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.
questions
Visage Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Run round in my head
No answers solutions
Illusions instead
As I walk alone
And I picture the past
The very beginning I ask yes I ask
[Chorus:]
But the scent lingers on
Don't deny
No place can I go
My hopelessness shows in my eyes
Questions more questions
Never ending they seem
My passion my heart
Ripped out at the seams
Like a jigsaw in pieces
I have all the parts
To put them together
More a feat than a task
Questions...
[Chorus]
Where can I go
I remember so well
Like a child sees the past
You rejected my passion
Ripped out my heart
Questions, questions
Tormenting myself
Disillusioned and broken
Like a toy on a shelf
Like a child in the corner
With my head in my hands
Rejected I wonder
Through life's empty lands
[Chorus]
Fade...
The song "Questions" by Visage is a reflection of a person who has been hurt and is constantly asking themselves why they were rejected. The song starts with the person having questions running around in their head, with no answers or solutions, leaving them with only illusions of what could have been. As they walk alone and picture the past, they ask the question that started it all: why?
As the song continues, it is clear that the rejection has left the person feeling hopeless, and the questions never seem to end. They feel as though their passion and heart have been ripped out at the seams, like a jigsaw puzzle in pieces. They have all the parts but putting them back together seems like a feat rather than a task.
The chorus of the song speaks to the fact that even though the person's rejection was a long time ago, the scent of it still lingers on, and no matter where they go, their hopelessness shows in their eyes. They remember the rejection so well, like a child seeing the past, and it torments them, leaving them disillusioned and broken.
Overall, "Questions" is a song that speaks to the pain of rejection and the struggles of moving past it. It highlights the fact that even though the face may be gone, the memory of the rejection can still linger on, haunting and tormenting the person who was rejected.
Line by Line Meaning
Questions more questions
The singer has many unanswered questions
Run round in my head
These questions constantly occupy the singer's thoughts
No answers solutions
The singer cannot find any solutions to their problems
Illusions instead
The artist only has false hopes and dreams
As I walk alone
The artist is alone and lost
And I picture the past
The singer is reminiscing about the past
The very beginning I ask yes I ask
The singer is questioning the beginning of their troubles
The face may be gone
The person they used to know is no longer present
But the scent lingers on
Memories of this person still remain
Don't deny
The artist is urging the listener not to ignore their pain
No place can I go
The singer feels trapped and has nowhere to turn
My hopelessness shows in my eyes
The artist's despair is evident to others
Never ending they seem
The questions and problems feel never-ending
My passion my heart
The singer's love and emotions
Ripped out at the seams
Were destroyed or damaged
Like a jigsaw in pieces
The artist feels like their life is in shambles
I have all the parts
The artist has all the pieces to put their life back together
To put them together
If only it were that easy
More a feat than a task
Putting their life back together will be a daunting challenge
Where can I go
The artist feels lost and doesn't know where to turn
I remember so well
The artist is stuck in the past
You rejected my passion
Someone the artist loved rejected them
Tormenting myself
The singer is causing themselves additional pain
Disillusioned and broken
The artist is disillusioned and their spirit is broken
Like a toy on a shelf
The singer feels discarded and useless
Like a child in the corner
The singer feels helpless and alone
With my head in my hands
The singer feels defeated and overwhelmed
Rejected I wonder
The artist wonders why they were rejected
Through life's empty lands
The artist is lost and wandering through life
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: STEVEN BARNACLE, PETER ANSELM EGAN, STEVE STRANGE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind