"Passing Strangers" is Ultravox

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....

's second single from the band's first

Vienna (album)

Vienna is the fourth studio LP by the synthpop band Ultravox, first released on 11 July 1980. The album peaked at #3 in the UK charts and was the first Ultravox release to enter the UK top ten. It was certified Platinum in the United Kingdom in July 1981 for 300,000 copies sold...

 album with Midge Ure

Midge Ure

James "Midge" Ure, OBE is a Scottish guitarist, singer, keyboard player, and songwriter...

, released on Chrysalis Records

Chrysalis Records

Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...

 on 15 October 1980.

A fast-paced guitar track recalling early John Foxx-era Ultravox, Passing Strangers ultimately failed to live up to the top 30 success of its predecessor Sleepwalk

Sleepwalk (song)

"Sleepwalk" is Ultravox's first single from the band's fourth album, and the first with Midge Ure as frontman, released by Chrysalis Records on June 16, 1980....

. It stalled at #57 in the UK charts despite having a music video (directed by Russell Mulcahy

Russell Mulcahy

Russell Mulcahy is an Australian film director. His work is easily recognized by his use of fast cuts, tracking shots and use of glowing lights.- Music videos :...

 and featuring Barbie Wilde

Barbie Wilde

Barbie Wilde is a Canadian actress and writer, perhaps best known for appearing as the Female Cenobite in Hellbound: Hellraiser II - the second of eight Hellraiser films based on Clive Barker's novella, The Hellbound Heart...

 and Tok from Tik & Tok) and release on 12" format alongside the regular 7", both of which Sleepwalk lacked.

The single contains two live b-sides; "Face To Face", an original Ultravox track that was never recorded in studio, and a live cover of the Brian Eno

Brian Eno

Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...

song "King's Lead Hat".

12" version

1. "Passing Strangers" – 3:48
2. "Face To Face (Live)" – 6:04
3. "King's Lead Hat (Live)" – 4:06