Visage
Biography
In the smoke-filled clubs of London's late-'70s nightlife, where Bowie disciples rubbed shoulders with punk provocateurs and the New Romantic movement was gestating in a haze of mascara and synthesizers, Visage emerged as the ultimate expression of style over substance – except they had both in spades. This was art-pop as high fashion, electronic music as performance art, and Steve Strange as the most compelling frontman you'd never quite seen before.
The band's genesis reads like a fever dream of post-punk possibility. Steve Strange, born Steven Harrington in Wales, had already established himself as the gatekeeper of London's Blitz club, where his door policy was legendarily arbitrary and his commitment to theatrical excess absolute. It was here, in 1978, that he connected with synthesizer wizard Billy Currie from Ultravox and drummer Rusty Egan, forming the nucleus of what would become Visage. The lineup would eventually expand to include Midge Ure (also of Ultravox), Magazine guitarist John McGeoch, and bassist Barry Adamson, creating a supergroup of sorts from the underground's most restless talents.
Visage's sound was a calculated collision of Kraftwerk's mechanical precision, Roxy Music's art-school sophistication, and the raw urgency of punk. They wielded synthesizers like weapons, crafting icy soundscapes that perfectly complemented Strange's theatrical vocals and the band's obsession with visual presentation. This wasn't just music; it was a complete aesthetic philosophy that treated the recording studio like a fashion shoot and every performance like a piece of conceptual art.
Their 1980 self-titled debut album landed like a manifesto from the future, but it was the single "Fade to Grey" that truly announced their arrival. The track's hypnotic bassline, ghostly synthesizer washes, and Strange's detached vocal delivery created something genuinely otherworldly. When the song climbed to number eight on the UK charts, it felt like vindication for everyone who believed that pop music could be both commercially successful and artistically uncompromising. The accompanying video, featuring Strange in various states of androgynous glamour, became an MTV staple and helped define the visual language of the early '80s.
The band's second album, "The Anvil" (1982), pushed their sound into even more experimental territory, incorporating elements of industrial music and world rhythms. Tracks like "Night Train" and "Pleasure Boys" showcased a band confident enough in their vision to risk alienating casual fans in pursuit of artistic growth. Unfortunately, this artistic ambition coincided with internal tensions that would ultimately fracture the group.
By 1983, the various members' commitments to other projects had made Visage increasingly difficult to sustain. Ure's success with Ultravox, McGeoch's work with Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Strange's own struggles with substance abuse created a perfect storm of creative and personal conflicts. The band effectively disbanded, leaving behind a relatively small but incredibly influential catalog.
Visage's impact on popular culture extended far beyond their chart positions. They were pioneers of the music video as art form, understanding before most that the visual component of pop music would become as important as the sonic. Their influence can be traced through decades of electronic music, from the synth-pop explosion of the mid-'80s to the industrial dance music of the '90s and beyond. Artists as diverse as Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, and Lady Gaga owe something to Visage's fearless synthesis of technology and theatricality.
Strange continued to perform under the Visage name sporadically over the years, releasing new material and touring with various lineups. The band's legacy was cemented by numerous compilation albums and the enduring popularity of "Fade to Grey," which continued to find new audiences through film soundtracks and television advertisements.
When Strange passed away in 2015, the tributes poured in from across the musical spectrum, testament to Visage's lasting influence on multiple generations of artists. They had proven that electronic music could be both emotionally resonant and intellectually challenging, that style and substance weren't mutually exclusive, and that the future of pop music lay in the fearless embrace of technology as a creative tool.
In the end, Visage represented something precious and rare: a band that refused to compromise their vision for commercial success, yet somehow achieved both.
