"Underpass" is a song by UK artist

John Foxx John Foxx (born Dennis Leigh; 26 September 1948) is an English singer, musician, artist, photographer, graphic designer, writer, teacher and lecturer. He was the original lead singer of the new wave band Ultravox, before leaving to embark on a ...

, and was released as a single in January 1980. It was the artist's first solo single release after leaving the band

Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...

and the first single release from the ''

Metamatic ''Metamatic'' is the debut solo album by John Foxx, released in 1980. It was his first solo project following his split with Ultravox the previous year. A departure from the mix of synthesizers and conventional rock instrumentation on that ban ...

'' album, which was released shortly after. The song typically features music made using

synthesisers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

and

electronic percussion Electronic drums is a modern electronic musical instrument, primarily designed to serve as an alternative to an acoustic drum kit. Electronic drums consist of an electronic sound module which produces the synthesized or sampled percussion sound ...

only, and the vocal in the verses is delivered in a cold robotic style by Foxx, with an anthemic single word chorus. The lyrics feature

Ballardian James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist, short story writer, satirist, and essayist known for provocative works of fiction which explored the relations between human psychology, technology, sex, and mass med ...

themes such as memory, architecture,

dystopia A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

and cars. There are no great differences in length or content between the album and single version, although an extended version did emerge years later and was used as the opening track on the ''

Metatronic ''Metatronic'' is a retrospective compilation of recorded audio and visual material by British musician and recording artist John Foxx. It was released in 2010 by Edsel Records to mark the 30th anniversary of Foxx's debut solo album ''Metamatic'' ...

'' compilation album in 2010. The single reached no. 31 in the UK charts and was performed by Foxx with three keyboard players on UK music show ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

''. A promotional video for the song was also made. "Underpass" is featured on all John Foxx's compilation albums ''Assembly'' (1982), ''Modern Art - The Best of John Foxx'' (2001), ''Glimmer - Best of John Foxx'' (2008) and ''

'' (2010). The latter features the extended version and a new remix by

Mark Reeder Mark Reeder (born 5 January 1958) is a British musician and record producer. He grew up in Manchester, England. At a young age, Reeder became interested in progressive rock and especially early electronic music. In his teens, he worked in a sma ...

Single release track listings

7" single disc VS-318 # "Underpass" # "Film One"

Film One

The B side of the "Underpass" single is given as "Film 1" on the sleeve but as "Film One" on the label. The track did not feature on the ''

'' album but was included on later CD re-releases of the album in 1993 (track 12), 2001 (track 11) and 2010 (disc 2, track 1). It is an instrumental and was used by

Alex Proyas Alexander Proyas (; Greek: Αλέξανδρος Πρόγιας; born 23 September 1963) is an Australian filmmaker of Greek descent. Proyas is best known for directing the films ''The Crow'' (1994), '' Dark City'' (1998), ''I, Robot'' (2004), ' ...

as the soundtrack to his short film ''Parallel Lives'' featured during a live performance of

John Foxx And The Maths John Foxx and the Maths is a musical project featuring electronic music pioneer John Foxx, Benge and more recently Hannah Peel. The group specialises in the use of analogue synthesizers and drum machines. It was initially a studio based proj ...

The Roundhouse The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue situated at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhouse, ...

in London in 2010. "Film One" was also used as introduction music during the live performance of "

" performed by John Foxx and Louis Gordon in 2007, as documented on the live album ''A New Kind Of Man'' (2008).

12-inch promo

A 12-inch only promo disc for "Underpass" was also produced with cat no. VDJ 31. The version of "Underpass" is a standard 3:46 edit, although the B side was the

track "He's A Liquid", although a different mix from the album version. This version resurfaced much later on the 2001 compilation album

Modern Art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...

and on the 2007 "definitive" re-issue of

, listed as an "alternative version".

Overpass

Foxx repurposed and re-styled the song during his live shows with Louis Gordon in 1997 giving it the new title of "Overpass". The song takes the lyric of the original verses although the single word "underpass!" in the chorus is replaced by "overpass!". The track can be heard on the live EP ''Exotour'' (1997), also released on CD as ''The Omnidelic Exotour'' and ''Retro Future'' (2007, recorded live in Shrewsbury, 1998). In the sleevnotes to ''The Omnidelic Exotour'' CD, Foxx writes for "Overpass": "This was the original title. How I felt when I came back from the war." Foxx and Gordon later reverted to playing the "standard" version of "Underpass" live, as documented on ''Live from a Room (As Big as a City)'' (2006).

Remixes

Mark Reeder

The track was remixed by Mark Reeder as a bonus track on the John Foxx retrospective ''

'' compilation album. Three different remixes were issued as mp3 download only # Underpass (Mark Reeder's Sinister Subway Radio Remix) (4:07) # Underpass (Mark Reeder's Sinister Subway Remix) (6:24) # Underpass (Mark Reeder's Dark, Long And Sinister Remix) (10:05) The remixes feature additional bass guitar played by Reeder himself. "Underpass (Mark Reeder's Sinister Subway Remix Edit)" (4:08) was issued on Reeder's 2011 5.1

Dolby Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (often shortened to Dolby Labs and known simply as Dolby) is an American company specializing in audio noise reduction, audio encoding/compression, spatial audio, and HDR imaging. Dolby licenses its technologies to ...

Digital Surround remix DVD

2013 vinyl issue

A special limited-edition 12-inch vinyl-only issue featuring two new remixes of "Underpass" was announced for released on

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

, 20 April 2013. The release was, however, delayed and was eventually released on 27 May 2013. This special 12-inch single is limited to 500 numbered copies worldwide, and features new artwork created by

Jonathan Barnbrook Jonathan Barnbrook (born 1966), is a British graphic designer, film maker and typographer. He trained at Saint Martin's School of Art and at the Royal College of Art, both in London. Work Barnbrook designed the cover artwork of David Bowie's ...

. :Side A. "Underpass (_Unsubscribe_ Remake Mix)" (by Dave Clarke and Mr Jones) :Side AA. "Underpass (Oh the Gilt Mix)" (by John Tatlock and John Doran) The "Oh the Gilt Mix" was played for the first time by John Doran on the

BBC 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

programme ''Now Playing'' in September 2012. Doran described the tracks as being "Like

J G Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist, short story writer, satirist, and essayist known for provocative works of fiction which explored the relations between human psychology, technology, sex, and mass medi ...

with a disco ball". The remix was featured in ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quiet ...

'' in April 2013 and published on ''The Quietus

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

page. there were no plans to make the two mixes of "Underpass" featured on this release available elsewhere, except on the CD which was included as part of the VIP Packages for

John Foxx and the Maths John Foxx and the Maths is a musical project featuring electronic music pioneer John Foxx, Benge and more recently Hannah Peel. The group specialises in the use of analogue synthesizers and drum machines. It was initially a studio based proj ...

live shows in April, May and June 2013.

Promo video

A promotional video for "Underpass" was produced by Virgin at the time of the single release. It featured Foxx dressed in suit, tie and overcoat roaming a post-apocalyptic basement with neon light tubes, two keyboard players and two abandoned young children while a black and white film is being projected onto a suspended screen. The film of Foxx roaming the basement miming the lyrics to the song is interspersed with a mysterious telephone receiver dangling in a park and footage of underpasses, overpasses and urban highways. A revised 'black and white' version of the video was included on the DVD of the ''

'' compilation album (2010). A revised version was also made by Karborn for the same DVD to accompany "Mark Reeder’s Sinister Subway Mix". This digitally restored version also contains footage from the promo video for the successive John Foxx single " No-One Driving" (1980). A live version of "Underpass" performed by

is included on the ''Analogue Circuit'' DVD (2013) and shows specially prepared video footage and imagery by

References

Sources and further reading

Metamatic
- the official John Foxx website (discography section)
Underpass at discogs.comMetamatic album at discogs.com John Foxx Metamatic official youtube channel
{{Authority control 1980 debut singles John Foxx songs 1980 songs Songs written by John Foxx Virgin Records singles