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Visage (Visage album)

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Visage
Studio album by
Visage
Released14 November 1980[1]
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

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.[3][4] "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.[5]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Robert ChristgauB−[7]
Smash Hits5/10[8]

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.[9]

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".[6]

Track listing

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 [10]

Personnel

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

Certifications

Certifications for Visage
Region Certification Certified units/sales
France (SNEP)[20] Gold 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[21] Gold 250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[22] Silver 60,000^

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

References

  1. ^ "New Musical Express, 15 November 1980, Page 34".
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "Visage | Artist | Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  4. ^ "Certified Awards". BPI. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  5. ^ "Visage / Visage".
  6. ^ a b LeRoy, Dan. "Visage – Visage | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  7. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Visage". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  8. ^ Hillier, Beverly (11–24 December 1980). "Albums". Smash Hits: 33.
  9. ^ Krehbiel, Aaron (September 1984). "Visage". Digital Audio. 1 (1): 80. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  10. ^ "None". Discogs.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Visage – Visage" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  13. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Visage – Visage" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  14. ^ "Charts.nz – Visage – Visage". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  15. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Visage – Visage". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  16. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  17. ^ "Visage | Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1981" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ "French album certifications – Visage – Visage" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 17 November 2021. Select VISAGE and click OK. 
  21. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Visage; 'Visage')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  22. ^ "British album certifications – Visage – Visage". British Phonographic Industry. 4 March 1981. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
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