Pretensions in the revamped camp Ultravox went far beyond singer Midge Ure’s angular sideburns and Burberry raincoat. While the A-side is a case in point – a moody love song to an imaginary girl, given an air of romance by Billy Currie’s romantic, Max Reger-influenced viola – many at their new home Chrysalis felt it a bit of a dirge, far surpassed by album standout ‘Mr X’ (a coded reference to ex-leader John Foxx? Its verses share the same melody as Metamatic track ‘Touch And Go’, issued six months earlier). Having successfully lobbied to put it out, 12-inch buyers got a double B-side, the futuristic posturing of ‘Passionate Reply’ alongside the German version of ‘Mr X’. Robotically narrated by drummer Warren Cann, with help from producer Conny Plank’s wife Krista on pronunciation, the mysterious tale of a man who may or may not be on a bridge accompanied by sparse Kraftwerk-like repetitions, it’s lost little of its creepy air. And while ‘Vienna’ would famously peak at UK number two, held off for a month by a dead John Lennon and novelty hit irritant Joe Dolce, ‘Herr X’ would belatedly become a 7-inch A-side in 2020, courtesy of a new Steven Wilson 2.0 mix via issue 69 of Electronic Sound.