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Visage
Visage is one of the quintessential New Wave bands. Formed in the very late seventies by nightclub owners Rusty Egan and Steve Strange, Visage became the rallying cry for those of the post-punk generation that wanted to have some style and art back in their lives. From the very beginning the crowd was flamboyant and the duo initially ran set of DJ-ed records at gay clubs in London. Strange let in a strangely dressed crowd of transexuals and drag queens, swashbucklers, and plenty of other weirdos. Finally, tired of fronting clubs, Strange decided to kick off the New Romantic movement for real by fronting a band, and thus Visage was born. Midge Ure, soon to be of Ultravox joined up, Billy Currie, already of Ultravox had the right synth sound and attitude, and a few others joined up: Dave Formula, John McGeoch and Barry Adamson. In 1980, they released their first album, the self-titled Visage. This album is a classic album of the 80s, as anyone British can tell you, although their exposure on this side of the pond was pretty dismal. In 1982 they released The Anvil which I won't review since I only have it on vinyl and I don't even have a record player to refresh my memory of the tracks. I also remember being disappointed in The Anvil even though it has two of the best Visage tracks ever made, "The Damned Don't Cry" and "The Anvil." Since both of these tracks are on the greatest hits, along with some songs from their third release, an EP that is generally impossible to find these days, I went with that.
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