The More You Live, The More You Love

Ultravox played the 013 at Tilburg on 12 October 2012. For someone living halfway between Alkmaar and Amsterdam to drive to Tilburg on a Friday night is asking for troubles. There are traffic jams along the route and although the Garmin told me, when leaving, it would take one hour and thirty-five minutes, just after driving a couple of kilometers the time went up to over 2.5 hours. In the end we arrived in time and were at the venue just a couple of minutes before the start of the concert. Then it turned out that being on the guest list does not mean that you can straight walk in. No, I needed to queue up in front of the pay box. Meanwhile a guy was desperate trying to sell some extra tickets. Since the starting time was coming closer in the end he wanted to give them for free to anyone who want them to have. Nobody reacted so in the end he tore them apart and walkid into the venue. By the time I was checked and finally was able to enter the ha...

It all started to tickle for the members of the most successfull line-up of Ultravox. when they worked on the release of their eighties remasters Vienna, Rage In Eden, Quartet and Lament. Some hadn't spoken with eachother for years. but as they used to say, it worked out well, and in April 2009 Midge Ure, Warren Cann, Billy Currie and Chris Cross toured successful through the UK and played for sold out venues. The result was the live registration Return To Eden which was released in 2010. To promote the release the band did a second tour, which brought them to mainland Europe as well. As a result in 2011 the ep Moments Of Eden was released. From that moment rumours started to circle, the band was in the studio to record their first album together in more than 27 years (I don't count U-vox, since this album was recorded without Warren Cann). Brilliant is the result. A strong twelve tracks long album in the retro wave style, with electric- synth- and computer-pop reverence...

After all Ultravox albums were digital remastered and re-released during 2008 and 2009, now EMI will release The Gift and Answers To Nothing, the first two solo albums, of Midge Ure as remastered definitive editions. Besides the remastering of the original albums both second discs contains a lot of interesting material, which, besides B-sides and the single - and/or extended version of the singles, include unreleased live and work in progress material. Both albums will be released on the 4th October 2010, just before the European tour of Midge Ure. The track list of The Gift is: Disc 1 01. If I Was 02. When The Wind Blows 03. Living In The Past 04. That certain Smile 05. The Gift 06. Antilles 07. Wastelands 08. Edo 09. The Chieftain 10. She Cried 11. The Gift (reprise) Disc 2 01. No Regrets 02. Mood Music 03. If I Was (extended mix) 04. Piano 05. The Man Who Sold The World 06. That Certain Smile (extended mix) 07. The Gift (instrumental) 08. Fade To Grey (live) 09. Wastelands (extended...

Ultravox, 26 April 2010 at the Paradiso in Amsterdan The third time in a year that I saw the "classic line-up" perform. The 2CD and DVD of Return To Eden, the registration of the Return To Eden concert at Camden Roundhouse, which I visited last year April, hadn't been out of my players, after they arrived in early April and the released setlist through the forum of the Ultravox website promised a nice evening of great music. And it turned out to be a great evening. This time the Belgium violist Sonja Haering, known for her contributions on records of André Rieu turned out to be a much better support, than the singer of last year. Her performance was static, but the songs were promissing. At 8:30 Ultravox opened their set with New Europeans, one of the "new" tracks compared to the setlist of last year. It turned out the opening of a very strong concert. Midge Ure's vocals were great, certainly he has grown during the year. Even the high pitches of Vienna and ...

Finally after nearly a year on the fifth of April the long awaited live album Return Of Eden was released by Chrysalis. This stunning album, recorded at the Camden Roundhouse on 30 april 2009, is released in two formats. A 13 track CD only version and a 2CD + DVD version with the complete concert and an extra documentary. The sound is great, clear and well balanced, the setlist, for those who visited the tour last year, well known by now. The atmosphere that evening was very special. It was such a great concert and seeing Ultravox perform, for me, after 25 years again, was so special, that I am very pleased I choose to visted this concert. As I wrote last year in the concert review, it was mainly based on the first two albums Vienna and Rage In Eden of the Currie, Cross, Cann, Ure line-up, filled up with the singles of Quartet and Lament. A good setlist with just one dissonance, mentioned by several reviewers already last year, the song Your Name Has Slipped My Mind Again. The song was...

It took me some time to come up with a review for this concert. It was great to go to London after more than ten years. And during your stay get a change to see one of your favorite bands makes it more special. We arrived in time to have a quick dinner down the road at Fogg. A nice restaurant with a card referring to the travel Phileus Fogg undertook according to Jules Verne’s book Around The World In 80 Days. They’ve got meals from all the continents Philieus Fogg crossed during his trip. You can choose your own courses or decide to take a complete meal. When I entered the Roundhouse I was able to get a last soundbit of the support, Anne-Marie Helder, who sounded dreadful. I was glad I had spent the duration of her performance to some quality time in a nice restaurant. At a quarter after eight the lights dimmed and Ultravox stepped on stage and took off with Astradyne. From that moment the atmosphere was great. Both band and audience were enjoying the gig. Billy Currie was met with gr...

My first visit to London goes back to 1983. Fourth class of Senior General Secondary Education a group of thirty students visited the capital of England with three teachers as part of a study week abroad. We had fun, went to the Punch and Judy, a pub in Covent Garden, to the free museums, to the Tower Bridge and lot of other sightseeing spots in London and bought records at the famous Harrods. It was a great week, first time off without parents and a bunch of schoolfriends with you. I returned to London in 1998 and spent a couple of days in the city with friends from Grimsby. Visited some old places and some new places of course. We had fun again and this time bought CD's at the Virgin Store and several other music stores. After seeing London we then spent some days in Oxford, Nottingham and Grimsby before I turned home again. And now in 2009 at the end of April London will be visited again. This time with a particular reason. After 25 years I will be seeing Ultravox performing liv...