2001

Peter Young : “2001”

I'd been a fan of Ultravox since it was suggested by a friend that I should listen to Systems Of Romance. I found a copy in a department store for 99p and there began my obsession with John Foxx. I started getting back copies of albums and singles and fell in love with Ultravox.

After John left Ultravox to pursue his solo career, I took a keen interest in that and I also took an interest in what Midge Ure done with Ultravox but for me it wasn't quite the same. When Metamatic came along it just blew me away. I was hooked. Again I had to buy all the 7" and 12" singles. (Which I still own). After In Mysterious Ways even then I thought it was Johns weakest album of the four, but nothing was released after that. I guessed without any real commercial success John had given up music for good in 1983.

I was lucky to find Metamatic had been released on CD by accident in Virgin in 1993. I thought I was the luckiest man alive because it had all the "B" sides on as bonus tracks. Then a couple of years later The Garden came along.

In 2001, lots of things happened. I was in Watford and out of complete curiosity looked under "F" in Virgin and found Modern Art and saw there were some extra tracks that I'd never heard of. I was eager to cycle home and play these. “Shifting City” from the Exotour was awesome along with “The Noise” and “Nightlife”. “Sunset Rising” took some getting used to as I'd never heard the Cathedral Oceans type music before. I never realised that John had found his new performing partner Louis Gordon four years previously. I then got the internet at home and sucked up any information to do with John.

I joined the Metamatic news mailing list and found out that John was performing live at the Mean Fiddler in London. I rang and got a ticket and travelled up to London not knowing what to expect. I arrived at the venue very early and sat by myself on a table for four people listening to the support acts. Someone said to me "are the other seats free" and I said "Yes" I started talking to this other fan which was quite difficult with the supports acts playing along with a German accent. We swapped e-mail addresses and I though no more about it. When John came on stage I found it overwhelming and hard to believe that I've liked this guy standing behind his synth for such a long time and I'm now standing so close hearing him perform live. The concert passed very quickly and so much happened I found it hard to take it all in. Also at the concert I was able to buy the Edsel releases of Metamatic, The Garden, The Golden Section, In Mysterious Ways, Shifting city, Pleasures of Electricity, and Cathedral Oceans 1 (I spent a bomb that night!!).

After I got home I e-mailed the guy I'd met at the Mean Fiddler and I was surprised to get a reply. I arranged to visit him in the November in Germany. The rest is history...

Since 2001 I've been very fortunate to meet and make some good friends along my John Foxx journey.