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.
Tar
Visage Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's printed on the packet
Middle tar, low tar, high tar
Doesn't that make you die
Taking on out of the packet
It's just a force of habit
You know you cannot stop it
Nerves, nerves
Tension, tension
Addiction, addiction, addiction, addiction
Low tar, high tar
Nicotine stain on your finger
Try to wash off but it still linger
Cigarette holder just a joke
Don't really take bad away from smoke
Nerves, nerves
Tension, tension
Addiction, addiction, addiction, addiction
Low tar, high tar
Remember health warning
It's printed on the packet
Middle tar, low tar, high tar
Doesn't that make you die
The lyrics of "Tar" by Visage shed light on the dangers of smoking and the addiction that comes with it. The opening line "Remember health warning, it's printed on the packet" is a reference to the warning labels placed on cigarette packets that caution smokers about the harmful effects of tobacco smoke on their health. The next line "Middle tar, low tar, high tar, doesn't that make you die" highlights the fact that regardless of the level of tar in cigarettes, smoking is still hazardous to one's health and can lead to death.
The song speaks to the psychological and physical addiction to smoking, with the lines "Taking one out of the packet, it's just a force of habit. You know you cannot stop it, the why was the reason why." The repetition of "Addiction, addiction" emphasizes how difficult it is to quit smoking once one has become accustomed to it. The chorus "Nerves, nerves, tension, tension" suggests the emotional toll smoking can take on someone who is attempting to quit and highlights the distress and tension that come with trying to break free of nicotine addiction.
The lyrics also touch on the superficial aspects of smoking, such as the nicotine stains on fingers and the use of cigarette holders as mere symbols of sophistication, while ignoring the harmful effects of smoking. The line "Don't really take bad away from smoke" reinforces this idea.
Overall, "Tar" is a cautionary tale about the dangers of smoking, the addiction that accompanies it, and the psychological and physical toll it can take on one's health and well-being.
Line by Line Meaning
Remember health warning
Don't forget the warning that smoking is bad for your health
It's printed on the packet
It's written on the cigarette package
Middle tar, low tar, high tar
The cigarette has different tar levels that may vary from middle, low or high tar
Doesn't that make you die
Isn't it obvious that smoking can lead to death?
Taking on out of the packet
Removing a cigarette from its package
It's just a force of habit
It has become a repetitive action that is difficult to give up
You know you cannot stop it
The person acknowledges that it's challenging to quit smoking
The why was the reason why
The person once had a reason for starting to smoke, which is why it's challenging to stop
Nerves, nerves
Feeling anxious or worried
Tension, tension
Feeling on edge or stressed
Addiction, addiction, addiction, addiction
The person is addicted to smoking
Low tar, high tar
The cigarette has different tar levels that may vary from low to high tar
Nicotine stain on your finger
The yellowish-brown mark left on the fingers after smoking for an extended period
Try to wash off but it still linger
Even after attempting to wash the stains on your fingers, the mark will remain
Cigarette holder just a joke
A cigarette holder may not provide any real health benefits to reduce the negative effects of smoking
Don't really take bad away from smoke
A cigarette holder does not eliminate the harmful effects of smoking
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY, Universal Music Publishing Group, Mute Song Limited, Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: PETER ANSELM EGAN, MIDGE URE, BILLY CURRIE, BARRY ANTHONY ADAMSON, JOHN MCGEOGH, STEVE STRANGE, DAVE FORMULA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
alopecia .heagehog
brilliant song
John Bundner
R.I.P Steve Strange! Always an innovative song writer and dresser!
John Bundner
Great song! Rest In Peace Steve Strange!
Sara Sen
was only 10 when I had the album-but even then I knew about high tar/low tar!
MagicAyrtonforever
@Dan Fixx me too and living in France, I was doing my apprenticeship at Renault and had a Walkman with a visage and yazoo cassette lent to me by my sister 😅 I used to listen to this during my lunch break
SciSci
@Dan Fixx Im 49 now but not sure old I was then.
Dan Fixx
I was 14 :-D
SciSci
+Sara Sen I was about 16;)
RoiAlby
1979. Just a small bite of what was to come in the next decade :)
Blue Eyes Willy
Mild tar
Middle tar
High tar
It's written on the package