Midge Ure pays tribute to Ultravox bassist Chris Cross, who has died aged 71

NME

Chris Cross, bassist for new-wave band Ultravox, has died aged 71.

The death of Chris Cross was announced last night (April 1) by lead vocalist Midge Ure. Cross passed away on March 25; no cause of death was given.

Ure wrote: “We worked together, we played together, made music and directed videos together. We were instant friends as well as Ultravox comrades. Even after years apart we managed to pick up where we left off like the years in between never existed.

“You were the glue that held the band together. You were the logic in the madness and the madness in our lives. It was great to know and grow with you. You are loved and missed old friend.”

Check out Ure’s tribute below:

Chris Cross was born Christopher Allen on 14 July 1952 in Tottenham, North London. After playing in multiple bands across his teenage years, he formed glam rock band Tiger Lily in 1973 whilst studying Art and Psychology at college in London. Though it was short-lived, all five members – Cross, John Foxx, Stevie Shears, Warren Cann, Billy Currie – would go on to form Ultravox.

In 1976, Tiger Lily changed their name to Ultravox! and signed with Island records. Much of the songs written as Tiger Lily made it onto their 1977 self-titled debut, co-produced by Steve Lillywhite and Brian Eno.

Cross was responsible for co-writing seminal synthpop classic ‘Vienna’, which brought the band commercial success and mainstream acclaim. Released in 1981, ‘Vienna’ nabbed the Number 2 spot on the charts, and has since been hailed as the greatest song to miss out on the top spot. Ultravox would go on to score seven Top Ten albums and 17 Top 40 singles.

Though the band briefly disbanded in 1996, they reunited in 2008 for a reunion tour, and eventually dropped their final album ‘Brilliant’ in 2012.

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