We’ve already ascertained that Ultravox (you may notice they have now dropped the !) were fans of Krautrock. Konrad “Conny” Plank had been an important sound engineer (he began his career as the sound engineer for Marlene Dietrich) and record producer in the early 70’s German music scene that came to be known as Krautrock. He had worked with Kraftwerk, Neu!,  Ash Ra Tempel, (K)Cluster, Harmonia and Guru Guru as well as being half of the duo Moebius & Plank (with Dieter Moebius of (K)Cluster and Harmonia). He set up his famed Conny’s Studio (the first album recorded there was Kraftwerk’s “Autobahn”) on the outskirts of Cologne in 1974 and in 1978 this is where Ultravox headed to record their new album.

Plank’s grounding in electronic music is vital to Ultravox’s album number 3, the synths are now much more important to the sound. “Systems Of Romance” is utterly superb, one of those albums I can play over and over again and never tire of hearing. Also remember that for a such an overtly electronic album that relies much more on the synthesizers than their previous two records this was released in 1978. Probably only Kraftwerk, in the mainstream, were working like this at that early date (yes I know the Human League released their 1st single before this but they were not yet on our radar).

The new electronic sound is immediately in your face with the long sustained notes that introduce “Slow Motion”. Analogue instruments have not been completely done away with, guitars and drums are still part of the mix, but the electronic keyboards definitely dominate “Slow Motion”. This is the sound that the band later tried to recreate with Midge Ure but this is so much better. “Slow Motion” is an absolute treasure, it sounds huge. 

Songs based around the guitar are still here, “I Can’t Stay Long”, “Someone Else’s Clothes” in particular, continue their Punk connection and “Some Of Them” is a sophisticated punk roar. “Blue Light” pushes the synths to the forefront once more.

On Side 2 things calm down but hearing “Quiet Men” (another song I’m sure the carried into the Midge years) felt like listening to music from the future. The guitar is still scratching away but the synths are bubbling and washing around and the electronic drums sounded like robots were playing them and clapping along at the end. “Dislocation” is full on electronic music. Outside “Slow Motion” my favourite song on this album is “Maximum Acceleration”, a massive song with so much movement in it when you hit the chorus. “When You Walk Through Me” winds up the guitars and eases back the electronics and finally “Just For A Moment” lead us out on a gentle bed of heartbeat bass drums and synth washes, it’s quite lovely.

Those years of 1978, 1979 and into 1980 were incredible years for music and I was so lucky to have lived through them. “Handsworth Revolution”, London Calling”, “All Mod Cons”, “Inflammable Material” all cae out in that time period. In our little world in 1978 “Systems Of Romance” was as big a deal as any of those albums. We all loved the singles that were more Punk Rock bangers, “Young Savage” and “ROckwrok” but this was something much more advanced. It likely gave me a nudge toward diving into Bowie, and songs like “Slow Motion” and “Quiet Men” were so important on those Futurist dancefloors we were to be found on in the early 80’s.

After the relative failure (sales wise) of “Systems Of Romance” Island Records dropped Ultravox on the last day of 1978. The band self financed a US tour in early 1979 and split after their final gig near San Francisco in March that year, with John Foxx declaring his plan to pursue a solo career. 

It’s undeniable what an effect this album must have had on Gary Numan. He would have been formulating “Replicas” at the time “Systems Of Romance” was released and the sound of those two records is eerily similar. Numan (a self confessed uber Ultravox! fan) recruited violinist Billy Currie for his band for the recording of “The Pleasure Principle” and its subsequent tour. The rest of the band scattered to the four winds…or so we thought.

Slow Motion - https://youtu.be/nIlD6XyX_uE?si=Yk_ikePGEheCHS7W