Ultravox | Vienna (1981)
Vienna is a song by British new wave band Ultravox. It was released as the third single from the band's fourth album Vienna on 9 January 1981 through Chrysalis Records.
1981-01-09 16:20:30 - Music Video
It spent four consecutive weeks at number two in the UK Singles Chart without ever getting to number-one, it was kept off the number-one spot by John Lennon's "Woman" for a week and then by Joe Dolce's novelty hit, "Shaddap You Face", for a further three weeks. "Vienna" ultimately sold more copies than both of these records, however, and ranked as the fifth best-selling UK single for 1981. mThe single was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry in February 1981, for UK sales exceeding 500,000 copies. Nevertheless, the single peaked at number one on the Top 40 charts in many European areas including the Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland.
It also won "Single of the Year" at the 1981 Brit Awards. The song is regarded as a staple of the synthpop genre that was popularised in the early 1980s. The song was also performed at the 1985 Live Aid concert in Wembley Stadium. To date, it remains Ultravox's signature song, being their most commercially successful release and is often played live by Midge Ure in solo performances.
It was voted Britain's favourite single to ever peak at number two in the charts in a 2012 poll run by BBC Radio 2 and the Official Charts Company. It was awarded an honorary number one by the OCC.