HUMANIA - SINEWS OF THE SOUL
Liner Notes
| I
was a founding member of the hugely influential band Ultravox, and
whilst
with
the band in the 70's and 80's recorded eight albums. The first three
albums show the clear experimental moves to a more Electronic sound.
I made the synthesiser
more and more evident. “Systems of Romance” was the cutting edge
result. My fast developing writing talent came to full prominence though on the
later Vienna, Rage in Eden and Quartet albums. The 70's line up was run by the
song writing of John Foxx. My development as a writer tended to be tied in with
Johns writing of songs. John only worked with me on a some of his songs. In the
80's line up I could spread my wings being free from the singer songwriter limitations
of the 70's line up. The final 80's album “Uvox” was a disaster.
Warren Cann turned up six hours late everyday for the recording sessions
and Midge Ure did not turn up at all for the first six weeks leaving myself
and
Chris Cross without a singer or drummer! The 80's line-up split in 1987, after the Uvox tour, but did not announce it till November 1988 after Midge Ure and I had completed solo projects. Having felt squeezed out during 1987-88 I insisted that the x members of Ultravox announce to the fans, and the record company, that the band had in fact split. Myself, ever the doer in Ultravox, just wanted rid of the white wash deliberately created so Midge Ure could get a huge advance from Chrysalis. Midge Ure and Chris Morrison, the Ultravox Manager, could only grab a huge advance from Chrysalis by assuring the nervous Chris Wright, the head of Chrysalis, that Midge Ure could get Ultravox back together if his solo career went bottom up as they expected it would. At the same time I spent eighteen months of legal wrangling just to get off Chrysalis to release my self financed Solo album! When I finally got away from Chrysalis I was offered a good three album Solo deal by IRS records but Chris Morrison refused and just gave them “Transportation” ensuing that no promotion was given to the record. Chris Cross just walked away from Ultravox and the music business without saying anything to me. Warren Cann had been sacked while in the making of the Uvox album. Ironically instigated by Midge Ure. When I invited Midge Ure into Ultravox back in 1979, after working with him in Visage, it was a very positive and exciting time. Now, in 1988, it was a time of mistrust and “behind your back dealing”. A sad end! The putting together of the band Humania came about in November 1988 after the spit had been announced. In fact it was two weeks after Midge Ure secured a huge advance from Chrysalis. They must have been happy bunnies! I wanted to work within a band again, after the solo album experience, and with new musicians. I invited Ray Weston, the drummer who performed on my solo album, into the group and Robin Simon, who I briefly recruited into Ultravox back in 1977. Robin and I were old friends from Huddersfield and worked very well together on the infamous ”Systems of Romance” album. The vocalist, Marcus O'Higgins, was introduced to me by my acupuncturist and Sue Rachel (bass and backing vocals) came into the band after the suggestion from the group “Dead or Alive” who were recording an album in my studio at the time. There is a great feeling of energized freedom on this album. At times I took complete control of the form and writing of the music with the band clearly enjoying being swept along. The song “Suffering Cease” is a staggering seven and a half minutes long. “New Age Progressive Rock” as my band mate Robin called it. There is also, as in the track “Undertow”, a continuing experimentation of the Electronic vibe that I had a big part in creating from my Visage, Ultravox and Gary Numan days. I did present Humania, again self financed, to Chrysalis in the spring of 1989 when we had written the first four songs. “This Day Forever”, Suffering Cease”, “To Love Again’ and “There is No They”. There are rumours circulating that I offered the band, as a new Ultravox line up, to Chrysalis. They held the rights to four more Ultravox albums and so controlled the use of the name. This is true. I was so incensed by being blocked and having the band name taken from me by Midge Ure and Chris Morrison that I had no choice but to fight my corner. Chrysalis loved the band, which had gigged under a few names at that point, but perpetuated the fight by telling me that Midge Ure was still in the group so why should they accept this new line up as Ultravox. Chris Morrison, who had decided he was only interested in Midge Ure but thought it more convenient not to let me in on that one, slyly offered me a written statement from Midge Ure, to give to Chrysalis, making it clear he had quit the band. In return Chris Morrison wanted me to sign a publishing deal. Something I had refused to do because of his mismanagement. The climax of all this trouble came when I sent in the Midge Ure statement to the Chrysalis lawyers. They just laughed at me saying “Midge Ure had, only the previous week, assured us that he was still in Ultravox”. In response, I stopped the management commission cheque due to Chris Morrison from the publishing deal. Chris Morrison, forever playing the victim, started up legal action against me for the unpaid commission. This legal action carried on till the end of the year. I was advised by my lawyer not to go to court against Chris Morrison as a cancelled cheque would definitely go against me and Chris Morrison, who knew this legal fact all along, had hold of my money anyway. Gutted by the hopeless situation, a musician not a business man after all, I settled out of court. I realised that Chris Morrison had cleverly manoeuvred me from the real problem which was Midge Ure. Midge Ure wanted everything that Ultravox had achieved to drop into his lap now the band had split. Like it was his god given right. He saw me as being the lone obstacle, as Chris Cross just compliantly walked away, and so decided to go behind my back rather than simply speak to me. Chris Morrison advised him on this method of steamrollering on. Chris Morrison knew, from experience at this kind of way of doing business, that when I realised what was happening and started complaining about it, they, and Chris Cross included, could accuse me of trying to cause trouble and they then could comfortably become the victims of the trouble I was supposedly causing. A neat set up. Check Mate! Due to the immense legal pressure I was under I disbanded Humania after one year to start my second solo album “Stand Up and Walk”. Lets face it! It was a tough year with all the aggressive games going down. It is important to show, as it has never ever been told before, what a volatile time this was in 1987-88-89. I feel I still managed, with the help of the band, to make some very inspired music and I am very happy to finally get it out to you the fans! We had some good times in Humania. It was cool having Sue in the band. A Liverpudlian who said it how it was! A good influence. The last time I worked with women was in the experimental Performing Arts. The gigs we did, especially the Marquee club in September 1989, still hold some great memories. I have a, straight from the mixing desk, cassette tape of it! Never before released, this album is a fascinating, vibrant, melting pot of creative forces. Plus a couple of fingers up to the idiots that did there level best to screw me that year. It Fucking Rocks! Enjoy! Billy Currie |