7" RARE VINYL- ULTRAVOX - ROCKWROK / HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR WIP 6404

	£		19
	$		25

7" RARE VINYL- ULTRAVOX - ROCKWROK / HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR  WIP 6404

Cheap postage - 73p large envelope & 37p Brown Card Envelope (no profit)

Artist:       ULTRAVOX 

Title:         ROCKWROK / HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR

Label:        ISLAND 

Cat No:       WIP 6404

Format:   7" Vinyl
Country:   UK
Released:   1977

Condition Vinyl : EX / VG

Sleave Condition : EX/VG

Matrix / Runoff : PORKY PRIME A SIDE

Ultravox (formerly known as Ultravox!) are a British new wave band, formed in London in 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980–86, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was their 1981 hit "Vienna".

The band has been led by two different frontmen who never played together in the band at the same time. From 1974 until 1979, singer John Foxx was frontman and the main driving force behind Ultravox. Foxx left the band to embark on a solo career and, following his departure, with the three remaining members in hiatus, Midge Uretook over as lead singer, guitarist and frontman in 1980 after he and keyboardist Billy Currie worked in the studio project Visage. Ure revitalised the band and steered it to commercial success lasting until the mid-1980s. Ure left the band in 1987 after establishing his own solo career and the group disbanded for a while. A new line-up, led by Currie, was formed in 1992, but achieved limited success.

The band's best-known line-up of Currie, Ure, bassist Chris Cross and drummer Warren Cann reformed in 2008 and performed a series of reunion shows in 2009 and 2010 before releasing a new studio album, Brill!ant, in May 2012. In November 2013, Ultravox performed as special guests on a four date UK arena tour with Simple Minds.

History

Early years – Tiger Lily: 1974–1975

The band was formed in 1974 on the initiative of vocalist and songwriter Dennis Leigh, a then Royal College of Art student, and was originally known as Tiger Lily. An initial but incomplete line-up comprised Leigh plus Chris Allen (bass guitar) and Stevie Shears (guitar),[1] with Warren Cann (drums) and Billy Currie (violin) joining in May and October 1974 respectively.[2] The group released one single in 1975, "Ain't Misbehavin'", a cover of theFats Waller song which featured in a soft porn film. Later, the band went through a series of name changes including The Zips, Fire of London, London Soundtrack, and The Damned, using this last name for a few weeks before discovering that another band had already taken it.[2]

Experimental years: 1976–1979

On the strength of their live act, the band signed to Island Records in 1976. The group had still not finalised their band name, wanting to make a good and lasting choice. In July 1976, while working on the late stages of their debut album, the band conceived the name Ultravox! (the exclamation mark was a reference to krautrock bandNeu!, produced by Conny Plank, who later produced three Ultravox albums). At the same time, the singer choseJohn Foxx and the bassist chose Chris Cross to be their respective stage names.[2] In February 1977, Island released their eponymous debut album, Ultravox!.

Like many other bands that formed Britain's punk and new wave movements, Ultravox! drew inspiration from the art-school side of glam rock. Musically, Ultravox were heavily influenced by Roxy Music, the New York Dolls,David Bowie and Kraftwerk.[3] Their debut was co-produced by Steve Lillywhite and Brian Eno (who next co-wrote and performed with Bowie on Low). Ultravox!'s sales were disappointing, and neither the album nor the associated single "Dangerous Rhythm" managed to enter the UK charts. Relations within the band were on an occasionally tenuous footing during this time as Foxx declared that he intended to live without emotions, a sentiment he wrote into the début album track "I Want to Be a Machine".

Ultravox returned later in 1977 with the punkier Ha!-Ha!-Ha!. Sales of both the album and its lead single, "ROckWrok", were poor, both failing to register on the UK charts. "ROckWrok" had a punk-lyric chorus, with the words "Come on, let's tangle in the dark/Fuck like a dog, bite like a shark". (Despite this, it got airplay on BBC Radio 1.) Although Ha!-Ha!-Ha! was dominated by guitars and electric violin, the final track, "Hiroshima Mon Amour", was a prototypical synthpop song. One of the first tracks by a British band to feature a drum machine (aRoland Rhythm 77 with preset patterns), the song signalled a new direction for Ultravox. The energy, anger and popular appeal of punk was fading in 1978,[4] and the more creative UK punk genre talent sought new directions—calling themselves British new wave instead of punk rock artists. "Hiroshima Mon Amour" remains a critic's and fan's favourite from the group's initial period. Ultravox! also performed it on The Old Grey Whistle Test later in 1978.

In early March 1978, Stevie Shears, whose style of guitar playing was considered a limiting factor, was sacked from the band after they toured England[5] and joined Cowboys International in 1980. He was replaced by Robert Simon (ex-member of Ian North's Neo), who during his first days with the band changed his performance-name to Robin Simon.[6] Some time in 1978, the group also dropped the exclamation mark, becoming simply "Ultravox". The new line-up performed live at the Reading Festival along with Radio Stars, Penetration, Sham 69, The Pirates and The Jam, playing early versions of "Slow Motion" and "Quiet Men" on 25 August 1978.[7]

Their third album, 1978's Systems of Romance, was recorded with producer Conny Plank (the producer of German electronic outfit Kraftwerk) and engineer Dave Hutchins at Plank's Studio in rural Germany. Musically, the album was markedly different from Ultravox's earlier work, bringing synthesisers to the forefront of the group's sound. Despite praise from some critics, the album was a commercial failure. Since none of the albums to date had generated much income, tensions within the band—particularly between Currie and Foxx—threatened the band's viability.

Island dropped the band after an attempt to market the album in the United States failed to generate sales. That appeared to be the final nail in their coffin, but Ultravox undertook a self-financed US tour in early 1979. Splitting after their final gig near San Francisco in March 1979, Foxx declared his intention to go solo. Simon remained in the US and briefly joined The Futants, an American punk band from New York. He later returned to England and teamed up with Howard Devoto to replace guitarist John McGeoch in the band Magazine. The remaining members made their way back to a Britain in the midst of a "winter of discontent". Island dropped the three Ultravox albums from its catalogue, and released a compilation of highlights from the group's first three albums in 1980, called Three into One.

Foxx subsequently signed to Virgin Records and released his album Metamatic in 1980. By this time, Billy Currie had been recruited by the rising star Gary Numan in 1979 to do a presentation at the Old Grey Whistle Test show with his band Tubeway Army. Numan had been a fan of Ultravox and Currie was also asked to play on Numan's début solo album, The Pleasure Principle, and its subsequent tour. Warren Cann went to work for Zaine Griff, while Chris Cross did some shows with James Honeyman-Scott (of The Pretenders) and Barrie Masters (fromEddie and the Hot Rods).

Please note : This is part of a private sale, I am not a dealer. 

I have collected vinyl for over 45 years and have amassed appx 750 single and 350 albums, between the 60’s and 90’s until cassettes came out.   

I have recently purchased a new stereo that copies vinyl direct to my PC so gradually I will be copying that vinyl that I wish to keep and this whole collection will be put on sale.     I will therefore have played some to check their quality, but in the meantime some will be listed un-played, though I will have checked all for any damage or scratches.      When an item then sells I will confirm the record is of the standard I have described and if not, then would immediately refund your money instead of posting and disappointing.       If anyone though wishes me to check a particular item before bidding then I will do so.

Many of the singles have their middles missing, this is not because they have been on commercial Juke Boxes.  During this period my father worked for Ditchburns, one of the major distributors of Juke Boxes and Fruit Machines, and managed to get me my own 50 selection Juke Box, so they have only ever been on mine.  

Click on "See Other Items" to view all the records I am selling

I found the information below on a vinyl grading site and will use this to grade mine.

Vinyl

Mint   The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality.

Excellent+   The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is no lessening in sound quality. Very minor light surface marks.

Excellent   The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. Light surface marks. 

Very Good   The record has been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality despite noticeable surface marks.