Chris Cross Dead at 71

(NewsInsights.org) – Midge Ure announced through social media on April 1 that his friend and bandmate, Chris Cross, a British rocker and one of the founding members of the synth-pop band Ultravox, died on March 25 at the age of 71. Born Chris Allen, Cross played bass guitar and wrote or co-wrote several of the band’s hits.

While studying art and psychology at the Royal College of Art in London in 1973, Cross answered an ad by Dennis Leigh, who later took the stage name John Foxx, the original lead singer for Ultravox. They formed Tiger Lily, a glam band predecessor to Ultravox. By 1976, the band had changed its name to Ultravox and its style to new wave, scoring a contract with Island Records.

However, in 1979, after releasing three commercially unsuccessful albums, Island Records dropped Ultravox. Foxx walked away to pursue a solo career, but Cross collaborated with other artists until Ure joined Ultravox as the lead vocalist, also supplying guitar and keyboard support. His addition revitalized the band, and Chrysalis Records picked up a contract with Ultravox for four years.

Cross loved technology and invested heavily in it, including adding an EMS Synthi AKS, mini Moog synthesizers, and, of course, various Fender, Gibson, and Steinberger basses. He was one of the pioneers in using synthesized pulsed bass riffs in compositions.

The band split in 1987, and Cross retired from music to pursue a career as a psychotherapist. In 2009, Ultravox alums Ure, Cross, violinist Billy Currie, and drummer Warren Cann reunited for three final tours and a final album, “Brilliant,” which was released by Chrysalis Records in 2012. However, the band resumed its hiatus in 2013.

Cross and his bandmates influenced the growth and sounds of bands in the pop and punk cultures that grew out of the new wave and synth-pop genres that Ultravox helped inform. Musicians from Duran Duran and Simple Minds credited Ultravox as an inspiration.

In his Facebook post, Ure paid tribute to his friend as “the glue that held the band together.” He reminisced that he and Cross had the sort of friendship that easily allowed them to reconnect regardless of the intervening years. Speaking to Cross beyond the grave, he said, “It was great to know and grow with you. You are loved and missed, old friend.”