Oh, Vienna: And Other Stories

Product Information

Midge Ure himself has provided the answer as to what the song is about (as per MrLongrove's posts). We now know what the song is about, but there is a lingering question. Were some of the atmospherics in the song influenced by 'The Third Man'? After all, Midge himself admitted he'd never been to the city when they'd written the song in 1979.

A Gothic reminder of another age, the Stephansdom is Vienna's heart and soul. The awe-inspiring cathedral lords over the city, topped by an intricately tiled roof, with its distinctive row of chevrons and Austrian eagle. Below the cathedral are the Katakomben (catacombs), with their eerie collection of the deceased; inside, a magnificent Gothic stone pulpit presides over the main nave; and rising above it to dizzying heights is the South Tower with its viewing stage offering dazzling panoramas over town. Copa Cagrana Beach Dalton, Stephen (17 February 2020). "Midge Ure: Forum, Bath". The Times . Retrieved 29 November 2020. Official Singles Chart Top 75". Official Charts Company. 15–21 February 1981 . Retrieved 8 February 2016. The hit song by Ultravox seared its way into our cultural memory and the video even features some familiar Viennese landmarks.

If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 € per month. Great works of art have been created in these 'living rooms' of the Viennese. Patronised by luminaries such as Mahler, Klimt, Freud, Trotsky and Otto Wagner in their day, Vienna's Kaffeehäuser (coffee houses) were added to the Unesco list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2011. Many retain their opulent original decor, and often specialise in a particular cake, such as the Sacher Torte, an iced-chocolate cake with apricot jam once favoured by Emperor Franz Josef, at Café Sacher. New-wave coffee houses are putting their own twist on the tradition. MuseumsQuartierWe’d been listening to music by this old German composer called Max Reger. He’d tried too hard to be successful and deliberately overdid it. That was why I did a violin solo that was overly vibrato and romantic. Midge felt a little uncomfortable, because he’d only just joined and thought we were being arty-farty. “This means nothing to me,” he said. And Conny Plank, our producer, replied: “Well, sing that then.” I don’t see how the images in ‘Vienna’ could possibly relate to ‘The Third Man.’ There are no references to death or any sense of unconscionable acts. The internal emotional focus in the song ‘Vienna’ isn’t consistent with the sense of social morality from the ‘The Third Man.’ Vienna" was written in January 1980. [3] The song features a dramatic grand piano in the verses and chorus, and a viola solo in the middle of the song. Other sounds include a solid synth bass line played on a MiniMoog, an Elka string synthesiser and a Roland CR-78 drum machine. The drum machine pattern created by Warren Cann was the basis of the song. [4] Then, Cann and the classically trained Billy Currie together wanted to create something that might sound like it had been written by a late-19th-century romantic composer, so they started creating the basic chords and sounds of the song, and the romantic viola solo was influenced by German composer Max Reger. [3] Angus Robertson with his intimate knowledge of the city has brilliantly chronicled Vienna's history through the centuries and illustrated it with innumerable vignettes from contemporary observers. He has succeeded in painting a thoroughly enjoyable portrait of a great international capital'

The song is regarded as a staple of the synth-pop genre that was popularised in the early 1980s. The song was also performed at the 1985 Live Aid concert in Wembley Stadium. It remains Ultravox's signature song, being their most commercially successful release and is often performed live by Ure in solo performances. Official Singles Chart Top 75". Official Charts Company. 1–7 March 1981 . Retrieved 8 February 2016. Tells the story of Vienna’s diplomatic and historical significance in a new, complete history of the city' Roth's hero feels doomed, as if there was something inevitable about the catastrophe that was coming, but the details of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on 28 June 1914 could not be a better example of brute chance in action, of utter contingency determining events. In the morning of the 28th, as the royal motorcade drove through the streets of Sarajevo, a bomb had been thrown, bounced off the rear of the archduke's car and exploded further down the street. Warning enough, one might have thought, but Franz Ferdinand proceeded with his duties, attended an official reception at the town hall and made a speech. The motorcade set off again but the driver of the royal car took a wrong turning and headed – irony piling on irony – into Franz Joseph Street. The car stopped and began to reverse out, and its engine stalled. It was at this moment that one member of the gang of Serbian irridentists, Gavrilo Princip – whose assassination attempt had seemed to have ended in total failure – spotted the open-topped car reversing and saw who was in it. He stepped forward and shot Franz Ferdinand in the throat and his wife, Sophie, in the abdomen. Both died shortly after.From its time as the capital of an imperial superpower, through war, dissolution, dictatorship to democracy Vienna has reinvented itself and its relevance to the rest of the world. You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here. A conclusion could easily be drawn between the atmosphere of the song and the atmosphere of the movie. However, I believe this connection to be simple co-incidence, a connection that appears to exist yet is in fact something unrelated. (I think the connection between the 'Wizard of Oz' with the sound off and the Pink Floyd Album 'Dark Side of the Moon' is an excellent example of this sort of co-incidence. The emotions on the album match that on the screen, but was not deliberate).

We took an early morning flight to Vienna, ran round like loonies in and out of taxis as we filmed, and soon discovered that, due to it being the winter off-season, many of the splendid places we’d been counting upon filming were either shut for redecorating or covered with webs of scaffolding. But I wanted to release it. I was proud of it and couldn’t bear the thought of it being passed over. I was surprised it was a hit because it was long – when we went on Top of the Pops, we had to cut it. It went straight from the chorus to the violin solo. I hated that. Sadly, Vienna didn’t get to No 1. We were denied the top spot by the novelty hit Shaddap You Face.

Offiziellecharts.de – Ultravox – Vienna" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 28 September 2021. Hopefully you will all read the book by Angus Robertson…this is a really serious book about Vienna' Darren from Bedford, United Kingdomthe video was shot in Covent Garden Market in London and not, Vienna. It feels like only yesterday when Midge Ure’s haunting chorus proved once again that unconventional and popular are not mutually exclusive concepts. So long that we all got impatient with waiting and dipped into the many cases of wine we’d laid on for refreshment after the shoot. By the time the crew was ready to film, we were all well partying for real.Vienna's much-loved Christmas market season runs from around mid-November to Christmas Eve. The Christkindlmärkte atmosphere is magical with stalls in streets and squares selling wooden toys, festive decorations and traditional food such as Würstel (sausages) and Glühwein (mulled wine). The centrepiece is the Wiener Weihnachtstraum Christkindlmarkt on Rathausplatz but you'll find Christmas markets across the city including at Schloss Schönbrunn. Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus: 15th district

Julian - I agree with you regarding that fact that the song is NOT about the movie The Third Man. However, you sound like someone who hasn't seen the movie but has read a synopsis of it. [No offence ment. Please hear me out with the rest of my reply].

Robertson] has an eye for the telling detail and illustrative anecdote… [with] well-chosen vignettes by contemporary observers through the ages' Ultravox’s Vienna single, with its classical instrumentation, synthesisers and spartan lyrics, sold over half a million copies in the UK alone. The 1981 hit remains the song most associated with the band. In the evenings, there’s a wealth of food and drink options to explore in the district, from Das Eduard’s pita burgers on its outdoor terrace, to indie bar ein affee and wine haven Reinwein. Vegetarians can enjoy the secluded delights of restaurant and art gallery Hollerei, a short walk from Meidling Hauptstrasse station. Barnes, Anthony (31 December 2012). "Ultravox hit 'Vienna' named nation's favourite number two single". The Independent. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022.