Steven Wilson burnishes art-poppers’ watershed 1982 album.
By the time 1982’s Quartet had been released, Ultravox had evolved by some considerable distance from their angular and art-rock beginnings. While original frontman John Foxx had drawn on the influence of his stark Hackney surroundings as much as the nascent synthesiser technology that was emerging, his replacement, Midge Ure, brought with him a melodic sensibility that had been honed in bands as disparate as Slik, Rich Kids and Visage. The material released in the wake of his arrival found Ultravox taking up both an album and singles chart residency that almost felt like a land grab.
And yet, as is pretty much always the case with commercial success that follows underground trailblazing, here Ultravox lost some of the mystique that initially made…
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Prog (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 141