Artist: Ultravox
Album: Vienna
Label: Chrysalis
Released: 11 July 1980
UK Top 100 Albums: 3
US Billboard 200: 164
Produced: Conny Plank & Ultravox
File Under: The first album I ever bought!
🎧🎚️ Listening Status
That special first album purchased (£3.99 at Andy’s Records on Mill Road, Cambridge) with paper-round money — at the tender age of almost twelve. Not even a teenager, and I treated my ears!
It was this record that got me hooked on the wondrous concept of the album — and decades on, I’ve never looked back.
🔎 Background
I was hooked by the Vienna single, which I bought on 7-inch (B-side Passionate Reply, fact fans!). In reality, the album had been out quite some time, but when you’re eleven, that sort of thing doesn’t prey on your mind.
I was just thrilled to have twelve inches of black plastic in my grubby hands!
If Vienna isn’t one of the most atmospheric albums ever recorded, I don’t know what is.
Ultravox were at a crossroads in 1980 — John Foxx had left, punk had fizzled out, and Midge Ure – already a seasoned pro – stepped in to help the band redefine themselves.
The result? A dark, elegant record that bridged art rock and electronic pop, setting the tone for an entire decade.
Back to rainy bus shelters and life in early 80s Cambridge for me, as I reminisce track by track…
▶️ Track by Track
1️⃣ Astradyne
I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who bought the album on the strength of the title track. But how many bandwagon jumpers like me were thrilled by the sonic ecstasy of Astradyne? What a bold statement — opening the record with a seven-minute instrumental!
A huge, cinematic opener that sounds like Blade Runner before Blade Runner. Billy Currie’s synths shimmer, Chris Cross’s bass pulses, and Midge’s guitar slices through like cold air.
This is a band flexing their new identity with confidence.
2️⃣ New Europeans
The first proper song brings guitars back — driving, urgent, and bursting with purpose. One of those album tracks that could easily have troubled the hit parade: cold and claustrophobic, yet surprisingly poppy.
A first chance for Midge Ure to showcase his talents — he’d come a long way since hitting number one with Slik a few years earlier! Lyrically, it’s about identity and the modern self — part art-school angst, part new-wave cool. You can hear the early-80s future forming in real time.
3️⃣ Private Lives
I’ve never thought about this before, but it was a brave move having two of the first three songs distinctly non-commercial. Yes, they were shaking off the shackles of John Foxx, and Private Lives showcases their new style perfectly.
Angular, moody, and slightly sinister. The synth line stabs, the drums are crisp, and Midge Ure delivers one of his most restrained vocals.
It’s a song about emotional distance — perfectly mechanical, perfectly Ultravox.
4️⃣ Passing Strangers
The second single from the album peaked at a disappointing number 57 in the hit parade, failing to match the top-thirty success of first single Sleepwalk. Remember, back then, hits made — and broke — bands.
Energetic and melodic, it captures that European post-punk pulse beautifully. The chorus should’ve been a hit — it wasn’t massive, but it paved the way for what came next.
5️⃣ Sleepwalk
Now this was a hit — a staggering number 29! Sharp, simple, and coldly emotional, it’s the one that started Ultravox’s transformation from art rockers to moody synth pioneers.
It’s the blueprint for synth-pop’s coming takeover. Every arpeggiated line since owes this one a nod. And it’s bloody catchy — I’m still singing it heartily!
6️⃣ Mr. X
There’s something wonderfully comforting about a lengthy, moody, hardcore song to kick off side two. This still thrills all these years later and still sends shivers down the spine — as ice-cold as synth music gets.
The experimental turn: drummer Warren Cann takes the mic, and the result is pure Germanic noir — Kraftwerk meets spy thriller. It shouldn’t work, but it does — proof that Ultravox weren’t just chasing hits; they were chasing ideas.
7️⃣ Western Promise
Aggressive, metallic, industrial — this one thunders along like a machine in overdrive. Oh, those guitars fusing with the machines! Midge Ure sounding wonderfully deranged.
There’s real power in those drums and a strange, alien tension underneath. A hidden gem.
8️⃣ Vienna
It shouldn’t need any introduction. Just don’t mention Joe Dolce (Shaddap You Face), who kept this off the number-one spot in the UK — probably still a sore point to this day. Still a national tragedy. The greatest number one that never was.
It’s where it all started for me. One of those rare cases where a band’s most famous song is genuinely one of their best. Its haunting overtones and conceptual territories still sound futuristic.
This is the one that made them immortal.
Four minutes of pure drama: strings, synths, and that unforgettable vocal. It’s Gothic, romantic, overblown, and utterly beautiful.
9️⃣ All Stood Still
The follow-up to Vienna, this was also a top-ten hit — and deservedly so. A cracking way to end proceedings.
The finale hits hard — propulsive synths, chugging rhythm, and a dystopian edge.
Futuristic yet fatalistic, ending the record in a rush of electricity.
💿 Final Thoughts
Vienna isn’t just a great Ultravox album — it’s one of the defining records of the early 1980s.
It bridges punk’s rawness with the precision of synth-pop, and it still sounds remarkably fresh.
All these years later, it still holds a special place in my heart. While it reminds me of times long gone, there are new sounds and fresh rhythms that give this record real longevity.
They were never quite as good again — although Rage in Eden was a worthy follow-up.
Every note, every echo, every icy lyric feels deliberate.
A record made for headphones, night drives, and anyone who likes their pop with architecture.
🎸 Uninteresting, Interesting Facts
1️⃣ New Europeans was used in a Japanese television commercial and released as a single in Japan, earning a gold disc.
2️⃣ The dramatic video for the title track was shot in London, not Austria — the “Vienna” scenes were actually filmed in Covent Garden and St John’s Church, Smith Square.
3️⃣ The single Vienna famously stalled at No. 2 in the UK charts behind Joe Dolce’s Shaddap You Face. Midge Ure still calls it “the most irritating moment of my career.”
The Listening Log 
Leave a comment