Ultravox: Richard Evans's authorised biography is out via Omnibus Press

“Looking Backwards Towards the Future: The Story of Ultravox”, the first authorised biography of the band, was published on 8 October by Omnibus Press, according to OndaRock. It is written by Richard Evans, with a foreword by Moby. The 400-page hardback draws on research done with the direct involvement of the main band members, their collaborators, record labels and management. Evans previously wrote “Listening to the Music the Machines Make: Inventing Electronic Pop 1978-1983”.

The story starts in London in 1974, when the group were called Tiger Lily, before becoming Ultravox! under John Foxx. The early years brought experimental art-rock, then a sound in which guitars, synthesizers and post-punk influences sit together. Producers the band worked with include Brian Eno, Steve Lillywhite and Conny Plank. The book gives particular attention to the 1978 album “Systems Of Romance”, made with Plank.

Midge Ure replaced Foxx in 1979. A year later “Vienna” reached number two in the UK chart, and between 1980 and 1986 the band had seven Top 10 albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in Britain. According to Evans, everyone carried equal weight in the new line-up, unlike the Foxx era, which he describes as essentially Foxx's project. He also says the band preferred the term “Futurists” to the new romantic label.

Speaking to the site Side-Line, Evans said Ultravox were too rock for electronic purists and too electronic for the rock audience. He added that none of the musicians asked to read the manuscript.

Ultravox are a British new wave and synth-pop band formed in London in 1973. Their newest of 11 studio albums is “Brilliant”, released in 2012.