"Curiously, ‘Vienna’ was almost never released as a single. It was the title track of the band’s fourth studio album, released in 1980, where it precedes the much dancier and uptempo floor filler ‘All Stood Still’. The record company, Chrysalis, didn’t want to release ‘Vienna’ as a single. Too long, too slow, too atypical of the Ultravox ‘brand’, one suspects. But Ultravox themselves saw its potential, and they were proved to be right. It very nearly topped the UK charts when it was released in early 1981, and would have given the band their only number one single if it hadn’t been for Joe Dolce’s deathless classic ‘Shaddup You Face’."
It does lend itself to the old Cossack dance! I will always know it from 1981 cos my Dad had a ‘chartbusters’ k-tel type album with it on
Apparently Midge Ure originally wrote "This means tuppence to me! This means tuppence to me!" etc. Their manager thought tuppence was a bit arbitrary, so Ure rewrote it as "This means thruppence to me!" and so on. But they all agreed 'thruppence' was ridiculous; thus did they settle on "This means nothing to me!"
My “Boomerang wont come back”, and “Please Mr Custer” by Charlie Drake, “Don’t jump off the roof Dad” Tommy Cooper, their masterpieces, why aren’t there more comedy records made these days ?
Communist Italians as if?? Never knew Midge Yuuurgh was in Bay City Rollers? Shangalang. Apparentley Midge claimed to have wrote "Fade to Grey" and Steve Strange one pinched it. I still fancy the Belgian girl in the video though!
Apart from being able to picture Cossack dancing for the "Hey!" part, otherwise when I try to remember the song it seems to morph into Harry Enfield doing Stavros. If I try harder, rather than Joe Dolce, I get Enfield and Whitehouse doing Smashey and Nicey. Which I think illustrates perfectly the problem with the identity parade.
Also: who actually bought it? Not fans of Chico Marx, for sure. I suppose Joe Dolce made a respectable packet anyhow. Probably bought himself a new pushcart.
Gino D'Acampo received a two-year prison sentence in 1998 for burgling the home of the singer Paul Young. He was convicted of breaking into Young's North London house and stealing items including a £4,000 collection of guitars and a platinum record. The cheeky little monkey.
Given that Paul Young thought that anywhere he laid his hat was his home, he's got a bit of a brass neck snitching on someone else for making free with his personal space and property. Fucking hypocrite.
