Ha!-Ha!-Ha!
Encyclopedia
Ha!-Ha!-Ha! was the second album by British pop group Ultravox
, at that time formally known as "Ultravox!", with an exclamation mark, as a nod to Neu!
. Although the group would later achieve fame and commercial success with lead singer Midge Ure
(then joining The Rich Kids
), the band was in 1977 led by singer/songwriter John Foxx
(born Dennis Leigh), who was accompanied by guitarist Stevie Shears
, drummer Warren Cann
, bassist Chris Cross
(born Christopher Allen), and keyboard/violinist Billy Currie
.
Ha!-Ha!-Ha! was released on October 14, 1977, and was accompanied by lead single "ROckwrok" backed with "Hiroshima Mon Amour
", which was released eleven days earlier. Neither reached the pop charts, although Island Records
continued to have faith in the band. As a consequence of the album's confusing typography - it is variously known as Ha!-Ha!-Ha!, Ha! Ha! Ha! and -ha!-ha!-ha!, the group decided to abandon their exclamation mark for subsequent releases.
Whilst the group's first album had been a product of the David Bowie
/Roxy Music
-esque side of glam rock
, their second was considerably more informed by the burgeoning punk
movement, although it also marked the group's first widespread adoption of synthesisers and electronic production techniques. Money from the first album was used to improve the band's equipment, and funded the purchase of an ARP Odyssey
and, most notably, a Roland TR-77 drum machine, which appeared on the album's final track, "Hiroshima Mon Amour
". This song was the most indicative of the group's later synth-pop direction, and remains both a fan and critical favourite.
It was performed on the group's 1978 Old Grey Whistle Test
appearance and was covered by The Church
on their 1999 covers album A Box of Birds.
"ROckwrok" was, as mentioned, the lead single. An unusually sensual paean to unrestrained sexuality, the song featured a chorus which began "come on, let's tangle in the dark / fuck like a dog, bite like a shark" and lyrics such as "the whole wide world fits hip to hip" - despite which, it apparently achieved airplay on BBC Radio 1
on account of Foxx's garbled vocal delivery and the song's punky guitars.
Other songs included "Fear In The Western World", which was also a punk number, with socially-conscious references to contemporary global hot spots including Soweto
and Ireland
. "While I'm Still Alive", although subsequently regarded by the band as the album's weakest title, was particularly reminiscent of Sex Pistols
, and specifically the vocal phrasing of John Lydon
. "Fear in the Western World" also ended with a short burst of feedback - edited from a much longer take, in the manner of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter" - which segued into the quiet piano opening of "Distant Smile", which eventually developed into a conventional rock number, albeit using a similar vocal-synth fade as Pink Floyd
's contemporaneous "Dogs". "Artificial Life" was reminiscent of Roxy Music's "In Every Dream Home A Heartache
", with lyrics that examined suburban teenage life and tribes. "Hiroshima Mon Amour", featured the saxophone
playing of C.C. from the band Gloria Mundi
, and includes the Roland
TR-77 drum machine
working a modified bossa-nova
preset by drummer Warren Cann, and foreshadowed the music both John Foxx and Ultravox were to make later, apart.
This was the last album featuring original guitarist Stevie Shears
, who was fired from the band early 1978, after the forthcoming Ha! Ha! Ha! tour.
The song "Young Savage" was improbably named as record of the week on Mark
& Lard
's Radio 1
show in 2002.
2006 Compact Disc bonus tracks
Give-away single with 10000 first LPs (Island WIP 6417)
Ultravox
Ultravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....
, at that time formally known as "Ultravox!", with an exclamation mark, as a nod to Neu!
Neu!
Neu! was a German band formed by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother after their split from Kraftwerk in the early 1970s...
. Although the group would later achieve fame and commercial success with lead singer Midge Ure
Midge Ure
James "Midge" Ure, OBE is a Scottish guitarist, singer, keyboard player, and songwriter...
(then joining The Rich Kids
The Rich Kids
Rich Kids were a short-lived, seminal new wave band from London, founded in 1977 by Glen Matlock following his departure from The Sex Pistols. The band also included future Ultravox member Midge Ure, and Rusty Egan, who later went to found Visage.-Career:...
), the band was in 1977 led by singer/songwriter John Foxx
John Foxx
John Foxx is an English singer, artist, photographer and teacher. He was the original lead singer of the band Ultravox before being replaced by Midge Ure, when he left to embark on a solo career in 1979...
(born Dennis Leigh), who was accompanied by guitarist Stevie Shears
Stevie Shears
Stevie Shears is a musician known for playing in english rock bands Tiger Lily and Ultravox! , alongside electronic musician John Foxx.-Tiger Lily and Ultravox!:...
, drummer Warren Cann
Warren Cann
Warren Reginald Cann is a drummer and drum machine programmer, best known as a member of the British New Wave band Ultravox.-Early life:...
, bassist Chris Cross
Chris Cross
Chris Cross is the bass guitarist in the band Ultravox.-Early years:Cross went to Belmont Secondary Modern School, William Forster Comprehensive...
(born Christopher Allen), and keyboard/violinist Billy Currie
Billy Currie
Billy Currie is an English violist, violinist, pianist, keyboardist, and songwriter...
.
Ha!-Ha!-Ha! was released on October 14, 1977, and was accompanied by lead single "ROckwrok" backed with "Hiroshima Mon Amour
Hiroshima Mon Amour
Hiroshima mon amour is an acclaimed 1959 drama film directed by French film director Alain Resnais, with a screenplay by Marguerite Duras. It is the documentation of an intensely personal conversation between a French-Japanese couple about memory and forgetfulness...
", which was released eleven days earlier. Neither reached the pop charts, although Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
continued to have faith in the band. As a consequence of the album's confusing typography - it is variously known as Ha!-Ha!-Ha!, Ha! Ha! Ha! and -ha!-ha!-ha!, the group decided to abandon their exclamation mark for subsequent releases.
Whilst the group's first album had been a product of the David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
/Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
-esque side of glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
, their second was considerably more informed by the burgeoning punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
movement, although it also marked the group's first widespread adoption of synthesisers and electronic production techniques. Money from the first album was used to improve the band's equipment, and funded the purchase of an ARP Odyssey
ARP Odyssey
The ARP Odyssey was an analog synthesizer introduced in 1972. Responding to pressure from Moog Music to create a portable, affordable "performance" synthesizer, ARP scaled down its popular 2600 synthesizer and created the Odyssey, which became the best-selling synthesizer they made.The Odyssey is...
and, most notably, a Roland TR-77 drum machine, which appeared on the album's final track, "Hiroshima Mon Amour
Hiroshima Mon Amour
Hiroshima mon amour is an acclaimed 1959 drama film directed by French film director Alain Resnais, with a screenplay by Marguerite Duras. It is the documentation of an intensely personal conversation between a French-Japanese couple about memory and forgetfulness...
". This song was the most indicative of the group's later synth-pop direction, and remains both a fan and critical favourite.
It was performed on the group's 1978 Old Grey Whistle Test
Old Grey Whistle Test
The Old Grey Whistle Test was an influential BBC2 television music show that ran from 1971 to 1987. It took over the BBC2 late night slot from "Disco Two", which had been running since January 1970, while continuing to feature non-chart music. It was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers...
appearance and was covered by The Church
The Church (band)
The Church is an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with new wave and the neo-psychedelic sound of the mid 1980s, their music later became more reminiscent of progressive rock, featuring long instrumental jams and complex guitar interplay...
on their 1999 covers album A Box of Birds.
"ROckwrok" was, as mentioned, the lead single. An unusually sensual paean to unrestrained sexuality, the song featured a chorus which began "come on, let's tangle in the dark / fuck like a dog, bite like a shark" and lyrics such as "the whole wide world fits hip to hip" - despite which, it apparently achieved airplay on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
on account of Foxx's garbled vocal delivery and the song's punky guitars.
Other songs included "Fear In The Western World", which was also a punk number, with socially-conscious references to contemporary global hot spots including Soweto
Soweto
Soweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. "While I'm Still Alive", although subsequently regarded by the band as the album's weakest title, was particularly reminiscent of Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
, and specifically the vocal phrasing of John Lydon
John Lydon
John Joseph Lydon , also known by the former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a singer-songwriter and television presenter, best known as the lead singer of punk rock band the Sex Pistols from 1975 until 1978, and again for various revivals during the 1990s and 2000s...
. "Fear in the Western World" also ended with a short burst of feedback - edited from a much longer take, in the manner of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter" - which segued into the quiet piano opening of "Distant Smile", which eventually developed into a conventional rock number, albeit using a similar vocal-synth fade as Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
's contemporaneous "Dogs". "Artificial Life" was reminiscent of Roxy Music's "In Every Dream Home A Heartache
In Every Dream Home A Heartache
"In Every Dream Home a Heartache" is a song written by Bryan Ferry, originally appearing on his band Roxy Music's second album.Lyrically, the song is a sinister monologue, part critique of the emptiness of opulence, partly a love song to an inflatable doll. Musically this is complemented by a...
", with lyrics that examined suburban teenage life and tribes. "Hiroshima Mon Amour", featured the saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
playing of C.C. from the band Gloria Mundi
Gloria Mundi
Gloria Mundi was an early punk rock/gothic rock band. The name comes from the Latin for the glory of the world. This could be a reference to the phrase "Sic transit gloria mundi" meaning "this is how the glory of the world passes"....
, and includes the Roland
Roland Corporation
is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on April 18, 1972, with ¥33 million in capital. In 2005 Roland's headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Today it has factories in Japan,...
TR-77 drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
working a modified bossa-nova
Bossa nova
Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music. Bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially consisting of young musicians and college students...
preset by drummer Warren Cann, and foreshadowed the music both John Foxx and Ultravox were to make later, apart.
This was the last album featuring original guitarist Stevie Shears
Stevie Shears
Stevie Shears is a musician known for playing in english rock bands Tiger Lily and Ultravox! , alongside electronic musician John Foxx.-Tiger Lily and Ultravox!:...
, who was fired from the band early 1978, after the forthcoming Ha! Ha! Ha! tour.
The song "Young Savage" was improbably named as record of the week on Mark
Mark Radcliffe
Mark Radcliffe is an English broadcaster who has worked in various roles for the BBC since the 1980s and remains one of Britain's most recognised DJs. He is currently a presenter on BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music, where he hosts an afternoon show five times a week alongside Stuart Maconie, called...
& Lard
Marc Riley
Marc Riley is a British musician, alternative rock critic and radio DJ on BBC 6 Music. Formerly a member of The Fall, he had his own record label, In-Tape, and also worked as a record plugger...
's Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
show in 2002.
Track listing
- ROckWrokROckWrok"ROckWrok" is a single by the post-punk band Ultravox!, released on October 7, 1977 by Island Records. It was the last British non-free single released from the Ha! Ha! Ha! album and featuring Stevie Shears as guitarist...
(Foxx) – 3:34 - The Frozen Ones (Foxx) – 4:07
- Fear in the Western World (Foxx/Currie/Cross/Cann/Shears) – 4:00
- Distant Smile (Foxx/Currie) – 5:21
- The Man Who Dies Every Day (Foxx/Currie/Cross/Cann/Shears) – 4:10
- Artificial Life (Foxx/Currie) – 4:59
- While I'm Still Alive (Foxx) – 3:16
- Hiroshima Mon Amour (Foxx/Currie/Cann) – 5:13
2006 Compact Disc bonus tracks
- Young SavageYoung Savage"Young Savage" is the second single of the experimental New Wave band Ultravox!. It was released as a single by Island Records on May 28, 1977, during a time of experimentation to define a new sound for the band, in advance of their second album....
– 2:56 - The Man Who Dies Every Day (remix) – 4:15
- Hiroshima Mon Amour (alternative version) – 4:54
- Quirks – 1:40
- The Man Who Dies Every Day (recorded live at Huddersfield Polytechnic) – 4:15
- Young Savage (recorded live at The Marquee) – 3:25
Give-away single with 10000 first LPs (Island WIP 6417)
- Quirks
- Modern love
Personnel
- John FoxxJohn FoxxJohn Foxx is an English singer, artist, photographer and teacher. He was the original lead singer of the band Ultravox before being replaced by Midge Ure, when he left to embark on a solo career in 1979...
- vocals (guitar on "Hiroshima Mon Amour") - Stevie ShearsStevie ShearsStevie Shears is a musician known for playing in english rock bands Tiger Lily and Ultravox! , alongside electronic musician John Foxx.-Tiger Lily and Ultravox!:...
- guitar - Warren CannWarren CannWarren Reginald Cann is a drummer and drum machine programmer, best known as a member of the British New Wave band Ultravox.-Early life:...
- drums, vocals (rhythm machine on "Hiroshima Mon Amour") - Billy CurrieBilly CurrieBilly Currie is an English violist, violinist, pianist, keyboardist, and songwriter...
- violins, keyboards, synthesiser - Chris CrossChris CrossChris Cross is the bass guitarist in the band Ultravox.-Early years:Cross went to Belmont Secondary Modern School, William Forster Comprehensive...
- bass, vocals
- C.C. (from Gloria MundiGloria MundiGloria Mundi was an early punk rock/gothic rock band. The name comes from the Latin for the glory of the world. This could be a reference to the phrase "Sic transit gloria mundi" meaning "this is how the glory of the world passes"....
) - saxophone on "Hiroshima Mon Amour"