John Foxx

John Foxx is a mysterious and elegant figure in England's rock history. There are some details about him that have slipped through about his time as the lead singer of Ultravox! and as a solo artist. He appeared on three LPs in the 1970s and four in the 1980s, followed by a turn-of-the-century comeback which surprised his fans and followers of electronic music. He let it be known, in the liner notes the he wrote which accompany the Assembly compilation CD, released on Virgin Records, that The Shadows were an influence as well The Swimmer, Dada and Europop.

Ultravox!

During this time, of post-Psychedlic Underground, post-Hippie peace signs, and post-Ziggy Stardust Glam, this time of in-between, there was Pub Rock going on at one extreme and Gary Glitter camp at the other. At times, Foxx has remembered these scenes had nice atmospheres and at other times he's said that he remembers them as awful, London being, initially, rather a disappointment for such typically high expectations of a recent transplant. When looked at, objectively, it's likely that these are natural continuations of the tradition that English Music Hall came from. Either way, there was a desire for the something else besides these among lots of the youths roaming around, getting into trouble and forming bands.

Related Topics:
Hippie - Ziggy Stardust - Pub Rock - Gary Glitter - English Music Hall

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Punk came into its own as people in New York, London and soon other cities around the world turned boredom and apathy into action. During its formative years, it was important that no one imitate anyone else. In an interview with the BBC, Foxx later admitted he'd had an opportunity to join an early version of what became The Clash, as the vocalist, when they were still the pre-Joe Strummer ever-revolving band called London SS, an interesting name considering The Clash became associated with a kind of Marxist stance. Either way, the London SS also included future members of PiL and The Damned.

Related Topics:
Punk - New York - BBC - The Clash - Joe Strummer - London SS - Marxist - PiL - The Damned

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Jon Savage, in his book England's Dreaming, wrote that Ultravox! is included in the history of punk rock only because of Foxx's enthusiasm for it. Despite Savage giving them only about 1 sentence in his lengthy book, Ultravox! were there at the beginning of punk, one of its originators, in fact. They were experimenters and punk became a regimented affair.

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Eventually, after several names including Fire Of London, The Zips and even The Damned, Tiger Lily transformed into Ultravox!, a tangentially Punk/Glam/Electronic Rock band. Other labels that have been applied are Robot Rock and Art Rock. Its influences were apparent from the start, like Roxy Music, The New York Dolls, David Bowie, Mott The Hoople, some Velvet Underground and some Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd. As one of their earlier names, London Soundtrack, implies, they absorbed everything around them, including Disco, Reggae and Prog musics in their earliest songs, some of which made it on their first self-titled record. With just the slightest traces of the androgynous early 70s and the punk take on fetish and like Prince in the early eighties, they appeared on stage and in photographs wearing dog collars, mascara, plastic macs, high-heeled boots and self-administered haircuts. The overall effect was slightly unsettling, a little bit in the past, the present and the future.

Related Topics:
Punk - Glam - Electronic - Rock - Art Rock - Roxy Music - The New York Dolls - David Bowie - Mott The Hoople - Velvet Underground - Syd Barrett - Pink Floyd - Disco - Reggae - Prog - Androgynous - Fetish - Prince - Mascara - Mac

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There were elements that set them apart from their contemporaries, not the least of which were Foxx's lyrics and vocal delivery and Billy Currie's violin and keyboard playing.

Related Topics:
Billy Currie - Violin - Keyboard

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Currie, originally from Yorkshire, brought with him both Classical and Improvisational backgrounds. Ritual Theatre consisted of four musicians and four dancers. Included among the musicians were Currie and Henry Cow's Lindsay Cooper. One of the performers was named Ed Francis, later of Eddi & Sunshine and Gloria Mundi. After R.T.'s demise, Francis persuaded Currie to move back down to London, because of Tiger Lily, for whom he'd been appearing with, performing Pantomime as he'd done earlier with Ritual Theatre.

Related Topics:
Yorkshire - Classical - Improvisational - Henry Cow - Lindsay Cooper - Pantomime

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The Foxx-era of this band lasted six years. Signed to Island Records, they made three very interesting and exciting LPs, released in 1977 and 1978. The first Ultravox! single, Dangerous Rhythm/My Sex, was released 19 January 1977. Album and single were credited as produced by Ultravox!, Brian Eno and Steve Lillywhite.

Related Topics:
Island Records - 1977 - 1978 - First - 19 January - Brian Eno

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On the back cover of his diary, 1995, there's a long list of things Eno calls himself and one of them is a drifting clarifier, something he was first for Ultravox!. He's best known for this role in relation to Devo, Talking Heads and finally, with real financial rewards, to U2.

Related Topics:
Devo - Talking Heads - U2

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In 1977, Ultravox! released two LPs, the self-titled Ultravox! and Ha!-Ha!-Ha!.

Related Topics:
Ultravox! - Ha!-Ha!-Ha!

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