Ultravox - A "Sleepwalk" until "All Fall Down" Quiz | Music

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. "Rolling and falling, I'm choking and calling Name after name after name" A long time ago, in the 1970s, there was a mainly British band called Ultravox! (later without the "!"). They were experimental and electric. After three records without earning much money they lost their record deal, their singer John Foxx and guitarist Robin Simon. Band member Billy Currie asked guitarist, keyboard-player and singer Midge Ure to join. Which was the first single this new team released?

Answer: Sleepwalk

Well, looking at the title of this quiz, this was hopefully easy. Sleepwalk was their first top 30 single.

The album was called "Vienna", produced by German Konrad "Conny" Plank. Released in 1980 it catapulted the band from an insider tip to a number three in the British album charts. Most devastating for some of the old Ultravox fans: they had become commercial. Shocking!

Just to give name after name after name: Chris Cross (vocals, bass, keyboards and synthesizer), Warren Cann (vocals, drums and drum machine programming), the already mentioned Billy Currie (violin, viola, piano and keyboards) and lead singer Midge Ure (also guitar, keyboards)

The group was mainly English; Ure is from Scotland and Cann was born in Canada.

2. "The feeling has gone, only you and I It means nothing to me This means nothing to me" It meant a lot to Ultravox, being their first real major hit. Now put the lighter in the air and sing along: "OH ...."

Answer: Vienna

Foggy cobbled street and a horse, a guy in a trench coat, a long staircase, a spider running over a face...the video was inspired by the movie "The Third Man", but only parts of it were filmed in Vienna. Most of it was done in London; one location was a former cinema. As the record company didn't pay up for a video, the band had to organize the video by themselves. They did well.

"Vienna" came out in January 1981 and while it reached number one in some countries of the European continent, it stopped at number two in Britain. As John Lennon had recently been shot his song "Woman" was at the top -the next weeks saw a certain Joe Dolce with his novelty song "Shaddap You Face" blocking the highest spot.

Nevertheless, "Vienna" became the Ultravox signature song, easy to recognize at the first drum beat.

In 2012 BBC 2 listeners voted it Britain's favourite Number Two.

3. "Une valise a ses cotes Deux yeux fixes et froids Montre de la peur lorsqu'il Se tourne pour se cacher" The year is still 1981 and the next Ultravox album was to follow: "Rage in Eden". Two singles were released. Don't stare at me with cold eyes or get into a rage if I ask of you: could you hear the above lyrics if you put the needle on the record?

Answer: No

No, this is not an Ultravox, this is from "Fade to Grey", the best known song done by Visage. I've given you a bit of the spoken French part. It was released in November 1980, climbing up to UK number eight. Visage shared two members with Ultravox: Ure and Currie. Singer of this musical project was Steve Strange, he passed away in February 2015, just 55.

The Ultravox album "Rage in Eden" was hugely successful in Britain: a number four in the album charts and two top twenty singles: "The Voice" and "The Thin Wall". There are two videos for "The Voice": one makes you quite seasick because of the slanted room effect, the second reminiscences the 1930s/1940s.

4. "Give us this day All that you showed me The power and the glory 'Til my kingdom come" This song is from the 1982 Ultravox album "Quartet" Do you have the power to name the song? Its title isn't mentioned in the lyrics.

Answer: Hymn

For once the glory came with a little success in the US, when the album "Quartet" soared up to a staggering rank 61! It fared better in the UK, up to number six and was produced by George Martin, the man who had worked with the Beatles.

The first single from this production was "Reap the Wild Wind" which was their only single ever entering the US Billboard top 100, ending up at number 62, in UK number 12.

"Hymn" (UK number 11) had a video with a story: each band member was first shown in a somehow humble position, then a guy with very shiny green eyes offered a contract and success happened. A short lived success as you might guess...

What some fluorescent contact lenses can do. Quite impressive.

5. "Face in the window in the night Caught for a second by the light Ashes of memories still aglow Only for you Portraits and pictures you once saw" Due to pictures you were able to see in the video, Ultravox did for once get a ban by BBC and MTV. What song is it?

Answer: Visions in Blue

Nothing brutal or violent, don't worry. Just a bit thrifty in the number of clothes used... David Hamilton style, if you remember this name. In my opinion the worst is the eighties hair-do. I guess it was called crimped.

There was a second video which passed the censor. Despite or because of this the song came up to number 15 in the spring of 1983.

6. "Dancing with tears in my eyes Weeping for the memory of a life gone by Dancing with tears in my eyes Living out a memory of a love that died" As seen in the video, what reason was given for tripping the light fantastic with impaired vision in 1984?

Answer: Nuclear meltdown

"Dancing with Tears in my Eyes" was the second single after "One Small Day" and catapulted them back in the higher ranks of the British charts: number three.

A brief encounter with the wrong answers: as the Platters already told us, smoke can get into your eyes, but not in this case.
Neither England nor Scotland lost any game at the Euro Cup 1984: they weren't even qualified (I hope I don't inflict pain in any British soccer fan's heart for mentioning this). France won.
Divorce may force a grown man to cry, but not here.

The song dealt with the question: what to do if you have only a short time to live? Directed by Cross and Ure the video shows Currie, Cross and Cann as personnel in a power plant; a meltdown occurs. Panic. Also panic on the street where a man (Ure) is on his way, first in a car, than on foot. He reaches home, and then... look for yourself. There is no happy ending.

7. "And just as my eyes start seeing After all the pain The twist in my life starts healing Just to twist again" And just after having a number three in the UK ("Dancing with Tears in my Eyes") the following single didn't reach this level again. I'm talking about the album's title track. Don't start one, if you get this wrong!

Answer: Lament

A lament is, according to dictionary.com "to feel or express sorrow or regret for"
The song lives up to it: it is slow and sombre.

The video was filmed on the Island of Skye (Inner Hebrides), which can be found of the Scottish coast. Four guys arrive, meet some girls, visit the island, attend a local dancing event -a c�ilidh- and leave again, leaving the women behind. One guy decides at the last moment to stay. The tourist board must have been delighted: the video is a real wonderful advert for the island. As can be read in Midge Ure's autobiography "If I Was" he met his later first wife, Annabel Giles while filming the video. She is one of the girls.

Whilst "Lament" only made it up to number 22 in the British charts, "Forever and Ever" was a number one in 1976 for the band Slik, the first chart success for Midge Ure as their singer. "No Regrets" and "If I Was" were released by him as an soloist, "No Regrets" made it to number nine in the UK in 1982, "If I Was" even topped this charts in 1985.

8. "I spoke a million words They didn't mean that much to me They rang around my head Like empty tuneless harmonies" Well, maybe not a million words but it took some time until the word LOVE appeared in an Ultravox song title. What kind of love?

Answer: Love's Great Adventure

"Love's Great Adventure" was released in 1985 as the only new song on the band's first real greatest hit collection appropriately called "The Collection". The single got to number twelve in the British single charts, the album did even better: it got to number two in the UK album charts and made triple platinum. Releasing it in early November must have made it a welcome Christmas present.

The video was again movie inspired: this time distinctly Indiana Jones. A lot of running through deserts and other lonely places, approached by sinister opponents and an endangered fair Beauty. The band wanted to prove that they weren't always serious.

The wrong answers were also released in 1984; "Love & Pride" from King,
"Love Glove" was done by Visage and "Love Kills" by Freddie Mercury.

9. "Feed the World" Now just a little digression from Ultravox to the song which only listed two Ultravox members- Cross and Ure- as participating in the recording. But sometimes digressions are a necessity. And how could a song that was written to make money and did make money for a good cause be left out? I only gave you the final chorus. Can you give me the title?

Answer: Do They Know It's Christmas?

On November the second 1984 Paula Yates, presenter of the music program "The Tube" had Ultravox on her program, who were promoting their new album "The Collection". While having a talk with Midge Ure in her dressing room her future husband Bob Geldof phoned her. Paula passed the phone to her guest and Mr. Geldof talked about the BBC documentary done by Michael Buerk about the devastating famine in Ethiopia. Geldof wanted to do something to help and they met the next day and came to the conclusion to do what they could do best: write a song.

Already on November the 25th a studio in London was packed with nearly everyone having a name in the British charts at the time, including Paul Young, Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran, Bono from U2. The name of this real super group was "Band Aid".

The record was released on December the 3rd and sold 200,000 units in the first two days. As I am writing this quiz in March 2015 there have been three further recordings of the song, the last in 2014 to help with the Ebola crisis.

Both Geldof and Ure still work for the Band Aid trust.

"We Are the World" was the American charity record released in the same year for the same cause.
"Only You" by the "Flying Pickets" and "Merry Christmas Everyone" by Shakin' Stevens were the British Christmas Number One singles in 1983 and 1985.

10. "It gets harder to see just what future's in store for us Hard to see through all the wool you pull over us Words that you give are just words to console us We'll all fall down" Alas, the future had not much in store for Ultravox, this being the last new single in the twentieth century reaching the British top 30. For the distinct celtic sound of "All Fall Down" they found some Irish experts to help them. Guess who?

Answer: The Chieftains

Guess what: it was exactly a British number 30. Yet another single was released, "All in One Day" which didn't even made the top 50. Both songs appeared on the 1986 album "U-Vox". Up to 2012 this was the last album with Midge Ure as a singer until 2012. Also the band had dropped their drummer Warren Cann and replaced him by Mark Brzezicki of Big Country. The album still reached the British album top ten - but an era ended here.

The song and the video have a quiet haunting atmosphere, the only distinct color is red from stains appearing under people who have fallen down. In the end these stains form a world map.

It is sad to see that the lyrics are still fitting today.

Source: Author heidi66

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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Ultravox - A "Sleepwalk" until "All Fall Down" Quiz

Get back to the eighties, time for some major New Romantics. Concentrating on the Midge Ure era of this group, the quiz remembers their songs and their videos. All singles were at least in the British top 30.

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