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Visage (Visage album)

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Visage
Visage cover by Iain Gillies
Studio album by
Visage
ReleasedNovember 1980 (1980-11)
Recorded1979–1980
StudioGenetic Studios, Reading, Berkshire, England
Genre
Length38:27
LabelPolydor
ProducerVisage, Martin Rushent
Visage chronology
Visage
(1980) 		Visage EP
(1981)
Singles from Visage
  1. "Tar"
    Released: 2 November 1979
  2. "Fade to Grey"
    Released: 14 November 1980
  3. "Mind of a Toy"
    Released: 6 March 1981
  4. "Visage"
    Released: 3 July 1981

Visage is the debut studio album by the British synth-pop band Visage. It was recorded at Genetic Sound Studios in Reading, Berkshire and released in November 1980 by Polydor Records.

Release

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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.[2][3] "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.[4]

The song "Tar" was released on 2 November 1979.[5] 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".[6] 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 A newer version of the song appeared on Visage's eponymous debut album released in 1980.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,[7] 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.

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Robert ChristgauB−[9]
Smash Hits5/10[10]

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.[11]

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".[8]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Visage (Billy Currie, Rusty Egan, Dave Formula, John McGeoch, Steve Strange and Midge Ure), except where noted.

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Visage" 3:53
2."Blocks on Blocks" 4:00
3."The Dancer"Egan, Ure3:40
4."Tar"Barry Adamson, Currie, Egan, Formula, McGeoch, Strange, Ure3:32
5."Fade to Grey"Currie, Chris Payne, Ure4:02
Side B
No.TitleLength
6."Malpaso Man"4:14
7."Mind of a Toy"4:28
8."Moon Over Moscow"4:00
9."Visa-age"4:20
10."The Steps"3:14
CD reissue bonus track
No.TitleLength
11."Fade to Grey (Dance Mix)"6:41
Rubellan Remasters 2018 Expanded Edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."We Move"4.00
12."Fade to Grey (Dance Mix)"6.43
13."Mind of a Toy (Dance Mix)"5.15
14."Visage (Dance Mix)"6.03
15."We Move (Dance Mix)"6.29
16."Frequency 7 (Dance Mix)"5.03
17."Second Steps"5.27 [12]

Personnel

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Visage
Additional personnel
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

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for Visage
Region Certification Certified units/sales
France (SNEP)[22] Gold 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[23] Gold 250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[24] Silver 60,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Evans, Richard (6 August 2024). "1980.2". Listening to the Music the Machines Make: Inventing Electronic Pop 1978-1983. Omnibus Press. p. 212. ISBN 978-1-915841-45-2.
  2. ^ "Visage | Artist | Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  3. ^ "Certified Awards". BPI. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  4. ^ "Visage / Visage".
  5. ^ "News" (PDF). Music Week. 3 November 1979. p. 3. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  6. ^ Strange, Steve (2002). Blitzed! The Autobiography of Steve Strange. London: Orion Publishing Group. p. 65. ISBN 0-75284-936-0.
  7. ^ "VISAGE RUSTY EGAN INTERVIEW". www.electricity-club.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  8. ^ a b LeRoy, Dan. "Visage – Visage | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  9. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Visage". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  10. ^ Hillier, Beverly (11–24 December 1980). "Albums". Smash Hits: 33.
  11. ^ Krehbiel, Aaron (September 1984). "Visage". Digital Audio. 1 (1): 80. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  12. ^ "None". Discogs.
  13. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 330. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Visage – Visage" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  15. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Visage – Visage" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  16. ^ "Charts.nz – Visage – Visage". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  17. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Visage – Visage". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  19. ^ "Visage | Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  20. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1981" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  21. ^ Scaping, Peter, ed. (1982). "The Top 200 LPs: January–December 1981". BPI Year Book 1982 (5th ed.). London: British Phonographic Industry. pp. 50–53. ISBN 0-906154-03-0.
  22. ^ "French album certifications – Visage – Visage" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 17 November 2021. Select VISAGE and click OK. 
  23. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Visage; 'Visage')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  24. ^ "British album certifications – Visage – Visage". British Phonographic Industry. 4 March 1981. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
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