Fade to Grey (Visage song)

"Fade to Grey"
Single by Visage
from the album Visage
B-side"The Steps"
Released14 November 1980[1]
Genre
Length
  • 4:02 (album version)
  • 3:50 (single edit)
LabelPolydor
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Midge Ure
  • Visage
Visage singles chronology
"Tar"
(1979)
"Fade to Grey"
(1980)
"Mind of a Toy"
(1981)
1993 re-release cover

"Fade to Grey" is a song by British synth-pop band Visage, released in November 1980 as the second single from their debut album, Visage (1980), on Polydor Records.

The song was the band's most successful single. It entered the singles charts in late 1980, peaking at no. 8 in the UK Singles Chart and reaching no. 1 in West Germany and Switzerland. Steve Strange was on lead vocals; the French lyrics were spoken by Rusty Egan's Luxembourgish girlfriend Brigitte Arendt.[6]

The accompanying music video for the song became one of the first videoclips that Kevin Godley and Lol Creme directed, before they became known for their works with the Police, Duran Duran and Herbie Hancock.[7][8]

  1. ^ "In Brief" (PDF). Record Mirror. 1 November 1980. p. 4. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  2. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Visage – Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  3. ^ Owen, Tom (30 April 2024). "The top 25 greatest 1980s synthpop songs ever". Smooth Radio. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  4. ^ O'Neil, Dave (10 May 2013). "Vienna comes to Doncaster 'shoppo'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  5. ^ a b Stanley, Bob (13 September 2013). "Here Comes That Feeling: New Pop". Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. Faber & Faber. p. 533. ISBN 978-0-571-28198-5.
  6. ^ Perrone, Pierre (13 February 2015). "Steve Strange: Lead singer with Visage and club owner who became the leading light of the 1980s New Romantic movement". The Independent. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  7. ^ "Visage, the '80s synth legends, are back!". The Latest. 17 September 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  8. ^ "Give me 10ccs of creativity, stat". The Irish Times. 19 November 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2016.