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.
Never Enough
Visage Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Breathe, state your intentions and make me wanna forget
Cry, cry all you want but I won’t come running to you
Stop, turn it around now, I know just what I will do
Chorus
A tear in my soul, now I’m out of control
Cos it’s never enough, never enough, never enough
Cos we’re never enough, never enough, never enough
Raw, roar your intentions, make it deep in the dark
Slide, words never real, run now making your mark
Wound, sound in a circle, scared to speak to my face
Cease lose your devotion, shout now shedding disgrace
Chorus
A tear in my soul, now I’m out of control
Cos it’s never enough, never enough, never enough
Can’t look in your eyes, can’t face your disguise
Cos we’re never enough, never enough, never enough
A tear in my soul, now I’m out of control
Cos it’s never enough, never enough, never enough
Can’t look in your eyes, can’t face your disguise
Cos we’re never enough, never enough, never enough
In Visage's song Never Enough, the singer is overwhelmed and frustrated by a relationship where their partner seems to be playing games and hiding their true intentions. The singer is tired of chasing their regrets and being toyed with, and demands that their partner be honest and upfront. However, their partner continues to be deceitful, and the singer feels like they are losing control of the situation.
The chorus repeats the phrase "never enough," emphasizing the constant feeling of dissatisfaction and the idea that their partner will never be able to give them what they need. The tears in the singer's soul represent the deep emotional wounds that the relationship is causing. The inability to look into their partner's eyes or face their disguise suggests that there is a lack of trust and a sense of distance between them.
The second verse continues with the theme of deceit and manipulation, with the singer feeling like their partner's words are not genuine and that they are only trying to make a mark or impress them. The sound of the wounds in a circle suggests that there is a cycle of pain and hurt in the relationship, with no clear way to break it. The final line, "shout now shedding disgrace," suggests that the singer is ready to speak out and break free from the toxic relationship.
Overall, Never Enough explores the painful reality of a relationship where one partner is constantly playing games and hiding their true intentions, leading to a sense of dissatisfaction and emotional turmoil. The repetition of the phrase "never enough" and the raw emotion in the singer's vocals emphasize the intensity of these feelings.
Line by Line Meaning
You’re playing with questions and I’m chasing regrets
You're toying with uncertainty, while I'm dealing with feelings of disappointment for past actions
Breathe, state your intentions and make me wanna forget
Be honest and upfront about your intentions, so I can try to move on
Cry, cry all you want but I won’t come running to you
You can express your emotions, but don't expect me to come running back to you
Stop, turn it around now, I know just what I will do
Stop what you're doing and I'll take control of the situation
A tear in my soul, now I’m out of control
My emotional state is so fragile, I feel like I'm losing control
Cos it’s never enough, never enough, never enough
No matter what we do, it never feels like enough
Can’t look in your eyes, can’t face your disguise
I can't bear to look at you, pretending to be something you're not
Raw, roar your intentions, make it deep in the dark
Be truthful and express your intentions with intensity and honesty, even if it's uncomfortable
Slide, words never real, run now making your mark
Your words are insincere, so go ahead and run off to make your own path
Wound, sound in a circle, scared to speak to my face
You're causing harm and staying in a repetitive pattern, afraid to confront me directly
Cease lose your devotion, shout now shedding disgrace
Stop pretending to care and admit your wrongdoings with regret
Contributed by Olivia O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.