Bassist and co-writer of new wave hit song ‘Vienna’, Chris Cross has died, age 71.
ADVERTISEMENTChris Cross, the bassist and founding member of British new wave band Ultravox has died, his bandmate Midge Ure has announced.
Cross, whose real name was Chris Allen, died on 25 March, with the news only shared on the evening of 1 April.
Born in Tottenham, London in 1952, Cross joined the band Tiger Lily in 1974 with singer-songwriter Dennis Leigh, who’d later be known as John Foxx. The band was signed in 1976 and they shortly changed their name to Ultravox! They’d later drop the exclamation mark from the band’s name.
“We worked together, we played together, made music and directed videos together. We were instant friends as well as Ultravox comrades,” Ure wrote on Instagram.
Ure joined Ultravox as lead singer after Foxx left in 1979. With Ure at the helm, Cross helped write the band’s most successful song ‘Vienna’, which was a number 2 hit in the UK and a number 1 hit in Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
During Ure’s years in the band between 1980 and 1986, Ultravox’s albums all charted in the UK’s top 10.
Cross retired from the band and keyboardist Billy Currie kept touring and releasing music until Ure and Cross rejoined the band in 2008 to tour again and release new music.
“Even after years apart we managed to pick up where we left off like the years in between never existed. You were the glue that held the band together. You were the logic in the madness and the madness in our lives. It was great to know and grow with you. You are loved and missed old friend”, Ure added on his post.
Currie wrote on Facebook: “Hi People, Very sad to hear about Chris... We had some amazing times together. Laughing mostly.”
