Chrisopher Thomas Allen, better known to the music world as Chris Cross, bass engine of ULTRAVOX has passed away aged 71. Bandmate Midge Ure announced the sad news via his social media.

Born in Tottenham, he studied Art and Psychology in London and while he was there, he answered an advert to form a new band by fellow student Dennis Leigh. The band was TIGER LILY and guitarist Stevie Shears, drummer Warren Cann and violinist / keyboardist Billy Currie would complete the line-up.

Influenced by NEW YORK DOLLS and ROXY MUSIC, TIGER LILY released just one single, a cover of Fats Wallers’ ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’ in 1975 recorded for an X-rated arthouse movie of the same name. While David Bowie also loomed large in their sound, music from Germany such as KRAFTWERK and NEU! began to be absorbed into the band.

This led to a name change to ULTRAVOX! complete with exclamation mark in tribute to the later. Dennis Leigh changed his name to John Foxx and Allen who had used the surname St John on ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’ became Chris Cross.

ULTRAVOX! got their big break when they were signed to Island Records and able to secure the services of Brian Eno working alongside a young Steve Lillywhite to produce their eponymous debut album released in 1977. With the emergence of punk, while the follow-up ‘Ha! Ha! Ha!’ had a particularly fierce sound, it saw the introduction of Billy Currie’s ARP Odyssey, notably on ‘The Man Who Dies Everyday’.

Cross also became interested synthesizers and purchased an EMS Synthi AKS, a portable version of the VCS3 built into a suitcase with a touch sensitive blue and black keyboard. This coincided with an opportunity to work Conny Plank whose credits included KRAFTWERK and NEU! as well a change of line-up with Shears replaced by Robin Simon. Relocating to Conny Plank’s farmhouse studio outside of Cologne, Cross used his AKS to write the lead line to ‘Slow Motion’.

Despite the resultant 1978 album ‘Systems Of Romance’ being the most accomplished ULTRAVOX (now without the exclamation mark!) record to date, all was not well in the camp and after a 1979 US club tour, John Foxx and Robin Simon departed. It left the band without a vocalist or guitarist and to add to their woes, Island Records had dropped ULTRAVOX from their roster.

While ULTRAVOX was on hiatus, Billy Currie worked on VISAGE with Midge Ure, Rusty Egan, Dave Formula, John McGeoch, Barry Adamson and Steve Strange. Although at that time in 1979, the project became stillborn, he brought Ure with him to join ULTRAVOX to fulfil the dual role of singer and guitarist. Cross and Ure hit it off immediately and would become close friends.

Around this time, Chris Cross had acquired a Minimoog and began pulsing it from Warren Cann’s drum machines to produce a characteristic repeating synthbass sound on tracks such as ‘Vienna’, ‘All Stood Still’, ‘The Thin Wall’ and ‘Dancing With Tears In My Eyes’. He never forgot his first instrument and songs such as ‘The Voice’ and ‘Reap The Wild Wind’ benefitted from his bass guitar runs.

Signed to Chrysalis Records, over a period of four years, ULTRAVOX conquered Europe with their brand of symphonic synthesized rock with classic albums such as ‘Vienna’, ‘Rage in Eden’, ‘Quartet’ and ‘Lament’. One indirect and amusing consequence of his new found fame was that he would be mistakenly sent royalty cheques for the Grammy award winning American singer-songwriter Christopher Cross.

Cross was versatile and while his role in ULTRAVOX was bass, he deputised for an absent Midge Ure on ‘The Voice’ B-side ‘Paths & Angles’, playing guitar and singing lead on its chorus and closing refrain. Together with Ure, they produced the music for the iconic Levi’s advert ‘Rivets’ which also led to the jeans manufacturer perhaps incongruously sponsoring ULTRAVOX on their 1984 ‘Set Movements’ tour.

With ULTRAVOX very much trailblazing the cinematic video age, Chris Cross and Midge Ure began self-directing ULTRAVOX’s promos and became in-demand separately from the band, working on visual presentations for VISAGE, BANANARAMA and FUN BOY THREE.

The visual aspects of ULTRAVOX were very important to Cross and it was he, through his love of the Factory Records aesthetic, who suggested employing Peter Saville Associates to design their artwork and stage sets including the notable gothic architecture captured on the ‘Monument’ live document.

By 1987, ULTRAVOX had split up and Cross retired from the music industry to become a psychotherapist; he would later jokingly remark that the two fields were not that dissimilar from his point of view.

In 2009, the classic ULTRAVOX line-up of Warren Cann, Chris Cross, Billy Currie and Midge Ure unexpectedly reunited for three headlining tours and a new album ‘Brilliant’ issued in 2012. During ‘Astradyne’, Cross would coolly play bass and synth simultaneously! However, following a UK tour opening for SIMPLE MINDS in 2013, the band were back in hiatus and Cross returned to being a psychotherapist.

Midge Ure paid tribute to Chris Cross saying: “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”.

Text by Chi Ming Lai
2 April 2024