* En anglais uniquement
Pioneers of the New Romantic movement, the synth pop group
Visage emerged in 1978 from the London club Blitz, a neo-glam nightspot which stood in stark contrast to the prevailing punk mentality of the time. Spearheading Blitz's ultra-chic clientele were
Steve Strange, a former member of the punk band the Moors Murderers, and DJ
Rusty Egan, onetime drummer with
the Rich Kids; seeking to record music of their own to fit in with the club's regular playlist (a steady diet of
David Bowie,
Kraftwerk, and
Roxy Music),
Strange and
Egan were offered studio time by another
Rich Kids alum, guitarist
Midge Ure. In late 1978, this trio recorded a demo which yielded the first
Visage single, an aptly futuristic cover of
Zager & Evans' "In the Year 2525."
Adding
Ultravox keyboardist
Billy Currie as well as three members of
Magazine -- bassist
Barry Adamson, guitarist
John McGeoch, and keyboardist
Dave Formula --
Visage signed to Radar Records to release "Tar" in September 1979, followed a year later by their self-titled debut LP. The album yielded a major single in "Fade to Grey," an instant club classic that heralded synth pop's imminent commercial breakthrough. The follow-up, "Mind of a Toy," was a Top 20 hit, but after releasing 1982's
The Anvil,
Visage began to disintegrate: first
Ure exited to focus all of his energies on fronting
Ultravox, then
Currie and
Formula broke ranks as well. 1984's
Beat Boy was the group's final recording, although a remixed "Fade to Grey" was a U.K. Top 40 hit during the early '90s.
After a handful of false starts,
Strange reincarnated the group in the 2000s. After several television appearances, and a re-recording of "Fade to Grey," new material finally appeared in 2007 in the form of a charity single "Diary of a Madman." In early 2013,
Strange announced the third incarnation of the band, this time featuring
Strange,
Steve Barnacle, Lauren Duvall, and former
Ultravox and
Magazine member
Robin Simon. That same year, the group released their fourth studio album, Hearts and Knives, coming some 29 years after 1984's
Beat Boy. The live album, Orchestral -- which saw the band rework their back catalog with the help of the
Prague Philharmonic Orchestra -- appeared at the end of the following year. On the February 12, 2015,
Strange passed away as the result of a heart attack while in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. The group's final album, Demons to Diamonds -- which was partly recorded before
Strange's death -- was released at the end of 2015, with the companion release, Darkness to Diamond, following a few months later in early 2016. ~ Jason Ankeny & Rich Wilson