Visage (Visage album)

Visage was released in November 1980. It reached No. 13 in the UK and was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry in March 1981.^[3][4] "Fade to Grey" was released as a single and became a hit, reaching No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart and Top 10 positions in Europe, including No. 1 in Germany and Switzerland. Further singles, "Mind of a Toy" and the title track "Visage" were also UK Top 30 hits. The album was reissued as an expanded CD edition remastered from the original master tapes by Rubellan Remasters in the US in 2018.^[5]

The song "Tar" was released on 2 November 1979.^[6] It was the band's sole release on Radar Records in November 1979, before they signed to Polydor Records the following year. The song's lyrics are centred on the habit of smoking cigarettes. As Steve Strange put it in his autobiography, the song is about "the pleasure and pain of nicotine".^[7] The B-side to the single is "Frequency 7", a rapid synthesizer composition with vocoder vocals. (An extended, instrumental "Dance Mix" of the song was released on the "Mind of a Toy" single in 1981. Both versions were re-released by the band in 2013). "Tar" was not a chart hit, and Radar's distribution deal collapsed shortly after the single was released. A newer version of the song appeared on Visage's eponymous debut album released in 1980. The "Tar" single is the only Visage release featuring bassist Barry Adamson as a member of the band,^[8] receiving composing credits for both songs. He played a smaller role as a session musician in all subsequent releases. No music video was produced for the track.

More information Review scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
Robert Christgau	B−[10]
Smash Hits	5/10[11]

Close

Aaron Krehbie of Digital Audio commented that "Moon over Moscow" and "Blocks on Blocks" are "perfect examples of Visage at its best". However, Krehbie also opined that the album was not "the group's best effort", preferring the group's next album, The Anvil.^[12]

In his retrospective review, Dan LeRoy of AllMusic wrote "this is the music that best represents the short-lived but always underrated new romantic movement", calling it "a consistently fine creation".^[9]

Visage

• Steve Strange – lead vocals
• Midge Ure – guitar, backing vocals, synthesizers
• John McGeoch – guitar, backing vocals, saxophone
• Dave Formula – synthesizer
• Billy Currie – electric violin, synthesizer
• Rusty Egan – drums, backing vocals, electronic percussion

Additional personnel

• Barry Adamson – bass guitar (1, 2, 4)
• Chris Payne – synthesizer (5)
• Cedric Sharpley – drums, drum programming (5)
• Brigitte Arendt – voice (5)

Technical

• John Hudson – recording, engineering, mixing
• Iain Gillies — sleeve artwork, a blue/grey tinted monochrome original painting, (based on a b/w photograph by Peter Ashworth)
• Peter Ashworth – original sleeve photography (redrawn for publication)
• Martin Rushent – co-production and mixing