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John Foxx is the stage name of English musician '''Dennis Leigh'''. He was the original lead singer of the band Ultravox , before embarking on a solo career in 1979 . Primarily associated with Synthesizer music, he has also pursued a parallel career in graphic design. ART COLLEGE AND TIGER LILY Born in Chorley , Lancashire , Leigh first began experimenting with Tape Recorder s and Synthesizer s whilst on a scholarship at the Royal College Of Art . In 1973 he formed a band that would eventually be called Tiger Lily. Tiger Lily released a single on 14 March 1974 , the A-side of which was a cover of the Fats Waller track " Ain't Misbehavin' ". It was commissioned for use in a Soft Porn movie of the same name. The same year, '' Melody Maker '' reviewed one of Tiger Lilly's shows at the London Marquee and praised the "overall atmosphere," whilst pointing out their rather predictable "apocalyptic groove." ULTRAVOX! Tiger Lily gigged frequently in London between 1974 and 1976 , but their essentially Glam Rock sound was rendered superflous by the advent of Punk . In an interview with the BBC , Foxx later admitted he'd had an opportunity to join an early version of what became The Clash , as the vocalist, when they were still the pre Joe Strummer ever-revolving band called London SS , which also included future members of PiL and The Damned . Eventually, after several names including Fire of London, The Zips and even The Damned, Tiger Lily transformed into Ultravox!, whose style would fuse Punk , Glam , Electronic and New Wave . Around this time, Leigh adopted his stage name of John Foxx. Among the elements that set the band apart from their contemporaries were Foxx's lyrics and vocal delivery, and Billy Currie 's Violin and synthesizer playing. The other members were Chris Cross on Bass , Warren Cann on Drums and Stevie Shears on Guitar . Signed to Island Records , they made three LPs in 1977 - 1978 . The first Ultravox! single, "Dangerous Rhythm" b/w "My Sex", was released 19 January 1977. Their first album (the self-titled '' Ultravox! '') was released shortly afterwards, produced by Brian Eno , Steve Lillywhite and the band. This was quickly followed by their second album '' Ha!-Ha!-Ha! ''. ''SYSTEMS OF ROMANCE'' AND DEPARTURE FROM ULTRAVOX Like the Krautrock band Neu! , an explanation point was part of Ultravox!'s identity. However, by the third album, '' Systems Of Romance '', released on 9 December 1978, the exclamation mark had been dropped along with most of the connections to the sounds, visuals and attitudes associated with the preceding albums. Also missing was their first guitarist, the punk-orientated Stevie Shears, who was replaced by Robin Simon, from a band called Neo (not to be confused with Neu!). On the new album, the synthesizer played a far more prominent role than before. Its sound was generally imbued with a European romanticism, partly inspired by German band Kraftwerk , whose close associate, Conny Plank , co-produced ''Systems of Romance''. A tour of the United States in early 1979 was reportedly successful in terms of crowd enthusiasm and ticket sales, but there was no financial support from the record label, which soon dropped the band. Simon decided to stay on in New York and Foxx made plans to go solo upon returning to England. Without a lead singer, the band went into hiatus, Billy Currie joining Gary Numan 's touring band and contributing to his highly successful 1979 album, '' The Pleasure Principle ''. The burgeoning popularity of synthesizer music at this time, and Numan's oft-quoted praise for the band, helped revive interest in Ultravox. Currie rejoined the fold, and Foxx was replaced as lead vocalist by James Midge Ure , of The Rich Kids, Slik and Thin Lizzy . The Ure-led Ultravox built on some of the ideas explored on the final Foxx-era record Systems Of Romance to huge worldwide success with Vienna in 1980 . With Currie at the helm, musically, more releases, radio hits and arenas, including Live Aid , followed. This latest incarnation of Ultravox lasted another six years. SOLO Signed to Virgin Records , Foxx achieved minor chart success with his first solo single, Underpass. Released on his 'Metal Beat' record label, its parent album Metamatic appeared in record shops on January 17 , 1980 . Foxx played most of the synthesizers and "rhythm machines", as they were listed on the jacket. "Metal Beat" was also the name of one of the songs from the album and was inspired by an odd metallic clunk sound on an early Roland Drum Machine , the CR-78 . Despite the fact that, in interviews, he expressed enthusiasm for his label including others' releases along with his own, Metal Beat lasted from 1980 to 1985 with Foxx as its only artist. Foxx's next LP was '' The Garden '', released 25 September , 1981 . This recording was a departure from the stark Electronica found on ''Metamatic'', bearing a greater resemblance to Foxx’s swansong with Ultravox, ''Systems of Romance''. ''The Garden'''s starting point was in fact a song called "Systems of Romance", written by Foxx for the earlier album but not released at the time. Foxx set up his own recording studio, also called The Garden, housed in an artists' collective surrounded by sculptors, painters and film makers. He made demo recordings for Virginia Astley's first album '' From Gardens Where We Feel Secure '', a classic of English Neo-romanticism . In 1983 , Foxx provided the soundtrack for Michelangelo Antonioni 's film ''Identification of a Woman'' (Identificazione di una Donna). In September that year, his third solo LP '' The Golden Section '' was released. A development of the sound of ''The Garden'', Foxx described this album as a "roots check" of his earliest influences such as The Beatles , Psychedelia , and other pre-punk sources. The album In Mysterious Ways was issued in October 1985. Musically it was not considered a significant progression beyond the sound of his two previous releases, nor was it a commercial success. Foxx later said that at the time he felt divorced from any contemporary musical influences. However he did produce, co-write and play on ''Pressure Points'', by Anne Clark , the same year. WITHDRAWAL FROM THE MUSIC SCENE After ''In Mysterious Ways'', Foxx gave up a public career in pop music. He sold his recording studio and returned to his earlier career as a graphic designer and artist, working under his original name of Dennis Leigh. Examples of his work at this time include the book covers of Salman Rushdie 's The Moor's Last Sigh and Jeanette Winterson 's Sexing The Cherry. He also began experimenting in Ambient Music , working on a project called Cathedral Oceans. At about this time, Foxx began to find inspiration in the underground House and Acid music scenes in Detroit and London, and was said to have released vinyl dance tracks under various names. He also worked with pioneers in this field such as LFO and made their first Music Video . In the very early 1990s , as Nation 12, Foxx released two 12-inch Single s, "Remember" and "Electrofear". The first was a collaboration with Tim Simenon, best known for his Bomb The Bass project. These became sought-after items for his fans, especially those outside the UK and Europe , some of whom read about Nation 12 in '' Q '', in a Where are They Now? column. RE-EMERGENCE On March 24 , 1997 , John Foxx made a return to the music scene with the simultaneous release of two albums, ''Shifting City'' and ''Cathedral Oceans''. ''Shifting City'' was a collaboration with Manchester 's Louis Gordon, which was categorised by many commentators as an updated stylistic return to Foxx's ''Metamatic'' Synth Pop sound. However it also displayed the influence of 1990s underground Dance Music and the " Triphop " style, along with the psychedelic pop first apparent on Ultravox’s "When You Walk Through Me". ''Cathedral Oceans'' was a solo John Foxx record, an Ambient return to his Catholic youth and his love of the cathedrals of England and Europe. Its roots included traditional Evensong , Gregorian Chant , Brian Eno , Harold Budd , and Roedelius . From his own music Foxx drew on such pieces as "My Sex" from the first self-titled Ultravox! record, "Hiroshima Mon Amour" from Ha!-Ha!-Ha!, "Just For a Moment" from Systems Of Romance, and the title track from ''The Garden''. Foxx’s return to music was well received by fans, and he and Louis Gordon continued to work together, performing live and releasing material such as The Pleasures of Electricity, released September 2001 , and Crash and Burn, released September 2003 , on his own Metamatic Records. Foxx also released two further volumes of ''Cathedral Oceans'', in 2003 and 2005 . John Foxx pursued his graphic design work during this period. In 2000 , a Porcupine Tree release called Lightbulb Sun was issued with cover art by Foxx. In August 2003, Foxx released a double CD with Harold Budd, ''Translucence / Drift Music''. In 2004 , from September through October, a collection of Cathedral Oceans images was exhibited at BCB Art, Hudson, New York . In October 2005, Foxx's official website announced plans for upcoming collaborations with Robin Guthrie , Steve Jansen and Bill Nelson . The following month an album's worth of salvaged Nation 12 material was finally issued under the title ''Electrofear''. DISCOGRAPHY Albums and EPs With Ultravox!:
With Ultravox:
Solo:
With Louis Gordon:
With Harold Budd :
With Nation 12:
Singles With Tiger Lily:
With Ultravox!:
With Ultravox:
Solo:
With Nation 12:
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