We all stood still at the thin wall in Vienna with Ultravox
Hello hello silver bloggers, music lovers and Hello hivers!
One of my favourite days because it means a post on Hive will be written by me, and I get to hear other music that Hiveians enjoy. Well for the select band that participate in ttt anyway!
Today we go back and listen to one of the pioneers of synth music!
We are going back to my Silver Chronicles post of a few weeks ago My Soundtrack for the 80s my favourite decade
Quite a self-explanatory title and it is my inspiration for the next few posts on ttt!
The year is now 1981 and we are diving into some poignant songs from Ultravox during their peak and final year together of 1981...
Who remembers Midge Ure and that wee pointed moustache thing of his!
It is Tuesday and that of course means that it's #ttt or #threetunetuesday and so it's time to share some tunes with you!
@ablaze started #ttt 257 weeks ago! Go check out what it is all about on his latest post Ireland's Top 30 Songs of all Time (16, 17, 18) for Three Tune Tuesday - Week 256 - win some HBI
Do go support @ablaze as without him we would not have this mental fun musical activity that you can win HSBI from! I am happy to be one of the SIX sponsors and it is kinda fun checking out music from all over this global village of ours!
He has just released some winners posts, so go support those posts, he gets no support from any whales or even curation trails for these posts that he does. 255 weeks is an incredible amount of time, and I for one love that he runs this, and I appreciate the time and dedication that he puts in, when he could be doing something else.
Long live #ttt 😁🎼 and #threetunetuesday
The Band - Ultravox
For this week’s #TTT, as I have alrady mentioned (if you were paying fluffing attention that is!) I’m taking us back to 1981. This was the year Ultravox truly conquered the airwaves.
Following the departure of John Foxx, Midge Ure duly arrived. And this seemed to spark their fortunes as it transformed the band into a cinematic and melodic powerhouse.
Their sound was a blend of cold industrial synthesisers and soaring romantic vocals of Midge Ure as we are about to hear.
Ultravox were fluffing true pioneers. While many bands were just starting to use keyboards, Ultravox used them to create huge orchestral masterpieces in a sense. With Billy Currie’s classically trained ear and Midge Ure’s pop nose, they bridged the gap between underground electronic music and mainstream success.
1981 was truly their year, and all three of these tunes were released in 1981.
We have two lesser known of their songs following on from one of the most famous songs of 1981!
Tune 1 - Ultravox - Vienna
You can’t talk about 1981 without this masterpiece.
In fact fluff it, you can't talk about Ultravox without mentioning Vienna!
Ironically tt famously held the #2 spot for weeks (kept off #1 by Joe Dolce of all people, with the bloody annoying song Shaddap You Face!)..
Well it outlasted its rivals in legacy. The haunting drum machine, the dramatic violin solo, and Midge Ure’s incredible vocal reach make this a stone-cold classic.
It feels like a black-and-white film in musical form. I just loved their videos, awesome for their times!
Tune 2 - Ultravox - The Thin Wall
Released as a single from the Rage in Eden album later in '81, this track shows the darker and more experimental side of the band. They all seemed to do it at some point...
It’s got a driving energy and some fantastic synth textures that still sound modern today. It captures that feeling of tension and atmospheric art-rock that the band did better than anyone else.
Tune 3 - Ultravox - All Stood Still
This was the final single from the Vienna album, and it’s a pure synth-pop floor-filler. I must admit it is a tossup as to whether I prefer Vienna or All Stood Still.
It’s a bit more mechanical and robotic than the title track which highlighting Billy Currie’s legendary keyboard work. It also perfectly captured the "frozen in time" aesthetic that defined the early 80s club scene.
So there you have it 3 songs released in 1981 from Ultravox this week with my 80s Soundtrack post as the inspiration!
Which was your favourite tune? Or have you never heard of them?
Note: The 3 YouTube videos that I have shared are not owned by me, I am simply spreading great music on Hive.
I wish that you all have a brilliant happy fun and terrific Tuesday until we meet again enjoy your tunes 🎶🎵🎶
Thanks for visiting!
The images and ramblings are from me, with some assistance from gemini on the verbage and the lead image, the mad Scotsman TengoLoTodo unless otherwise stated. Note the lead image was created in Gemini from a prompt by the author!
@tengolotodo April 28th 2026
Vienna has always be one of my favourites together with :