The current issue of Q magazine has a cover featured article dubbed 'The Real Best of' - those songs, album tracks or b-sides that you think really define a band, with a slant away from most of the hits. But there's no Ultravox top ten there... which set me thinking. What are your Top Ten Ultravox tracks? Very hard to try and pick just ten I've set the question on Facebook for Ultravox (and Midge, Foxx and Visage), with the idea of compiling the results in a month or two. Happy head-scratching!

1. Rage in Eden
2. Visions in blue
3. Vienna
4. Sleepwalk
5. The thin wall
6. I remember
7. Your name
8. Man of two worlds
9. Astradyne
10. White China

Not sure if you wanted them in order to help you work it all out, mate.

1. I remember
2. Hymn
3. Heart of the country
4. Man of two worlds
5. We stand alone
6. Serenade
7. The voice
8. New Europeans
9. Overlook
10. Sleepwalk

1 The thin wall
2 Hymn
3 Private Lives
4 Paths & Angles
5 Lament
6 Rage in Eden
7 When the time comes
8 Mr X
9 Visions in blue
10 I remember

1 Western Promise
2 Your Name (Has Slipped My Mind Again)
3 The Thin Wall
4 New Europeans
5 Mr. X
6 White China
7 King's Lead Hat (OK not an Ultravox song but one of my fave tracks)
8 Mine For Life
9 Astradyne
10 All In One Day

I await the backlash on track 10 . . . . :-)

Brill... ah, trying to stop myself using that one Great stuff - look forward to seeing what else gets selected by later posters here. And if you want to add any reasons for your choices, that'd be swell too!

Thanks robac ...have put reasons for liking each track and could easly have put another 5 or 6 but we all could I'm sure

I was only thinking of this topic myself the other day ...so it was in the making

1 Astradyne ( Why it hasn't been used in a Tarintino or Spielberg movie is a mystery )

2 Death In The Afternoon ( This has made a big impression on me from the first time I ever heard it and could have been my 1st choice ...it's what art is to sound .)

3 Mine For Life ( heard this live at the Dublin gig back in 1982 and was blown away ,I love the OGWT you tube version of this )

4 Sleepwalk ( like a rocket taken off .. my love affair with the band began with this one .I love how Warren pounds the drums on this and Billy screeching synth )

5 Passing Strangers ( I was mesmerised by Warrens drumming at the Dublin concert in 82)

6 New Europeans ( guitar riff very similar to Quite Man)

7 Private Lives ( '' all the boys are wearing blue tonight '' ..love Midges voice on this...very soulful song )

7 The Thin Wall ( This is just brilliant )

8 The Voice ( Love how the guys mix the backing vocals onto Midges lead ..superb )

9 Hymn ( powerful in it's lyrics and emotion ...with billys synth once again taken us off and up ...to the skys again )

10 We Stand Alone ( I love the deep echoing sound and the trobbing synth at the beginning ...'' lil gigilo and gigelette ''

Very easily! Mine will change by the month, I'm sure.

Hello,
How about hearing some of these tracks live this year...
Slip Away / Hiroshima Mon Amour / Maximum Acceleration /
Just For A Moment / Passionate Reply / I Remember ( Death In The Afternoon )/ Overlook / Visions In Blue /
Man Of Two Worlds/ ...and Brilliant!


7

In no particular order (today):

1 All stood still
2 Vienna
3 Accent on youth
4 I´ll remember (death in the afternoon)
5 When the scream subsides
6 Visions in blue
7 The voice
8 Man of two worlds
9 A friend I call desire
10 Mine for life (live)

1 The Thin Wall
2 All Stood Still (12" version)
3 Cut & Run
4 The Voice
5 Hymn
6 Passionate Reply
7 Alles Klar
8 We Stand Alone
9 Heart Of The Country
10 Private Lives

In roughly chronological order:

1 Slow Motion
2 Sleepwalk
3 Vienna
4 All Stood Still
5 Passionate Reply
6 The Voice
7 We Stand Alone
8 I Remember
9 The Thin Wall
10 Astradyne/Private Lives/Mr X/Western Promise/Rage in Eden/Paths and Angles/Man of Two Worlds - medley

Top ten is tough but fun I liked the top ten made with comments that Miamigo did, so I will put together my list with some reasons.

1 Sleepwalk ( The first track I ever heard of Ultravox was also the coolest. It just blew me away with it’s electrifying sound. And naturally I been a fan ever since.)

2 Vienna ( This is a piece of history. It has an amazing atmosphere and I’m choosing it also because it’s the best singing ever done by Midge.)

3 The Voice (One of my absolute favourites. It simply has a great build-up and one of the best choruses I ever heard. Although, I'm probably the only man on earth who thinks the song is better without the drums in the end.)

4 Rage in Eden (The perfect combination of beauty and mystery. It's a track that just floats around you, and the mighty chorus simply sweep you away. Ultravox made magic with this album.)

5 The Thin Wall (I always think of the video when I hear this song. It was pretty creepy for that time. This is yet another mysterious track that felt very Sci-Fi for me. The violin was used to perfection, making this one of the best arrangements ever.)

6 Reap the Wild Wind (The first single from Quartet is the most beautiful one. The synthesizers on this track just blew me away. The arrangement is perfect and the whole track feels light as a feather.)

7 Hymn (For me this has a similar feeling to The Voice. The chorus is a killer, and the synthesizers were in its prime the whole Quartet album.)

8 One Small Day (Not my favourite at first, but this track has been growing over the years. It has an inspiring lyric and the chorus is very powerful. Performed live, it's a blast.)

9 Dancing with tears in my eyes (Surprisingly, I haven't seen this the second mega hit of Ultravox on any list yet. This was huge in Sweden (no 1), and the classic video had an huge impact. The fear of nuclear power was still very high back then.)

10 Lament (It has that almighty piano piece that just blows me away every time I listen to it. Lament isn't a national anthem, but it pretty much beats them all.)

In no particular order.

1:Astrodyne
2:Mr X
3:Vienna
4:The Voice
5:I Remember (Death In The Afternoon)
6:The Thin Wall
7:Accent On Youth/The Accent
8:Paths And Angles
9:Serenade
10:A Friend I Call Desire

Off the top of my head, and subject to change...

Young Savage
Hiroshima Mon Amour
Maximum Acceleration
Some of Them
Dislocation
Astradyne
New Europeans
Mr X
Reap the Wild Wind
Hymn

No surprise, really. The fans usually appreciate very different songs than the general public does. I for one was always a little annoyed that Dancing with Tears in My Eyes was the biggest hit from Lament when it in my opinion was the least exciting song on the whole album. I actually often skip it when I listen to Lament, something I very seldom do with any Ultravox track. On the RTE gig in Oslo I realized it's much better live, though, when the band brings the rock elements forward.

That said, here is my list (off the top of my head, in no particular order, and subject to changes without further notice):
Astradyne - I can't get enough of Billy's Arp Odyssey solo. Fantastic violin playing too, and Warren's powerful drumming binds it all together.
I Remember (Death in the Afternoon) - The pulsing synth in the beginning just blew me away the first time I heard it.
Man of Two Worlds - Haunting, mysterious, and beautiful.
Private Lives - Again, fantastic soloing from Billy, and the rock solid bass and drums during the sparsely arranged verses are just perfect.
Visions in Blue - Powerful all-electronic backing combined with soulfoul singing from Midge, with classic Ultravox lyrics.
Cut and Run - Another great synth solo from Billy.
White China - Wonderful bassline and some great electronic percussion from Warren.
The Voice - With or without the drums at the end, this is a great song.
Accent on Youth - Atmospheric, with majestic synths contrasting Midge's warped guitar sound.
Hymn - The ultimate Ultravox sing-along.

This was difficult, but here is what I came up with (with the usual caveats)...


1. Hymn
2. Visions in Blue
3. The Voice
4. Astradyne
5. I Remember
6. Reap the Wild Wind
7. A Friend I Call Desire
8. Mine for Life
9. Man of Two Worlds
10. One Small Day

Good topic - so many great songs to choose from, but for me in no particular order it has to be:

The Voice - can't play it enough, everything about it is superb from the intro to Warren's cymbal smashes as it fades out.
Hymn - just a great song, Billy's solo crowns it.
I Remember (Death in the Afternoon) - fantastic lyrics, great sound, Midge's drifting solo, another classic.
We Stand Alone - just a great song, along with my next choice the best single Ultravox never had!
New Europeans - Lyrics roll beautifully, catchy, punchy, wonderful.
Mr. X - A film plot all on its own. He was sitting on a wing - must have been Ryanair....
A Friend I Call Desire - Lament's best moment for me, love the words, again another film all on its own. Summed up a lot of feelings for me at that time.
One Small Day - balls out rock, fantastic live. How many times has it turned against you?
Love's Great Adventure - OK, perhaps not in the same league as earlier stuff but I loved it when it came out and I love it now, especially the crash at the end. Funniest video they ever did as well.
I Can't Stay Long - got to admit not a huge fan of the Foxx era, but I do love this song.

Wonder if I'll need to review this list on May 29th??

Originally Posted By: Bacon

I for one was always a little annoyed that Dancing with Tears in My Eyes was the biggest hit from Lament when it in my opinion was the least exciting song on the whole album. I actually often skip it when I listen to Lament.

Me too! It's just too pop-rock for me!

01: We Stand Alone [since RTE]
02: One Small Day [ever since]
03: Astradyne [took some time]
04: I Remember ... [since RTE]
05: Hymn
06: Love's Great Adventure
07: Sleepwalk [here we go!!!]
08: A Friend I Call Desire
09: Dancing With Tears
10: Visions In Blue

It's not easy! In order:-

1. Reap the Wild Wind. Emotive, majestic, yet elegant. For me, this is quintessential Ultravox.
2. Vienna. Restrained beginnings, with that soaring chorus and propulsive instrumental break.
3. Hymn. Spiritual, sensitive and wary.
4. Visions in Blue. Sentimental, elegant, refined, wistful.
5. Astradyne. If there’s a better opening instrumental track to an album, I haven’t heard it.
6. The Voice. Grand, emotive, affirming.
7. The Thin Wall. Slightly paranoid, skittish, and spiky.
8. A Friend I Call Desire. Yearning, frustration and introspection.
9. Mine For Life. Loneliness, alienation with restrained yet anguished vocal chants.
10. We Stand Alone. Desolation, apprehension and resolution.

I’ve allocated points in reverse order (1st = 10 points, 2nd = 9 points, etc.) and added them for each album – just for the intellectual exercise (I note that the results of this survey will be collated). From the highest point total; Quartet: 27, Vienna: 15, Rage in Eden: 10, Lament: 3, U-Vox: 0 (Sorry!).

Not ordered (apart from #1) and keeping to the Ure/Cann/Currie/Cross era:

• The Voice (Favourite song)
• Paths and Angles (Favourite B-Side)
• Hymn (2nd Favourite song)
• Alles Klar (Favourite instrumental)
• A Friend I Call Desire (Most underrated album track)
• Mine For Life (Love the feedback start on Monument)
• When The Scream Subsides (2nd most underrated album track)
• Vienna (A very simple song with a great arrangement)
• Sleepwalk (First got me into Ultravox)
• Man of Two Worlds (Love the bass line)

1. Vienna
2. Hymn
3. The Voice
4. Love's Great Adventure
5. Lament
6. Dancing With Tears in My Eyes
7. One Small Day
8. Reap The Wild Wind
9. The Thin Wall
10.Same Old Story

This week (next week may be different):
1. We stand Alone
2. Vienna
3. The Voice
4. I remember (death in the afternoon)
5. Passing Strangers
6. Private Lives
7. One Small Day
8. Dancing With Tears In My Eyes
9. New Europeans
10.Astradyne

Sorry, Rob, I tried, but burst a blood vessel thinking so hard about it.

I have no idea how soulfoul singing would sound (growling perhaps?). Obviously I meant to write soulful. Sometimes I'm dsylxeic on Friday mornings.

1. Man of Two Worlds. The proggiest track Ultravox have made to date (although I feel that Rage in Eden is a concept album!)

2. The Voice (Monument). Although the production on the studio is superbe nothing beats the sheer power of the live version. Whilst the 2009 tour version was excellent- the Monument version is still the best.


3. I remember. Again the production on this song is incredible- the moment when the guitar breaks out from behind the keys is still spine tingling

4. Visions in Blue. I'm sure some of you chaps appreciated the ahem "artistic" video- but for me the Lyrics still wrench my heartstrings. Ashes of Memories still aglow? Always.

5. New Europeans. Had hit single written all over it. So of course the band didn't release it. Doh!

6. Vienna. It has to be here, of course, although it is the only one of the band's "Big hits" to make my top ten. Why such a low rating? Only becuase it took me years to emotionally connect to it- but yes Midge was spot on, it was actually everything.

7.Dream On. U-Vox doesn't have many redeeming qualities (For goodness sake who though Moon Madness was any good?) but this is one of them. Vintage Vox - and although it didn't have Warren's input originally would be worth reviving on tour.

8. White China. Another missed single oppotunity, this announced a more socially aware/political album that had gone before. Sure they had touch one "big world" matters before (Western Promise being a case in point) but Lament had a few socially aware peices. And still a wonderful early example of sampling.

9. Western Promise. It's insane- really, but somehow it works wonderfully. I can't put my finger on what makes this song work becuase really its sonic train wreck; punk played on Monophonic syths; but its brilliant

10. Cut and Run. While Rage in Eden was example of perfect fusion between band and producer, the pairing of Ultravox and George Martin proved to be less that the sum of its parts. This is a fine song, a classic Ultravox "Story in a song" peice, and could have sounded brilliant- but for the production.

OK in no particular order,

1 The Voice
2 We Stand Alone
3 Lament
4 Astradyne
5 Hymn
6 White China
7 Dream On
8 Slow Motion
9 Love's Great Adventure
10 One Small Day

Couldn't narrow it down to ten, so here's my top 13 (hopefully)

Live Again
Flow
Brilliant
The Change
Rise
Remembering
Hello
This One
Fall
Let It Lie
Satellite
Contact