"Visions in Blue" is

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 ...

's third single from the '' Quartet'' album, recorded in

Air Studios Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producer Sir George Martin and his business partner John Burgess, after their departure from Parlophone. The studio complex was founded ...

, Montserrat and released on Chrysalis Records on 11 March 1983. The single peaked at #15 in the UK charts on 26 March.Betts, Graham (2006). ''Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2006'', HarperCollins. A video was produced, but was banned by the BBC and MTV due to brief nudity; an edited version was later provided for broadcast on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British 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. For most o ...

''. The track also appears in live form on the CD version of Ultravox's 1983 in-concert album, ''

Monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

''. The 12" version of "Visions in Blue" also contains an edited version of the same ''Monument'' performance of "

Reap the Wild Wind ''Reap the Wild Wind'' is a 1942 American adventure film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Ray Milland, John Wayne, and Paulette Goddard, with a supporting cast featuring Raymond Massey, Robert Preston, Lynne Overman, Sus ...

Critical reception

David Hepworth of '' Smash Hits'' reviewed the song negatively, saying it "sounded awfully dirge-like."

Track listing

7" version

# "Visions in Blue" ingle edit– 4:13 # "Break Your Back" – 3:31

12" version

# "Visions in Blue" - 4:38 # "

(live 6 Dec 82 at

Hammersmith Odeon The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ha ...

) " – 3:53 # "Break Your Back" – 3:31

Covers

The track has been covered by UK ebm/synthpop act Stok:holm and appears on their 2013 album City Lights.

References

1983 singles Ultravox songs Songs written by Midge Ure Songs written by Chris Cross Songs written by Billy Currie Songs written by Warren Cann Song recordings produced by George Martin 1982 songs Chrysalis Records singles {{1980s-single-stub