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Ultravox

Ultravox (earlier stylized as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in 1973 as Tiger Lily (2). Between 1980–86, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was their 1981 hit "Vienna." The first three LP releases feature the vocals of John Foxx (real name Dennis Leigh), while the rest of the line up of Billy Currie, Warren Cann and Chris Cross were joined by Stevie Shears on guitar for the first two and Robin Simon replacing Shears for the third album, "Systems of Romance," by which the group had dropped the exclamation mark from the band name. In 1979, John Foxx left after an American tour to pursue solo projects, with Simon also departing. Currie, Cross and Cann were subsequently joined by Midge Ure on vocals and guitar. This became the most successful and well-known, 'classic' 80s line-up. They recorded 10 (UK) Top Twenty singles and 7 (UK) Top Twenty Albums, among them single hits such as "Vienna," "Hymn," and "Dancing With Tears In My Eyes." In May 1986, prior to the recording of the ill-received U-Vox album, Warren Cann was asked to quit by the rest of the band due to "irreconcilable differences". The band used on drums but broke up shortly after its release. In the early 1990s, Billy Currie formed a new version of the band, using two different singer/songwriters for each album released. They were popular in mainland Europe but by the mid 1990s had also broken up. The classic line-up reconciled and reformed in late 2008 for a large UK tour in 2009. This was recorded and released as Return To Eden. That rekindled interest in the band resulting in the Brilliant album being released in 2012 with a large headline tour. They then were special guests for a tour in 2013 but after that the band split up for good. Line-ups Mark I – Billy Currie, Chris Cross, Warren Cann, John Foxx, Stevie Shears Mark II – Billy Currie, Chris Cross, Warren Cann, John Foxx, Robin Simon Mark III (the classic line-up) – Billy Currie, Chris Cross, Warren Cann, Midge Ure Mark IV – Billy Currie, Chris Cross, Midge Ure Mark V – Billy Currie, Tony Fenelle, Rod Gammons, plus some other session musicians Mark VI – Billy Currie, Sam Blue, Gary Williams, Tony Holmes, Vinny Burns