Dancing with Tears in My Eyes: Chris Cross of Ultravox has died

Ultravox musician Chris Cross passed away on March 25 at the age of 71, but his death, details of which have not been released, was not confirmed until Monday night. The news has come as a blow to former bandmate Midge Ure, who described Chris as, “the glue that held the band together”.

In a Facebook post, Midge wrote: “We worked together, played together, made music together and directed videos together. We were instant friends and also comrades in Ultravox. Even after years apart, we managed to pick up where we left off as if 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 knowing you and growing up with you. You are an old friend loved and missed”.

Ultravox keyboardist Billy Currie added in a statement: “Hey people. I’m so sorry to hear about Chris. I’m so shocked. We had some amazing times together. Mostly laughing”.

Chris, whose real name is Chris Allen, was born in London in 1952 and played in several groups before forming a band called Tiger Lily Band in 1974 with John Foxx, Stevie Shears, drummer Warren Cann and keyboardist Billy Currie.

They later changed their name to Ultravox and were led by singer Foxx during their early years, but he left the band to pursue a solo career in 1979 and was replaced by Midge Ure. They went on to achieve great success with their fourth album, ‘Vienna’, which was released in 1980.

Chris co-wrote the iconic title track, as well as songs such as ‘Dancing with Tears in My Eyes‘ and ‘Reap the Wild Wind’. The group split up in the late 1980s, but reunited for a reunion tour in 2009 and their latest album, ‘Brilliant’, was released in 2012.