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On this day, 1 August 1980, New wave band Ultravox played Cardiff’s Top Rank.
The band had just released their fourth studio album Vienna on 11 July 1980. The album was the first made by Ultravox with their best-known line-up, after Midge Ure had taken over as lead vocalist and guitarist following the departures of John Foxx and Robin Simon, and it was also the group's first release for Chrysalis.
The release in January 1981 of the title track as the third single from the album heralded the band's commercial breakthrough worldwide and led to healthy sales throughout 1981. Vienna peaked at number 3 in the UK Albums Chart.
Four singles were released from the album. "Sleepwalk" was released as a single in June 1980, and was followed by "Passing Strangers" in October 1980, "Vienna" in January 1981 and "All Stood Still" in May 1981.
Ultravox were then revitalised by Midge Ure, who joined the band as vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist. He had already achieved minor success with semi-glam outfit Slik and Glen Matlock's The Rich Kids, and in 1979, he was temporarily playing with hard rock band Thin Lizzy on their American tour, replacing Gary Moore.
Ure and Billy Currie had met while collaborating on Visage, a studio-based band fronted by New Romantic icon and nightclub impresario Steve Strange. Ure and Currie were part of the Visage ensemble on a part-time basis while simultaneously being in Ultravox. During Ure and Currie's tenure, Visage had released two successful albums and had a string of hit singles (the most notable being "Fade to Grey"), but Ure decided to leave in 1982 to concentrate solely on Ultravox.
