Ultravox / Buffalo 1979 / 1CDR

ULTRAVOX in 1979 was in a countdown to collapse towards the biggest turning point. Introducing a powerful soundboard album that lets you enjoy the final stages of John Foxx.
The record in this work is “March 4, 1979 Buffalo Performance”. That soundboard recording. Speaking of 1979, the change from John to Midge Ure was a big turning point for both parties. For that reason, the meaning changes completely depending on the time, so let’s take a closer look at the schedule at that time.

● 1978
・ January 20-March 12: Europe # 1 (30 performances)
《Steve Sears → Robin Simon Change》
・ April 11-13: UK (3 performances)
・ August 19-September 2: Europe # 2a (7 performances)
<< September 8 “SYSTEMS OF ROMANCE” released >>
・ September 12-December 26: Europe # 2b (37 performances)
《December 31st: Dropped from Island label》
● 1979
・ January 5: San Francisco (2 performances)
・ February 23-March 14: North America # 1 (10 performances) ← ★ Coco ★
《Dissolution → Join Midge Ure》
・ November 2: Liverpool performance
・ November 19th-December 30th: North America # 2 (5 performances)

This is ULTRAVOX in 1978/1979. Since the number of performances varies depending on the material, please do not believe the details, but I think you can understand the general flow. The guitarist changed from Steve Sears to Robin Simon, and the band name or “!” Was removed, and they released “SYSTEMS OF ROMANCE” in the fall of 1978. Sales were also higher than the previous two, but they still didn’t meet the expectations of the Island label they belong to, and they were dismissed at the end of the year. The following day, at the beginning of 1979, a mini tour “North America # 1” was held at his own expense, but after that, it was dissolved. With that as an opportunity, John will go solo, and ULTRAVOX will restart with Midge. The Buffalo performance of this work is just before such a turning point. It was a concert in the middle of “North America # 1”.
This work recorded at such a show is an ultra-tight extra-thick sound board. Even if you say “sound board” in a bite, there are many different personalities, but this work is a close-knit system in which John’s vocals and playing sounds strongly dominate the whole story. You can hear cheers between songs, but it’s too far away and you can’t expect a concert experience. Of course, that’s not bad. The reality of the live performance is pushed to the front instead of the mood production, and the feeling of synchronization that the stage is built in the brain is amazing. Since the master freshness is unknown and there is a slight amount of hiss, I missed the permanent storage press, but the overwhelming direct is unmatched.
The thick sound is drawn on the stage that should be called the total settlement of accounts during the John Foxx era. If you have noticed this article, you may know the FM sound board of the Boston performance the day before, but this work is much longer. Let’s organize the set while comparing here.

● ULTRAVOX
・ Ultravox! : Slip Away (★) / My Sex
・ HA! HA! HA! : The Man Who Dies Every Day (★) / Hiroshima Mon Amour / Artificial Life / ROckWrok
・ Systems of Romance: Slow Motion / Just For A Moment / Quiet Men / I Can’t Stay Long (★) / Someone Else’s Clothes (★) / Blue Light
● Others
・ Metal beat: Touch And Go / He ’s A Liquid
・ Unreleased song: Radio Beach (★)
* Note: “★” marks are songs that cannot be heard on the FM sound board of the Boston performance.

…… And it looks like this. Based on the 6 songs from the new work “SYSTEMS OF ROMANCE”, the repertoire of 3 pieces from the John era is concentrated and reduced. However, not only that, “Touch And Go (Mr. X)”, “He’s A Liquid” and “Radio Beach” that will be recorded in John’s “METAMATIC” are also interwoven. In particular, “Radio Beach” is an unreleased song that has not been released as ULTRAVOX or John’s solo. You can enjoy the extremely rare songs that have been confirmed only on this day in the live performance itself on the sound board. The historical value of this one take alone is enormous.
In the spring of 1979, it was so creative that it produced new songs one after another, but it was in a countdown state until the dissolution. You can enjoy such historical live performances and extremely rare unreleased songs on a thick sound board. That is the decisive board that I would like you to collect alongside “SYSTEMS OF ROMANCE”. Please experience it to your heart’s content.

★ Soundboard recording of “March 4, 1979 Buffalo Performance” at the end of the John Foxx era. It is a close-knit sound board where John’s vocals and playing sound dominate the whole volume, and although you can not expect the experience of the concert, it is a type with a strong sense of synchronization with the live performance. You can enjoy a show that concentrates and reduces the initial three masterpieces and mixes “Touch And Go (Mr. X)” and “He’s A Liquid” that will be recorded in “METAMATIC”. The unreleased song “Radio Beach” only for this day is a historic super treasure.