The singer formulated what became the song’s chorus line, then wrote the rest of the song around it with his bandmates. In truth, the song originated from an episode where an acquaintance of Ure’s misremembered the title of the Fleetwood Mac song “Rhiannon”. Cataloging the track as Ultravox’s descent into “full-blown Teutonica”, Reynolds described “Vienna” as “inspired by a vague notion of a past-its-prime Hapsburg Empire sliding into decadence.”Įxcept the song isn’t about that at all. Simon Reynolds picked up on this thread in his book Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984, where he cited “Vienna” as an example of an undercurrent of Eastern European imagery that dominated the New Romantic movement in the early 1980s. Upon the single’s release, the members of Ultravox played up the Teutonic, Old World associations of “Vienna” in the music press by discussing topics related to the Austrian city at end of the 19th century, particularly the Vienna Secession art movement and its president, Gustav Klimt. The words do not explicitly state what the song is about, for the lyrics are concerned with conveying the feeling through word choice and phrasing rather than explaining what exactly the narrator is ruminating about. The beautifully-realized atmosphere of “Vienna” is crafted in part by lyrics that suggest emotions instead of outlining hard details. This does not just apply to execution of the music. The song’s restraint of composition is its strength, keeping its more sensational moments from coming off as overblown melodrama. “Vienna” excels at creating a mood suggestive of reflection, despair, and longing. Oddly enough, it was kept from the top slot first by a pair of singles by then-recently slain ex-Beatle John Lennon, then by Joe Dolce’s novelty hit “Shaddup You Face”.Īlthough it never reached the top of the charts, “Vienna” is nonetheless Ultravox’s greatest triumph. Released in January 1981, “Vienna” hovered at number two on the UK Singles Chart in the early part of the year. In fact, the song was so strong that Ultravox’s record label, Chrysalis, changed the band’s fourth album title name to Vienna from the less straightforward Torque Point. “Vienna” proved Ultravox was ready for another shot. Not long before the song was recorded, original frontman John Foxx had departed the group, and his replacement, Midge Ure, arrived in the middle of a group whose chance at stardom was widely considered to be long past. At the dawn of the 1980s, the group was in a precarious situation. The single “Vienna” was an affirmation for struggling synthpop pioneers Ultravox.
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