Visage -

Visage was an English electronic supergroup that made a 1980 self-titled album and charted with “Fade to Grey” and “Mind of a Toy,” defining hits of the New Romantic movement. Further chart and club hits followed with their 1982 release The Anvil, including “The Damned Don’t Cry” and “Night Train.” Both albums feature then-current members of Ultravox (Midge Ure, Billy Currie) and Magazine (John McGeoch, Dave Formula) along with singer/club-impresario Steve Strange and his drumming business partner Rusty Egan.

The project started in 1978 when former Rich Kids Ure and Egan approached Blitz scenester Strange (aka Steve Harrington, 1959–2015) with the concept of a futurist-dance band. Currie soon joined and invited Ure into Ultravox as John Foxx‘s replacement.

As Visage cut its first singles, Egan drummed for Scottish rockers the Skids on their 1979 Bill Nelson-produced sophomore effort Days In Europa. McGeoch’s involvement preceded his stint in Siouxsie and The Banshees.

Members: Steve Strange (vocals), Rusty Egan (drums, percussion, 1978-85), Midge Ure (guitar, keyboards, bass, 1978-83), Billy Currie (violin, keyboards, 1978-83), John McGeoch (guitar, saxophone, 1978-83), Dave Formula (keyboards, 1978-83), Barry Adamson (bass, 1978-79), Gary Barnacle (saxophone, 1984-85), Andy Barnett (guitar, 1984-85), Steve Barnacle (guitar, 1984-85)

Background

In the autumn of 1978, scenester pals Rusty Egan and Steve Strange started co-hosting a weekly residency at Billy’s nightclub in Soho. Strange worked the doorway, greeting denizens of London’s then-unnamed New Romantic scene while Egan spun a mix of David Bowie, Roxy Music, Ultravox, Kraftwerk, and small-press singles by then-unknowns The Human League and The Normal. They met at a club months earlier when the typically suave Egan shouted out to the characteristically outlandish Strange, “You look great!”

Strange (b. Stephen John Harrington; May 28, 1959; Caerphilly, Wales) was a two-year veteran of the London scene, where he befriended Stranglers bassist JJ Burnell, roomed with Billy Idol, and worked as a coat-checker at The Roxy, a Covent Garden punk hotspot.

In January 1978, Strange assembled the shock-punk band the Moors Murderers (named after the infamous 1960s child-killers) with scenester Soo Catwoman, ex-Ants guitarist Mark Ryan, future Psychedelic Furs drummer Vince Ely, and American expat guitarist–singer Chrissie Hynde. After a photo-publicity stunt that showed the band in leather suits and KKK-style hoods, Hynde left to form The Pretenders. Strange spent part of mid-1978 fronting Liverpool punks The Photons, a spin-off of The Spitfire Boys, before heading back to London to start a club.

Egan was fresh off a one-album stint with the Rich Kids, a punk-pop band co-headed by ex-Slik frontman Midge Ure and original Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock. The Rich Kids polarized when Ure purchased a synthesizer, an instrument only he and Egan wished to incorporate.

Formation

With their mutual fondness of the recently released Systems of Romance album by Ultravox, Egan and Ure decided to form a synth-rock project suited for the clubs. Beyond Egan’s aforementioned DJ picks, there was little non-disco electronic dance music in existence at the time. He and Strange agreed that their club needed more music options.

Egan and Ure demoed two songs: “Tar” and a cover of the 1969 Zager & Evans hit “In the Year 2525”. They asked Strange to front their new band, tentatively named Visage.

Meanwhile, Strange and Ure moved their club to a Tuesday night residency at the Blitz in Convent Garden. Here, the “cult with no name” attracted press attention with its plethora of campy dress: a mix of punk hairdos, geisha makeup, film noir chic, and Romantic period items. When Strange turned a drunken, disheveled Mick Jagger away at the door one night, tabloids flew about this supposed elitist new cult.

In early 1979, Visage welcomed three-fifths of Magazine: keyboardist Dave Formula, guitarist John McGeoch, and bassist Barry Adamson. As a non-binding studio project, each member was free to continue in other bands.

Keyboardist Billy Currie — whose band Ultravox went on hiatus after the March 1979 departure of frontman John Foxx — joined Visage while committing to summer–fall live engagements with Gary Numan, another Systems of Romance convert. Currie played violin on Numan’s third album, The Pleasure Principle, enhancing synth textures that he’d pioneered on the 1977 Ultravox staples “My Sex” and “Hiroshima Mon Amour.”

Ure agreed to join Ultravox as John Foxx’s replacement. Meanwhile, he collaborated with Phil Lynott on the track “Get Out of Here” for the 1979 Thin Lizzy release Black Rose. After the abrupt departure of guitarist Gary Moore from that band, Lynott invited Ure into the fold. Ure agreed to deputize the slot for their summer tour, but maintained his commitments to Ultravox and Visage.

Elsewhere, Egan drummed on Days of Europa, the second album by Scottish new wave rockers the Skids. It was produced by Bill Nelson, an influence on Ultravox, Magazine, and Numan through his work in Be-Bop Deluxe, which embraced modernist electro-pop on their 1977 single “Japan” and 1978 swan song Drastic Plastic. The presence of Egan and Nelson brought the Systems–Plastic influence to bear on Europa, particularly the tracks “Pros and Cons” and “Dulce et Decorum Est (Pro Patria Mori).”

“Tar”

Meanwhile, Visage gained studio time courtesy of Martin Rushent, a Blitz regular and record producer (Stranglers, Buzzcocks, Rezillos, Trickster, Generation X, 999) who wished to sign them to his DIY label Genetic Records. Visage commenced sessions at Rushent’s Berkshire home studio, but his label collapsed. They signed instead to Radar Records, which issued their debut single, “Tar” (b/w “Frequency 7”), in September 1979. It would be their only release with Adamson as a full member.

A. “Tar” (3:26)
B. “Frequency 7” (3:04)

In early 1980, David Bowie visited the Blitz, where an awestruck Strange got to meet his idol, who invited the young impresario to star in the video for “Ashes to Ashes,” the proposed single from his upcoming album Scary Monsters and Super Creeps.

In the solarised “Ashes to Ashes” video, Strange and three fellow Blitz denizens — including fashion designers Judith Frankland and Darla Jane Gilroy — mime the refrain “I’m happy, hope you’re happy too,” and trail the Pierrot-clad Bowie before a snail-paced bulldozer. Released in August 1980, the song topped the UK chart while the video made Strange a fixture of the music weeklies.

By now, followers of the Blitz aesthetic had been dubbed the New Romantics, a term coined by musician Richard James Burgess. His band, Landscape, would appropriate the look and futurist sound on their 1981 release From the Tea-Rooms of Mars… to the Hell-holes of Uranus. Burgess would also produce Spandau Ballet, a soon-to-be-enormous five-piece that started as a houseband at the Blitz.

Visage

Visage released their self-titled debut album on November 10th, 1980, on Polydor. It features the pre-released “Tar” and the long-awaited followup single “Fade to Grey,” a co-write by Midge Ure, Billy Currie, and Dramatis keyboardist Chris Payne, who guests on the track with bandmate/drummer Cedric Sharpley and Blitz denizen Brigitte Arens, the faux-French whisperer.

Visage contains seven additional group-written songs, including the high-tech melodic dance numbers “Malpaso Man” and “Visage,” the opening treble (a title-track to a self-titled album) mirrored on the flipside by “Visa-age,” a minor-key variant. Ure and Rusty Egan co-wrote “The Dancer,” a lavish instrumental. Side B contains their third single, “Mind of a Toy,” an iconic hit with a marionette video.

Ure backs Steve Strange on vocals and doubles on guitar with John McGeoch, who plays saxophone on select passages. Currie plays electric violin and doubles on synthesizer with Dave Formula (and sometimes Ure). Egan plays standard and electronic percussion. “Tar” bassist Barry Adamson also plays on the first two tracks.

A1. “Visage” (3:53)
A2. “Blocks on Blocks” (4:00)
A3. “The Dancer” (3:40)
A4. “Tar” (3:32)
A5. “Fade to Grey” (4:02)

B1. “Malpaso Man” (4:14)
B2. “Mind of a Toy” (4:28)
B3. “Moon Over Moscow” (4:00)
B4. “Visa-age” (4:20)
B5. “The Steps” (3:14)

Aside from “Tar,” sessions occurred during the summer of 1980 at Genetic Studios, where Midge Ure produced Visage in sequence with Concrete Scheme (by Scottish new wavers Modern Man) and Vienna, his first album with Ultravox.

Visage was engineered and mixed by studio vet John Hudson, a soundman on early Seventies classics by Leaf Hound, Juliet Lawson, and Pete Brown & Piblokto! (Thousands On a Raft). Hudson recorded Visage in sequence with 1980/81 albums by B.A. Robertson, The Shakin’ Pyramids, and Landscape, whose Tea-rooms release spawned the synthpop hits “Einstein A-Go-Go” and “Norman Bates.”

Visage features a cover photo by Peter Ashworth, whose images grace contemporary sleeves for Adam & the Ants, Central Line, M, The Movies, and Metro frontman Peter Godwin. The image depicts a slow dance between Steve Strange and Japanese model Vivienne Lyn, paint-rendered in blue/grey tinted monochrome by Iain Gillies, a Glasgow School of Art alumnus who later excelled in decorative art^>.

Australian photographer Robyn Beeche took the inner-sleeve portrait shot of Strange, styled by Smile salon coiffure Keith Wainwright, Blitz fashion designer Melissa Caplan, and Toyah/Scary Monsters makeup artist Richard Sharah.

Visage reached No. 1 on the German Albums chart and No. 11 in Austria. The album was also big in Oceania, where it reached No. 14 in New Zealand and No. 17 in Australia. Fueled by two homeland hits and the reigning Blitz craze, Visage reached No. 13 on the UK Albums Chart. By the time of the album’s release, McGeoch left Visage and Magazine for Siouxsie & The Banshees.

“Fade to Grey”

Visage coincided with “Fade to Grey,” released on November 14 with “The Steps,” a non-album group-credited number. Polydor issued the single in standard 7″ and extended 12″ formats (6:17).

B. “The Steps” (3:13)

In the opening scene of the “Fade to Grey” video, a quiff-haired, leather-suited Strange exits a limo with a blond companion and enters a gala with posh, ultra chic denizens. As paparazzi swarm for snapshots, the video cuts to Strange alone with split-face paint (purple-shaded left; blacked out right) in Caplan attire.

Moments later, his makeup takes symmetry with lizard brows, charcoal lids, and a drainpipe down his nose and chin. He slowly clutches his head and turns as Blitz DJ Princess Julia appears at his backside in goth makeup. They huddle near-lifeless under a white veil. Next, she paints lines across Steve’s body that magically fill with scales and make him assume reptilian mannerisms. She fades into a blank mask and vanishes. He reappears with Makeup ajar (one arched and one sloped eyebrow) in a black tunic jacket with gold wedge trim. Black lace entombs his face, which reemerges featureless and dead-white before he too fades into a blank mask.

“Fade to Grey” was an early directorial credit for Godley & Creme, whose prolific video-making career included clips for the debut Duran Duran album.

A huge Continental European hit, “Fade to Grey” reached No. 1 in Switzerland and West Germany and No. 3 in Austria and France. The single peaked at No. 4 in Belgium and No. 6 in Denmark, Italy, and Australia. In Sweden, the single peaked at No. 12 on the Sverigetopplistan. Strange adopted a quasi-Eastern folk look (with headband and stubble) for promo appearances on the Italian program Popcorn and the Dutch show TopPop, where he mimed “Fade to Grey” with dancer Perri Lister of Hot Gossip, the dance troupe of the Kenny Everett Video Hour.

In the Anglosphere, “Fade to Grey” reached No. 7 in Ireland, No. 10 in New Zealand, and No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart.

For the US market, Polydor issued the “Fade to Grey” dance mix on an EP with “Tar,” “Blocks On Blocks,” and the dance mixes of “We Move” and “Frequency 7.” Visage (EP) appeared in July 1981 with a cover photo by Alwyn Clayden (Comsat Angels, Wishbone Ash), who pictured the Persian-style Strange crouched on a pillowed rug, clad in sued ankle boots, orange puffy shirt, beaded necklace chains, and a head-banded bouffant.

“Mind of a Toy”

On March 5, 1981, Visage lifted “Mind of a Toy” as their third single, backed with the non-album “We Move.” The 12″ contains extended dance mixes of “Mind of a Toy” (5:13) and its b-side plus a third track, the earlier “Frequency 7” (5:02).

B. “We Move” (4:00 / 6:30)

As the “Mind of a Toy” video opens, little dolls fall down a flight of stairs and onto a floor through a wall frame. Strange emerges in the face of a grandfather clock with his hand as the swinging pendulum. A Steve Strange marionette dangles in a frilly-collared blue Edwardian suit with a red ball in hand. As scissors cut its strings, younger iterations of Strange (child and tween) appear on the staircase.

Strange himself appears on a rocking horse in a room with hanging chairs while his marionette makes its way to a room where it approaches a pink doll house. Strange grabs the marionette in anger but turns and freezes as numerous dolls, jack-in-the-box toys and other marionettes flood the room. Strange becomes a shrunken marionette inside the doll house while the original marionette assumes life-size and haunts his window. As the doll house burns, an elderly Strange appears on the staircase.

“Mind of a Toy” reached No. 10 in Germany, No. 16 in Ireland, and No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart. Strange donned a black version of his Persian look for the German program Rockpop, where he mimed the song with Lister and Hot Gossip colleague Lorraine Whitmarsh as fishnet-clad podium dancers.

On July 3, “Visage” (the song) became their fourth single, backed with the non-album “Second Steps.” The 12″ contains an extended “Visage” dance mix (6:01) and a slightly longer b-side.

B. “Second Steps” (5:00 / 5:30)

In the “Visage” video, Strange models in a rust Forties suit and fedora, flanked by two women in matching belted gray tunics, baggy slacks, and fedoras. The trio enters Blitz and ascends the stairs to the bar, where they strut with icy authority before awestruck onlookers. They pose for a photoshoot that appears in Vogue magazine. As Strange discards his prior iterations, footage of their fashion show plays on a movie screen.

B. “Second Steps” (5:00 / 5:30)

Meanwhile, Ure and Egan produced “If You Want Me to Stay,” the debut Polydor single by Ronny, an androgynous French female model/singer and Blitz denizen. Strange and Ronny dueted on “The Lady Is a Tramp,” the Rodgers and Hammerstein showtune updated with new lyrics and a synthpop arrangement. Despite its non-release, they filmed a video for French television where Strange sings in drag (long red hair, purple sequin gown) next to the man-suited Ronny.

The Anvil

Visage released their second album, The Anvil, on March 26, 1982, on Polydor. It contains nine-group-written originals by the revised five-piece lineup of Steve Strange, Midge Ure, Dave Formula, Billy Currie, and Rusty Egan.

The Anvil features “The Damned Don’t Cry,” an electro-pop classic followed by the singles “Night Train” and “Whispers.” Notable deep cuts include “Anvil (Night Club School),” “Look What They’ve Done,” “Again We Love,” and “The Horseman.”

The album showcases Ure on guitar and synthesizers, the latter shared by Formula and violinist Currie. Musical guests include “Tar” bassist Barry Adamson and Leisure Process saxophonist Gary Barnacle. Hot Gossip singer/dancers Perri Lister and Lorraine Whitmarsh appear as backing vocalists.

A1. “The Damned Don’t Cry” (4:43)
A2. “Anvil (Night Club School)” (4:39)
A3. “Move Up” (4:25)
A4. “Night Train” (4:29)

B1. “The Horseman” (4:41)
B2. “Look What They’ve Done” (4:49)
B3. “Again We Love” (4:44)
B4. “Wild Life” (4:24)
B5. “Whispers” (5:39)

Sessions occurred in late 1981 at Mayfair Studios in Primrose Hill, where Midge Ure produced The Anvil on the heels of Rage In Eden, his second album with Ultravox.

John Hudson engineered The Anvil amid singles by Cold Fish, Messengers, White & Torch, and Irish mods The Blades. He also co-produced and engineered Ure’s 1982 debut solo single, “No Regrets,” a 1968 Tom Rush song that Midge learned from a 1975 cover by the Walker Brothers, who mimed it on the same episode of Top of the Pops as Ure’s band, Slik (for their 1976 hit, “Forever and Ever”).

The album’s title came from a New York BDSM club. (An anvil is an iron block for metalwork.) Vogue fashion photographer Helmut Newton took the posed shots of Steve Strange in a double-breasted leather suit for the Anvil cover and “Night Train” sleeve. Newton also photographed Strange with six female crossdressers in the lobby of the Hôtel George-V in Paris for the “Damned Don’t Cry” sleeve. Another picture from the Paris shoot (sans Strange) appeared as a poster with the first 3,000 Anvil copies, which sported an embossed, textured sleeve.

The inner-sleeve features another Robyn Beeche profile shot of Strange, who sports silver and purple accents on whiteface with hair by Lobetta salon stylist Ollie.

“The Damned Don’t Cry” appeared three weeks ahead as the lead single, backed with “Motivation,” a non-album group original. The 12″ contains an extended dance mix (5:43).

B. “Motivation” (3:35)

The video to “The Damned Don’t Cry” takes place in a dark winter setting, where Strange stands plaintively at a train station in a scarf and large trench coat. As the clock strikes midnight, he sings in the fog near silhouetted figures as the train draws near. Once aboard, he wanders car-to-car and encounters apparitions (angels, ghosts) and 1920s partygoers.

“The Damned Don’t Cry” reached No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 22 in Ireland. In Italy, Strange mimed the song on the Rai network series Discoring, where (clad in white chiffon button-up and vest) he wandered about the stage, flanked by two short-haired blonds in tuxedos.

On June 11, “Night Train” became the second single, backed with the non-album “I’m Still Searching,” another Anvil outtake. The 12″ contains two lengthier “Night Train” alternates marked as the ‘dance mix’ (6:07) and ‘dub mix’ (5:02).

B. “I’m Still Searching” (3:37)

The “Night Train” video intercuts footage of headlights and hedonistic passengers with a big band performance led by a white-suited Strange, who croons into a vintage round mic against a blue-lit backdrop, flanked with horn players and suited, quiff-haired female backing vocalists.

In their only TotP appearance, Visage (portrayed by Strange and two backing singers) mimed “Night Train” for the BBC program’s July 1, 1982, broadcast, which also aired Ure’s “No Regrets” video and featured in-studio numbers by Captain Sensible (“Happy Talk”), Dollar (“Videotheque”), and Queen (“Las Palabras de Amor”). “Night Train” reached No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart. Strange wore a pastel blue suit for the segment, performed on a fog-laden stage under flashing circular lights with the two women in matching pastel pink skirt suits.

In Japan, Polydor issued a 7″ of “Whispers” (ウィスパーズ) backed with “The Horseman” (ザ • ホースマン).

The Anvil reached No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart. After its released, Ure withdrew from Visage to concentrate on Ultravox and subsequent solo work.

Visage hired bassist Steve Barnacle, Gary’s bassist brother who played in the NWOBHM one-off Blazer Blazer and backed Yes alumnus Rick Wakeman on the keyboardist’s 1981 rock opera 1984, based on George Orwell’s dystopian classic (which also inspired a 1981 electronic instrumental album by original Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips).

“Pleasure Boys”

On October 29, 1982, Visage premiered their revised lineup with “Pleasure Boys,” a standalone single written by Steve Strange, Dave Formula, Billy Currie, Rusty Egan, and new member Steve Barnacle. The b-side is a remixed version of the Anvil title track.

Polydor issued the single in standard 7″ and extended 12″ formats, the latter with dance mixes of both tracks. The single also appeared as a limited-edition picture disc with an image taken from the video.

A. “Pleasure Boys” (3:34 / 6:58)
B. “The Anvil” (4:26 / 6:14)

Visage recorded “Pleasure Boys” at Trident Studios in West London with John Luongo, a Boston-born DJ who remixed earlier disco-funk titles by Dan Hartman, Freda Payne, The Jacksons, Melba Moore, and the Real Thing. He oversaw the dance mix of “Fade to Grey” for the US Visage EP and engineered “Pleasure Boys” amid work on 1982 singles by Blue Rondo a la Turk, Funkapolitan, Krisma, Material, and The Quick.

The “Pleasure Boys” video drew inspiration from The Wild One, the 1953 pre-rock biker film starring Marlon Brando. Strange (clad in leather jacket, cap, and shades) rides the open road, joined by his gang and a pillion passenger. They descend on a diner where a rival gang has staked its turf. The two sides complete in a race with a running steam train before Strange and his gang split with aerial cops on their tail (to no avail).

Beat Boy

Visage released their third album, Beat Boy, on October 26, 1984, on Polydor.

Co-founders Steve Strange and Rusty Egan retained bassist Steve Barnacle from the prior single. The trio wrote four songs: “Questions,” “Can You Hear Me,” “Yesterday’s Shadow,” and the lead single “Love Glove.” They rounded the lineup with Barnacle’s brother, Anvil saxist Gary Barnacle, and guitarist Andy Barnett, an early member of Corey Hart‘s backing band.

Barnett co-wrote the album’s balance, including “Beat Boy” and “Only the Good (Die Young),” both recorded before the departure of Dave Formula. The latter track also features Billy Currie, who left early in the sessions to concentrate on Ultravox.

1. “Beat Boy” (6:46)
2. “Casualty” (5:28)
3. “Questions” (6:11)
4. “Only the Good (Die Young)” (5:58)

5. “Can You Hear Me” (6:29)
6. “The Promise” (3:59)
7. “Love Glove” (4:45)
8. “Yesterday’s Shadow” (6:29)

Sessions spanned late 1982 through 1983 at Trident Studios, where staffers Adam Moseley and Craig Milliner mixed the album in March 1984. Beat Boy features three backing vocalists: Karen Ramsey, Hi-NRG singer Marsha Raven, and Funk Masters frontwoman Rose Patterson.

Creative Workforce artist Maximillian designed the Beat Boy cover, which shows stylized photos of Strange by Visage photographer Peter Ashorth. European copies show a distant Strange, fist-to-face before a giant screen. US copies display a portrait shot of the heavily made-up singer in a purple/gold ensemble.

“Love Glove” appeared in August 1984 as an advance single, backed with “She’s a Machine,” a non-album track group-credited to the Barnett/Barnacle bros. lineup.

B. “She’s a Machine”

“Beat Boy” followed the album’s release as a second single, backed with a dub version.

Discography: