''Visage'' is the debut studio album by the British new wave band Visage. It was recorded at

Genetic Sound Studios Genetic Studios (also known as Genetic Sound) was a recording studio in Streatley, England. History Genetic was established in 1980 by Martin Rushent and Alan Winstanley. The facility was built in a barn at Rushent's home in Streatley. Rushent ...

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

and released in November 1980 by

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

Release

''Visage'' was released in November 1980. It reached No. 13 in the UK and was certified Silver by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...

in March 1981. " Fade to Grey" was released as a single and became a hit, reaching No. 8 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

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.

Reception

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''. In his retrospective review, Dan LeRoy of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

wrote "this is the music that best represents the short-lived but always underrated new romantic movement", calling it "a consistently fine creation".

Track listing

Personnel

; Visage *

Steve Strange Stephen John Harrington (28 May 1959 – 12 February 2015), known professionally as Steve Strange, was a Welsh singer. From the late 1970s he was a nightclub host and promoter. He became famous as the leader of the new wave synth-pop group ...

– lead vocals * Midge Ure – guitar, backing vocals, synthesizers *

John McGeoch John Alexander McGeoch (25 August 1955 – 4 March 2004) was a Scottish musician and songwriter. He is best known as the guitarist of the rock bands Magazine (1977-1980) and Siouxsie and the Banshees (1980-1982). He has been described as one ...

– guitar, backing vocals, saxophone *

Dave Formula Dave Formula (born David Tomlinson 11 August 1946, Whalley Range, Manchester, England), is an English keyboardist and film-soundtrack composer from Manchester, who played with the post-punk bands Magazine and Visage during the end of the 19 ...

– synthesizer *

Billy Currie William Lee Currie (born 1 April 1950Ultravox.org.uk
) is a ...

–

electric violin An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument intentionally made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body. It can also refer to a violin fi ...

, synthesizer *

Rusty Egan Rusty Egan (born 19 September 1957 in London) is the former drummer for the British new wave band Rich Kids. They were founded by former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock (bass guitarist and backing vocals, occasional lead vocals), with Steve New ( ...

– drums, backing vocals,

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 ...

; Additional personnel *

Barry Adamson Barry Adamson (born 11 June 1958)Biography
. Barryadamson.com. is an English pop and rock music ...

– bass guitar (1, 2, 4) * Chris Payne – synthesizer (5) *

Cedric Sharpley Tubeway Army were a London-based new wave band led by lead singer Gary Numan. Formed at the height of punk rock in 1977 the band gradually changed to an electronic sound. They were the first band of the electronic era to have a synthesiser-b ...

– drums, electronic drums programming (5) * Brigitte Arens – voice (5) ; Technical * John Hudson – recording,

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

, mixing * Iain Gillies — sleeve artwork, a blue/grey tinted monochrome original painting, (based on a b/w photograph by Peter Ashworth) *

Peter Ashworth Peter Ashworth is an English photographer. Ashworth initially specialized in music photography, between 1979 and 2000. In the 1980s, he worked with many UK artists including The Smiths, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, Soft Cell, Jimmy Page and The A ...

– original sleeve photography (redrawn for publication) *

Martin Rushent Martin Charles Rushent (11 July 1948 – 4 June 2011) was an English record producer, best known for his work with The Human League, The Stranglers and Buzzcocks. Early life Rushent was born on 11 July 1948 in Enfield, Middlesex. His father ...

- Co Production and mixing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1980 debut albums Albums produced by Midge Ure Polydor Records albums Visage (band) albums