Initially, the band was comprised of Steve Strange, Rusty Egan and Midge Ure (also previously of The Rich Kids). Also in there, and credited as a co-writer of FADE TO GREY was Chris Payne,a member of Gary Numan's band. The trio recorded a demo which included a cover of the Zager and Evans hit "In the Year 2525". Ultravox's multi-instrumentalist Billy Currie and the core of post-punk band Magazine – bassist Barry Adamson, guitarist John McGeoch, and keyboardist Dave Formula – joined the studio-only band later. Visage signed to Radar Records and released their first single, "Tar" (which was originally composed whilst Strange was in The Photons), in September of 1979. The single failed to chart, but the band managed to secure a deal with a larger record company, Polydor, the following year.
1980 saw the release of their second single, "Fade to Grey". The single became a huge hit (making the top ten in the UK and topping the chart in several other countries) and was quickly followed by the release of their self-titled debut album which was also a chart success.
After further Top 40 hits with "Mind of a Toy" and the title track "Visage", Strange struggled to reunite the band's members again to record a second album because of their commitments with their respective bands (Ure and Currie with Ultravox; Formula and Adamson with Magazine; and McGeoch with Siouxsie and the Banshees). However, in the autumn of 1981 all musicians (except McGeoch) went into the studio again and recorded The Anvil. The album was released in March of 1982 and became Visage's first (and only) UK top ten album, producing two top twenty singles with "The Damned Don't Cry" and "Night Train". The Anvil earned Silver disc status in the UK, as did the band's first album.
Following this, Ure left the band to concentrate on his work with Ultravox, who were by now becoming even more successful than Visage were. Creative differences with Strange were also cited as reasons for his departure at the time. Visage, now without Ure and Adamson but with the addition of bassist Steve Barnacle, recorded the stand-alone single "Pleasure Boys", which was released in October of 1982. Unfortunately, the single failed to prolong their string of hits and peaked just outside the UK top 40.
Although still recording, Visage then took a two year hiatus from releasing any new material due to contractual difficulties.
With their contractual problems resolved, 1984 saw the return of Visage for what would become their third album and final released for many years. Beat Boy was released in September of 1984 but was a critical and commercial failure, peaking at #79 in the UK. Two singles from the album, "Love Glove" and "Beat Boy", also failed to make the UK top 40. By this time, Billy Currie and Dave Formula had also departed the band (though they received a "special thanks" credit on the album sleeve for their input), leaving only Strange and Egan from the original line-up along with newer musicians Steve and Gary Barnacle and Andy Barnett. A decision to make Visage a live band instead of a strictly studio-based project also failed to meet with success and the band subsequently split in 1985. Their final release was a Visage VHS video compilation of the band's renowned promotional videos and also included footage of Strange's trip to North Africa the year before. The compilation does not, however, include the original video for the "Love Glove" single which was filmed at a late-night Dockland location in London in 1984.
Following the demise of Visage, Strange then formed the short-lived band Strange Cruise. They released one album in 1986, though this too proved unsuccessful. Visage returned to the charts once more when a Bassheads remix of "Fade to Grey" was a UK Top 40 hit in 1993.
In 2004 Steve Strange reformed Visage with an entirely new line-up. The line-up included Steven Young, Sandrine Gouriou and Rosie Harris from Seize and Ross Tregenza from Jetstream Lovers/Goteki. The new line-up released the track "Diary Of A Madman" in 2007, written by Strange and Tregenza.
Strange released another album using the moniker Visage in 2013 called "Hearts and Knieves.
In December 2014, Visage released Orchestral, a mostly live album containing twelve Visage songs remade with a Czech symphony orchestra.
On 12 February 2015 Steve Strange died due to heart attack while visiting Egypt, He died at 55.
There is another band that use the same name:
2) Visage (ヴィサージュ) was a Japanese visual kei band, who was signed to the Undercode VK label.
Love Glove
Visage Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One check for love
One lost glove
Never to reappear
Gone forever with the change
Oh it's such a shame
Nothing's true anymore
Give me the love glove
I'll give you love
For a certain price
Give me the love glove
I'll give you love
Gamble and sacrifice
Love I'll give you money
Sweet as sugar pure as honey
Hey don't walk away
You won't have to pay
Love I'll give you gold
Gold you pay the price
I throw the dice
Gamble risk sacrifice
[Chorus:]
Love has changed to you
Who's got the glove
I've got the check
One check for love
I've got the glove who pays the price
[Chorus:]
Visage's "Love Glove" is a song that explores the theme of change in relationships. The opening line "Love change we change" sets the tone for the rest of the song, which talks about the changing nature of love and the difficulties that arise when two people are not on the same page. The lyrics reflect a sense of loss and disappointment, particularly with the line "Gone forever with the change".
The chorus of the song introduces the concept of the "love glove", which appears to be a metaphor for something that is valuable and sought after in a relationship. The lyrics suggest that love is a commodity that can be bought and sold, with the line "For a certain price" indicating that there is a cost to this kind of love. The use of the word "sacrifice" in the chorus implies that there are risks involved in pursuing this kind of love, perhaps suggesting that it involves giving up something of value in order to obtain it.
Overall, "Love Glove" is a song that explores the complexity of human relationships, particularly in the context of love. It suggests that love is not always straightforward or easy, and that there are risks involved in pursuing it.
Line by Line Meaning
Love change we change
Love evolves along with us as we grow and change.
One check for love
Love requires a certain level of commitment and investment.
One lost glove
Sometimes we lose important things, like love, and they may never return.
Never to reappear
Certain things cannot be recovered or regained, no matter how hard we try.
Gone forever with the change
As we change and evolve, so do our relationships and the love we share.
Oh it's such a shame
It's unfortunate that things can change so drastically, especially when it comes to love.
Nothing's true anymore
The truth of our feelings and relationships can be difficult to discern when everything is constantly shifting and changing.
[Chorus:] Give me the love glove I'll give you love For a certain price
Love can be bought, but it comes at a cost.
Love I'll give you money Sweet as sugar pure as honey Hey don't walk away You won't have to pay
Love can be sweet and pure, and sometimes it may seem like it can be bought without any sacrifice or effort on our part.
Love I'll give you gold Gold you pay the price I throw the dice Gamble risk sacrifice
However, true love requires risk and sacrifice, and it cannot be bought with material possessions alone.
[Chorus:]
Love is valuable and sought after, but it requires effort and a willingness to take a risk.
Love has changed to you Who's got the glove I've got the check One check for love I've got the glove who pays the price
Love is constantly changing and evolving, and it can be difficult to determine who has the power and who is willing to make the necessary sacrifices and commitments.
[Chorus:]
Despite the challenges and uncertainties of love, it remains a highly valued and meaningful experience that is worth pursuing.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: STEVEN BARNACLE, PETER ANSELM EGAN, STEVE STRANGE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mike Probert
A great man and true pioneer...really cant believe he has gone
Curt Wakeman
Oh my! Never seen this version before! WOW, this is absolutely splendid!
martyg123
Thanks for sharing this, I've not seen it since it was on a video jukebox back in 84. I've never understood why it's been so hard to track down, love it
DJ Kiz Zouk Bcn
RIP STEVE, 4EVER VISAGE !!!
TheNouveauxdecadence
THANK YOU So deeply for this. I favourited it yesterday from someone else and couldn't believe it was actually here but it seems that YOU are the one I have to thank for the upload! :-) Been waiting for sooooooooo many years to finally see the original promo and it's SO much better than the Egypt video. A little scene was viewable on the end credits of the Visage vhs and I always wondered why it wasn't actually on there. I can die happy now, bless you xoxo
Narciso Anasui
Such an underrated song :(
Samuel Roberts
Grossly underrated song. Get rid of the copyright throughout the video. RIP Steve. Love always pal. Thank you for making me happy for who I am as a human.
michael a uhlenhake
Oh - I haven't heard this since WOXY 97X back in the day. I love this song!
Rusty Egan
Polydor literally dropped the band when Midge and Billy left with the mgnt team leaving me and steve to try to carry on. The video was made on credit by Millany Grant who were out of pocket all the costs when Polydor refused to pay up. Pleasure boys reached 54 with no promo , no video and no label support and the break was tearing up dancefloors in America . It was a sad time when really the plug was pulled and the album bombed
Samuel Roberts
Had there been proper marketing and promotion I definitely feel the Love Glove track would have gained more popularity. What a shame.