I have said it before and I'll say it again. I love Ultravox! Probably my favourite band, but then there's Throbbing Gristle, Alternative TV and Column One all vying for that position. Back in 1976 my (older) sister went to see Ultravox! play at Lincoln Technical College. She came home professing she'd seen the best band in the world ... and an A0 poster for the gig with a picture of the first LP cover. Not long after "Ha! Ha! Ha!" came out, I bought it and was hooked ...
It was sad to read about the passing of Chris Cross, the bass player of Ultravox! I only saw them live once. Lincoln AJ's, September 1978. Its was a magickal time when The Stranglers, The Skids, Ultravox!, 999 and Razor (the Australian punk band) all played live in Lincoln within days of each other. Ultravox! was the most exciting though, by September 1978 and the release of their third album "Systems Of Romance" they were my band. I had become a regular at AJ's. Although only 14 years old. I used to hang around, early doors and when the band arrived I would offer to help unload the van, carry the equipment up the three flights of stairs etc, then just hide away in the dark recesses during the set up + soundcheck. Great fun, free entry to bands like Cyanide, The Lurkers, The Rich Kids, UK Subs and Slits. Ultravox! was no different, I carried Robin Simon's guitar cases up those stairs. After the gig I managed to get in to the (small) dressing room for a chat and Chris Cross offered me a bottle of Holsten Pils. I took it then asked where the bottle opener was and Chris just took it from me, smashed the bottle top against the corner of a table and Voila! an open bottle of Holsten Pils. My hero! We chatted, I can't remember about what ... but we chatted. My memories of Chris Cross. He was probably thinking ... why is this spotty 14 year old kid in our dressing room? The only other time I'd been in the AJ's dressing room was to see Jenny Darren after her gig there.
I lost interest in all things Ultravox! when they dropped the ! and Midge Ure replaced John Foxx. The first single "Sleepwalking" was such a disappointment. Everybody knows what kind of followed. There's a good interview with Ultravox here : https://www.electronicsound.co.uk/features/long-reads/ultravox-ooohhh-vienna/?mc_cid=5a87d6fa3f&mc_eid=82c4a9c535
Safe passing Chris ...
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