Music but not by numbers: Foxx is coming to Leamington

John, the original lead singer of new wave rock band Ultravox, has collaborated with composer and synthesizer collector Benge to create the album Interplay and the duo will perform this new material when they come to the Assembly in Leamington on Thursday October 13.

Drawing from various strands of the electronic genre, Interplay evokes cinematic imagery of a not too distant future and reminds listeners of the best and most prominent parts of 1980s film soundtracks.

John said: “When I was a child I spent a lot of time in the cinema watching B movies and good things like Quatermass on TV.

“I found that synthesizers could reproduce that sound and you absorb all that stuff as a kid.

“Then I heard the quote ‘music is organised sound’ I thought ‘that is it’.

“I was also influenced by psychedelic music in the 1960s, when the Beatles did Tomorrow Never Knows I found it was the sort of sound that couldn’t be made live and had to be made in the studio - it was ‘impossible’ music really.

“My style is best described as Blackpool, neon, tango, a mixture of all the trashy things I love.”

John’s musical career began when he formed the band Tiger Lily in the early 1970s.

They later became Ultravox and released three LPs towards the end of the decade.

Despite moderate sales, the band’s third album Systems of Romance gained the band exposure to a wider audience including the United States.

But John left the band before its most commercially successful period in the 1980s.

He said: “It was the right time to leave so I don’t regret it at all.

“We were all young and wanted an adventure and to go on tour but after five years I realised I didn’t want to be part of that.

“The band was great because it gave us a platform to do what we wanted, I got the laboratory with synthesizers and they got their record so that was fine.”

A prolific solo and collaborative artist, John has recorded more than 20 albums over the past three decades including six live albums,

He recently took a senior lecturer position at The London College of Music and Media, working with art, media and music students across a range of courses.

He said: “You have to realise when you are not driving on the road and you’re driving on the pavement.

“It’s interesting to take chances but you can mess it up.

“I’ve messed it up for years but the test of longevity is knowing your doing that and getting back to what you know.”

John and Benge will be joined on stage by Serafina Steer, on keyboards and bass, and Hannah Peel, on keyboards and violin.

The gig will also feature classic songs from John’s time with Ultravox and his solo career.

John said: “Come along and prepare yourself to be sonically assaulted.”

Tickets cost £18.50.

Visit www.leamingtonassembly.com or call 311311.