Someone Waits Behind the Door

Ultravox : Hiroshima Mon Amour

[Purchase]

On October 7, 1977 Ultravox released the double A side single "Rockwrok"/ "Hiroshima Mon Amour". Both are featured on the band's second album Ha! Ha! Ha!, also released in October. By this point, John Foxx and bandmates felt that the "young savages" who had churned out punk rock had pretty much run their course. Ultravox were looking for a new direction and leader John Foxx was very interested in the ways men, romance and machines interacted. 

With the help of a TR77 rhythm machine, Foxx began writing a new song called "Hiroshima Mon Amour", also the title of a restrained New Wave movie. Foxx came to a conclusion that would change the course of music for every synth pop band that followed...and there would be a lot of them .

He explained his thinking in an artdesk.com  interview:

I realised the real impact of emotion is not being dramatic, but when it’s withheld. When you sense someone is withholding emotion. When they don’t want to display it, it's much more moving than displaying it.

"Hiroshima" stands out on the album because of its restraint. Most of the songs still sound like they were created in the intersection where glam rock meets punk. Some Ultraviox fans say its the best album they ever made.