago
@davyjones800 age has nothing to do with anything kid lol
fluffy15wolf 1 year ago
@fluffy15wolf well to be honest, i don't know ANYONE my age that likes Ultravox :) But I love them
davyjones800 1 year ago
@davyjones800 well to be honest im 17 and been listin to them since i was 10 sooo age is nothing lol i love them to :D
fluffy15wolf 1 year ago
@davyjones800 i'd belive it m8 im only 17 and love it
mrdubstepism 11 months ago
@mrdubstepism I have to ask though - how many people your age do you know that even know who Ultravox are? I can honestly say about 1 - and they only know them because of me
davyjones800 11 months ago
@davyjones800 only about 3. so i know were you coming from. its sad really isn't it! :-)
mrdubstepism 10 months ago
@mrdubstepism Yeah :( I really love all the older music - it seems that a very large amount of people today are all into Rap and Screaming People but Im still into artists like Ultravox, Simple Minds, OMD, and quite a few of the 80's artists
davyjones800 10 months ago 2
@davyjones800 Well I'm quite in to my dubstep as my profile name suggests. but love the music from the mid 60s to the late 80s im not too keen on disco tho i must say!!! :~)
mrdubstepism 10 months ago
@mrdubstepism Same, I'm still listening to The Beatles, been to see Paul McCartney live 3 times. Would love to go and see Ultravox one day
davyjones800 10 months ago
best Ultravox song ever
SuperSonicAnime19 1 year ago
hey, i wonder.. this is not the original video, is it? lol cause it could be, it looks cool.
kokaiini 1 year ago
tis a masterpiece
kokaiini 1 year ago
Well i guess you should have been sitting next to Warren while recording this track in studio.Gives me the chills still!! In a positive way that is! I love his deep,sexy voice! i always have and i always will.
mymusic777ify 1 year ago
@mymusic777ify His voice is hot.
NotTHATHoward 3 weeks ago
meine Lieblingsplatte ein Konzept-- es lebt--
es entwickelt sich
early techno wie Kraftwerk
I love it
hunderteinundvierzig 1 year ago
This is Krafwerk!- Show Room Dummies all the way !
TheJetfighter666 1 year ago
@TheJetfighter666 meine Lieblingsplatte ein Konzept es lebt
es entwickelt sich
early Techno so wie Kraftwerk
hunderteinundvierzig 1 year ago
Köpte den för 30 årsen. Mäktigt.
Byggavdelningen 1 year ago
Well, It's no Touch & Go. Very flat and empty.
moonplague 1 year ago
"Foxx had performed "He's a Liquid" and "Touch and Go" live with Ultravox before leaving the band in 1979. Drummer Warren Cann, for one, appeared to consider them to be Ultravox, rather than John Foxx, numbers and noted that the band did not receive any credit for them on Metamatic.[5] Notwithstanding, when Ultravox adapted the tune from "Touch and Go" for the song "Mr X" on Vienna (1980), their first album following Foxx's departure, Foxx was not credited."
mrtvi46 1 year ago 2
Fantastic!§§
koala171 1 year ago
pure electro!!!!
johnnydajay 1 year ago
Love this track! Only just really getting into Ultravox stuff from past Systems Of Romance.
Really like the 'mood' of this track. Would it be unrealistic to assume this song (or album for that matter) had an influence on YMO's 'BGM' and 'Technodelic' albums from 1981? The part in Mr X from around 1:41 onwards sound so similar to parts of them.
ItsRainingDonuts 1 year ago
@ItsRainingDonuts
Pretty sure BGM is from 1980, it says so in the liner notes of the Alfa Records release. And YMO were always pretty much self-sufficient in terms of musical ideas, any similarities are most likely a coincidence. Perhaps some of the same synthesizers were used.
stripedhyenuh 1 year ago
Comment removed
ItsRainingDonuts 1 year ago
@stripedhyenuh @stripedhyenuh BGM was 1981. Multiplies was the year before. I'm not saying they ripped them off by any means haha, just influenced by them in the way that many greats were influenced by contemporaries, Bowie and his love of Kraftwerk for example :)
ItsRainingDonuts 1 year ago
I was once the proud owner of this album on Vinyl, I played it until unplayable.
Should buy it again on CD.
unsound64 1 year ago
systems of romance is a much much better album-this song plods.
Nara1008 1 year ago
This sound i liked from ultravox.Dark mysterious powerful. Vienna the album is right up there.
deepspacer 1 year ago
magical, Herr X is up there with this
chewblued 1 year ago
@chewblued MOOGjical ? )
lem109 1 year ago
Fantastic tune, The song I took my gaming tag from.
I also have the German version of this, Herr X , Warren did the vocals on that too.
davidw101 1 year ago
Topof the top...nothing else to say...20 years and its so strong...thank you Midge, Billy...
pedjasu777 1 year ago
Comment removed
astrox13 1 year ago
flawless .... simply ....flawless ......shazam1059
shazam1059 1 year ago
Flawed Masterpiece
wuckle 1 year ago
Definitely a John Foxx rip-off!!!
zombiegod 1 year ago
Masterpiece.
jarriano 1 year ago 2
I don't know why but my favorite part of the sond starts at 2:16. Always loved that part.
InsanityHere 1 year ago
You know, I used to think this was the cheesiest song off of their cheesiest album. But if you get past the basic drum machine setting and the initial trite impact of the lyrics, this is actually a great song. I'm not being sarcastic--you have to stick with this song. It's worth it. MR X!!!
GlorifiedTruth 1 year ago
Sounds an awful lot like Touch and Go from Metamatic.
humanatee86 1 year ago 6
@humanatee86
It's not a coincidence lol
Godscarmachine 1 month ago
great
bettypatata 1 year ago
a superb album, tops
chewblued 1 year ago
quintessential Ultravox...great audio and appropriate visual for one of my favorite tracks
messengerpdx 1 year ago
Great Track and Album, was my very first, got it after liking Vienna as a mite. Thought they were so cool and lead me to look into other similar spheres of music, must have worn this track out, Must admit I accidently scratched it .. thats the way it goes, still feel Vinyl has more depth to it ??..
axelusul 1 year ago
My uncle got me into this band,was one of his favs,became then one of mine too.
I just love this song,especially the synth bass ☺
goodolt70s 1 year ago
I've just bought this album,
cost me £7, BARGAIN.
UBIQUEROL 1 year ago
i still regard the music from 1:40 to 2:15 as one of the best ever
Fra70 2 years ago 2
hey there Fra70, i used to travel around germany in the 80's and early 90's, and this was definetley cold war music. that part you mention between 1,40 and 2,15 was also my favourite part of this song. it had a funny feeling it was like dr who theme in a peculiar sort of way
tangerinedreamteam 2 years ago
yes,,, there is a pool of ultravox songs ( Mrx , I remember , Private lives , New Europeans , monument ,we stand alone ...) that give me the colours , the mood and the "architecture" of a period of european history ,,, something that no other european bands have done .
Fra70 2 years ago
@tangerinedreamteam
Everytime I heard this I couldn't help thinking of the Glienicke Bridge, where spies were exchanged...they must be referring to that...
veridical1 1 year ago
Lets get VIENNA by ULTRAVOX to number 1 on 4/4/10 - join our campaign and help us achieve this goal
VIENNACAMPAIGN 2 years ago 4
Great song for sure. But I have a big question regarding it. The music is almost exactly the same from John Foxx's "Touch and Go"........ ¿? who stole it from who? as Her X is from the Midge era, not Foxx era? Did Foxx share this music to Ultravox later when he left the band??? Great mistery for me. Somebody knows?
mxtplz 2 years ago
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Lets get VIENNA by ULTRAVOX to number 1 on 4/4/10 - join our campaign and help us achieve this goal
VIENNACAMPAIGN 2 years ago
no doubt billy currie plays brillantly on this track i love his solos to bits...
soundmanhaven1 2 years ago
Billy Currie
mwjppgg 2 years ago
Remember I've got this casette from my older sister and play it and......I think this is new music from the punk....
kurnilse 2 years ago
does anyone out there know who did the vocal on mr x ?
weirdsvillelife 2 years ago
@weirdsvillelife Warren Cann. One of the best drummers ever!
Five fire ball stars******. Amazing!!!
davidsanful 2 years ago 3
warren kahn
jadzia7911 2 years ago
Was`nt the vocal by Warren Cann?, check original album, should be I`ve listened to this track so much...great band still one of my favourite albums too..
axelusul 2 years ago
The name I entered okay,
This was my verry first album.
RamoneHenkiePanky 2 years ago
¡MAGNÍFICO!!!!!
centellas07 2 years ago
it's obviously a nod to foxx, could have told you that 30 years ago. not a rip off cos they knew each other and were mates
blakeyonthebuses 2 years ago 2
They deserve accolades from those who like 80/nu-ro that is.
thesecretlivesofcats 2 years ago
Just to add my voice to the whole Mr. X vs. Touch and Go debate, there are a few tracks that turn up on live Foxx-era Ultravox bootlegs--He's a Liquid is one--that were credited as being written by Ultravox. Then they turn up on Metamatic written by Foxx. Ultravox was a collaboration with an amazing group of musicians--and, hey, Futurists, Saying so-and-so did that is and made it better is not so clear. Personally I think their underrated and deserve accolades alongside Kraftwerk/ the Velvets.
thesecretlivesofcats 2 years ago 3
We all know John Foxx was Ultravox's first singer, but Midge Ure brought the band to the next level. Vienna is sheer genius, especially for the time. This band's influence made me the keyboard player I am today-SYNTHETAMINE
rtsinister 2 years ago 21
@rtsinisteI truly enjoy this album; have it on my mp3 player.
They were indeed genius.
And all without flower pots on their heads.
InsanityHere 1 year ago
@rtsinisterI love this band. I used to liston to this album Vianna with head phones on a turntable. When I lived with my grandmom. I dont think they were to botherd. but I would fall asleep with in turning. Mr X Vienna and something else I can't remember. It was 1980 I learned to play the violin because of them too.
astrox13 1 year ago
Comment removed
astrox13 1 year ago
@rtsinister I think brian eno may have helped produce this album
astrox13 1 year ago
@rtsinister it's just a shame that level was no where near mr. foxx's
seagbb 1 year ago
@rtsinister I have to agree. However, Ultravox in the foxx era and ultravox 1980's and even the 1990's versions were all different. Perhaps they should of been called differnet bands in retrospect?
Cougari72 1 year ago
@Cougari72 why? look at fleetwood mac they started off playing the blues. :-)
mrdubstepism 11 months ago
"Mr. X" has much more dramatism thanks to the violin entries and sublime synth effects, far beyond of the monotony of Kraftwerk, mind you I don't find Kraftwerk bad, but U- vox are simply genius
jadzia7911 2 years ago 15
@jadzia7911
Kraftwerk's style at times was much closer to krautrock, which is a genre of its own.(I like both synthpop/electronic and krautrock myself.)
AChannelwithstuff 10 months ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
When Mr Foxx was with the band Ultravox! were a truly great outfit, innovative and original. With Ure, however, they turned into a pomp rock band. This track is OK, but as someone said earlier...this ia rip-off of Foxx circa Metamatic, and in turn Foxx was 'inspired' heavily by Kraftwerk.
Also, if you give it a short, sharp twist, it should come straight off in your hand!
KingofClothFair 2 years ago
in detail, this track is a heavy rip of foxx' "touch and go" from his metamatic album.
Jauly 2 years ago
you're right, but they are great with both, john or james, i'll love ultravox till i die.
scensiu 2 years ago 2
totally
mardybirdy 2 years ago
wow!!! - I've been an avid foxx fan for 30 yrs & never noticed it (doh) - thanks for the heads up - and you're absolutely right - been playing the two back to back for an hour - 1979 for metamatic as I remember it - marchish - Vienna october at the earliest...
hotpress69 2 years ago
i know its ultravox,but it is a rip off of john foxx`s touch and go on metamatic.
did john leave them the same keyboard when he left.
mancavant 2 years ago
Quite a blatant runoff of 'showroom dummies' by Kraftwerk on their 'Trans Europe Express' album. I'm 45 now and amazed at the impact Kraftwerk has had. No one wanted to listen to them in these days. I was considered a bit funny to be buying all their albums
pjcats 2 years ago 2
Oh wow! Just rediscovered this track today... after 20 odd yrs. Sounds even better than I first remembered! Classic song & I can't stop listening. Can't believe it's taken me so long to find it again. I agree with poster(s) about the Germanic feel...LOVE everything about this song, esp the electric violin segments. P.S. Purchased the Ultravox cassette from a 2nd hand music shop today - a great find!! (although I still have the album from 1980 when I originally bought it).
scotsburd63 2 years ago
this is THE finest song UVOX ever produced by a country mile. curious, atmospheric, weird, very germanic
chewblued 2 years ago 2
Ultravox ,What an incredible band .
weirdsvillelife 2 years ago 3
The critical importance of intention. What is the intention of the Mr xs of this world ,the ones who control and manipulate absolutely everything. The recent financial collapse is a calculated move. For those of you with open enquiring minds i leave you with a thought,is it just a coincidence that the term "New world order" which was first used by the prophet for our age Baha'u'llah in 1844 has been hijacked by world leaders ,starting with Bush senior. Watch very carefully.
weirdsvillelife 2 years ago 3
thanks mate
abdultom 2 years ago
weirdsvillelife.Mate you are right.There is far far more going on here than meets the eye.Things are starting to accelerate and I don't think most of us will like the whats coming.
theoldgalah 2 years ago
just seen em at the bic in bournemouth for the first time..excellent! the video backdrop to this was awesome too as well as a very hypnotic giant swinging lightbulb glowing to another track...midges voice was superb and the band were really tight...good times!
nogginiman 2 years ago 3
Saw them in Birmingham and it took me back to being 17 again, total class. Mr X was awsome live. They say great music never grows old, this is proof.
Banburz 2 years ago 3
saw them at sheffield city hall last wednesday they were awesome. would love to go again on this tour. doubt i'll make plymouth pavillions this time but would fuckin love to.
ma42her 2 years ago
Going to see them on the 27TH at Plymouth Pavillions.....exactly 28 years after seeing the Vox play at Cornwall Coliseum in 1981 Monument Tour....AWESOME then....Fuckin AWESOME now.....just sheer abstract brilliance.....
999bulldog999 2 years ago
did you see the vox at plymouth pavillions. no doubt they were as good there as they were at sheffield city hall. keep the faith my friend.....
ma42her 2 years ago
I'm going to see them in Bristol tomorrow - I've heard that this song is in the set list - I've never seen them perform this song live - cant wait
TheWelshJameses 2 years ago
i WENT TO BHAM GIG AND LOVED THIS LIVE, YES SOUNDS LIKE KRAFTWERK BUT IT WAS A GREAT ERA FOR SOUND...
royseahawks 2 years ago
I watched Ultravox in concert on Saturday there, at the Clyde Auditorium and it was the first time I heard this song - all I can say is: FANTASTIC!!!
zombiemod 2 years ago
my uncle has just shown me this litrally no more than 10 mins ago and im really into it (Y)
RedHotMetallicaFloyd 2 years ago
la mejor banda de rock inglesa de toda la historia
mx0001 2 years ago
Yeah I can see were people like Andrew Weatherhall aka Mr Sabresonic got his inspiration from (of many) Classic Electronica...
Yzakyza 3 years ago
The perfect synth-pop song.
The minimalistic ahead-of his-time approach that make this tune timeless has to be a lot of Plank's production in my opinion.Later tunes by Ultravox doesn't sound so unique and futuristic.Even the rest of the Vienna album fails to reach that intring yet simple athmosphere.
stereoloov 3 years ago
Have you listened much to Kraftwerk? This sounds very much like them at about 1976. So I don't think it is that futuristic.
ivankaramasov 2 years ago
Compared to Kraftwerk everything sounds dated.
stereoloov 2 years ago
Hehe, I see what you mean, although I don't completely agree.
ivankaramasov 2 years ago
Have you listened much to Kraftwerk? This sounds very much like them. Maybe because of Conny Plank?
This was almos 30 years ago, and though Kraftwerk had also done some futuristic stuff by then, does not make this any less futuristic. The prove is how fresh and evocative it still sounds...
malingoetz 2 years ago
Yes, I have listened a lot to Kraftwerk. To me this sounds _very much_ like the way Kraftwerk sounded about 5 years before. Actually, so much so that I think it is derivative. I like other songs by Ultravox more.
ivankaramasov 2 years ago
Sorry, I did not realize that the first part of your comment was a quote from my previous one.
ivankaramasov 2 years ago
you must realise at this time alot of british music was influenced by kraftwerk ie ultravox human league and the normal.they will all say that as well
zek1875 2 years ago
I know. I am 43 and was a big Ultravox fan at the time of this. At that time I did not know Kraftwerk, so I was very impressed.
ivankaramasov 2 years ago
Remember listening to this many times back in the early 80s and thinking , this stuff is so ahead ,so very 21rst century .
luxyaltz219 3 years ago
Warren Cann has a great voice!!
thinwall81 3 years ago 7
Very nice synth sound, really like it would not been created on this globe... Fly into the distance... Meet the asteroids... It is the REAL Trance sound...
MMSZoli 3 years ago
Herr x !!
thinwall81 3 years ago
Herr X lol
Yes, it was a thin wall, if only people knew what it means to be so cowardly you don't dare to press past a RICE paper wall when you had the chance, pting rather to go back to the good old MUDD munching muck, and iron walls, and emptiness. You can be an eternity drilling affirmations and trying to convince what?
Didn't we crumble those walls down? What are those barriers that keep many back...is it Mr. X?
How odd.
TriumVirateABAP 2 years ago
Comment removed
TriumVirateABAP 3 years ago
In our language we say, that if you steal something, at least do it from the proper source :-) Anyhow, Kraftwerk's influence on the so-called synthpop (and lter techno) era is so huge, you just cannot missed them from any list of 80's biggest bands. Ultravox is one of my fav from that time. Now I am 35, but the "Reap.." is in my head since 15 years...
MMSZoli 3 years ago 2
Havent heard this for 20 years till this week and been in my head all week.....what a cracker
markswift 3 years ago
oh man, not heard this since my teenage years and im 41 now..i can still recall buying it on 7inch vinyl..this was before u-vox became shite
chewblued 3 years ago
Remember getting this album at about 16 and I was very fond of it. This song however, is just a Kraftwerk pastiche not much more. It is a funny thing that Bowie was accused of ripping off Kraftwerk when none of his songs really sounds like Kraftwerk. But this really does.
ivankaramasov 3 years ago
Comment removed
Yzakyza 3 years ago
great, futuristic music, set the stage for most ebm music
drysuitbear 3 years ago
Tabarnak que cé bon!
Peanut from Montréal,Québec,Canada Quebec
intervisuel 3 years ago
I'm speechless with joy. I love this. Any chance of putting Astradyne up as well? The full track, that is.
Thank you so, so much for this.
fiatknox 3 years ago
Belay that. Just seen the Astradyne track. Off to squee in a corner now. :)
fiatknox 3 years ago
"VIENNA" is one of the great albuns of 80´s.
I like very much this track...
"Mr X" is superb!
ULTRAVOX a fantastic band
KARLITOS61 3 years ago 3
Gary Numan and Ultravox were the best of "musical" mates...Gary's band wore the T-shirt.
uNeil4me 3 years ago 2
brilliant !!
mobyboy 3 years ago
this a great album,i have it in my lp collection.its gr8 they are reforming.i agree brilliant!
lmj114 3 years ago
Sorry zwetwezen but you are mistaken ULTRAVOX! first formed in 1974 under the name Tiger Lilly and became ULTRAVOX! in 1976 releasing 3 albums before Gary Numan's Cars. Anyone with the slightest interest in the band should visit their website and click on history to read Warren Cann's fascinating account of early ULTRAVOX. This track was written before Ure joined the band note the similarity with John Foxx's Touch & Goalthough JF didnt credit the band with contributing and vice versa
26354BladeRunner 3 years ago 2
Agree totally....Ultravox was the first of many new romantic bands ever to take center stage whipping hits after hits after hits......One of my favorite new wave bands!!
EbonItalo07 3 years ago
HERR X is great too!
dyonisos38a 3 years ago
I played this album over and over and over again...
I should buy this on CD actually
unsound64 3 years ago
Wish I was back there and knew what I knew now! A good time in my life :-) Looking forward to seeing Ultravox in concert, yaaay!
martianware 3 years ago
when i was in atlanta, elkins institute in 1985, i used this song as my video project. It is why i love ultravox, before they went a bit romantic. and that voice, perfect.
rupertdragon88 3 years ago
Thank you, please add more!
rupertbishop 3 years ago
it's a kind of music between the first Visage's album and the anvil. I can imagine very well Steve Strange perform that (what a shame for steve). Ultravox is a great group, excellent music.
dyonisos38a 3 years ago
Gary Numan's music like "Cars" and "Are friends electric" are from 1979,this album of ultravox is from 1980, so no,gary numan hasn't got his ideas from Ultravox,believe me.
zwetwezen 3 years ago
Numan was inspired by the Foxx-era Ultravox - or at least he was fan of them. Numan had several influences - Kraftwerk, Bowie, T. Rex - but he never sounded like any of them. I still consider Numan highly original.
Brownies79 3 years ago 3
I remember when I bought this album (28 years ago!!!), I would always come to this track first. Thank you 0x51d for recording this and uploading for all us Mr. X (and Ultravox) fans.
marginline 3 years ago 4
Haven't this in years Mr X so cool like to see "Herr X" on here as well
DerVampyrEngel 3 years ago
I recall seeing a video clip with this song in 1980 in a discotheque. If my memory is correct (obscure clouds and no law enforcement back then!) there was a guy in the video running from something and wearing sunglasses. Fantastic time and even better music back then!!!
Gerald4363 3 years ago
Billy Currie was in his own little world back then - And i mean that in a nice way!!
wuckle 3 years ago 2
Mr. X was all Warren Cann. Billy did his usual outstanding keys and fiddle work on it, but the concept and motif was Warren's.
sleepconvention 3 years ago 2
Class Track!!!
wuckle 3 years ago 3
Finally someone postst this song. I can't find it anywhere on the internet.
simbabe16 3 years ago 5
Vienna ... one of the greatest albums of the 80's !!
albertodf1234 3 years ago 7
percet song!!!!!
softcell19 3 years ago 3
Has been played in german Radio by Winfrid Trenkler of Radio WDR in "Rock In". Please check also "Alles klar" from Ultravox ! Great Tunes!
mk2007al 3 years ago
This is my favourite Ultravox track. Dark electronica that brings back so many vivid memories. Makes you wonder if songs like this are helped by having a video or left to your imagination who Mr X is. Brilliant! Thanks for posting.
mandingo1 3 years ago 7
como se nota la influencia de john foxx en esa cancion
foxxito 3 years ago
You are so right! i think this track is incredibly atmospheric. I play it when driving at night and it creates a really eerie atmosphere. When he says, I have a funny feeling I know who he is, that's a spine chilling moment. Fantastic-Ultravox don't get the respect they deserve- thanks for posting.
fastskyr34 3 years ago 6
brilliant - loved listening to this great track in pitch blackness - i remember shivers going up and down my spine.. great memories
Wellbuggerme 3 years ago 4
Anthem of cold war spies?
veridical1 3 years ago 4
from 1:40 to 2:15 is one of the best moment of music ever
Fra70 3 years ago 5
juan Atkins listened good to this track,
"Cybotron - Alley's of your mind" wich came out a year later..
Wich, btw, is also a GREAT track..!
Motarai 3 years ago 3
I totally made the same correlation about a week ago when I decided to play those two tracks back to back. Its an amazing sound in both cases. I don't know which track I like more.
AprilSkies 3 years ago 2