Lament is the seventh studio album by British new wave band Ultravox, released on 6 April 1984 by Chrysalis Records. It was the last album featuring original drummer Warren Cann until the band's reunion album Brilliant in 2012. The album peaked at number eight on the UK Albums Chart and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 8 June 1984 for shipments of 100,000 copies. It also reached number 25 in Germany and number 115 in the United States.

Background

Ultravox produced Lament themselves, a logical step considering the experience that they had gained working with two very different producers, Conny Plank and George Martin. Ure and Currie had at this time built their own home studios. Ure's Musicfest Studio located in Chiswick and Currie's Hot Food Studio in his basement in Notting Hill Gate. The album's inner sleeve on LP releases features a photograph of Callanish Stones, a neolithic stone arrangement on Lewis in Scotland. On later releases of the album, this photograph appears on the front cover in place of the original tracklist, which is instead displayed on the formerly-blank back cover.

Tour

The tour was called "Set Movements Tour", including 5 nights at Hammersmith Odeon 6th to 10 June 1984, and was supported by the band Messengers.

Versions

The album's initial release on CD featured a different track listing from the initial LP release as the songs were interspersed with remixes. When the album was next re-released on CD in 1999, it featured the original track listing with seven bonus tracks consisting of various B-sides and remixes from the Lament period added to the end of the album. The album was once again re-released in 2009 as a double CD set. The first disc consisted of the original album remastered. The second disc contained remixes, B-sides and previously unreleased "work in progress" versions of songs. Prior to the issue of a deluxe special edition box set of Lament in 2024, April's Record Store Day saw the release of a limited edition 12" featuring four newly created extended versions of album tracks, mixed by Steven Wilson: White China, Man Of Two Worlds, When The Time Comes and A Friend I Call Desire. Two of these are to feature on the box set, and two are exclusive to this special vinyl release.

Track listing

LP track listing

Side A Side B

CD and cassette track listing

All songs written by Warren Cann, Chris Cross, Billy Currie, and Midge Ure. Cassette Side One Side Two CD

1999 UK re-release

2009 Remastered Definitive Edition

Disc one Disc two

2024 Super Deluxe Edition

Disc one Disc two Disc three Disc four Disc five Disc six Live at London Hammersmith Odeon, 7th June 1984 (Part one) Disc seven Live at London Hammersmith Odeon, 7th June 1984 (Part two) This release is available on vinyl and CD box set (which also contains an audio DVD featuring surround sound and stereo versions of the Lament/B-sides Steven Wilson Mixes Original 1984 Mixes plus 24/96 LPCM Stereo Mix of the original 1984 mixes of Lament/B-sides)

Personnel

Ultravox Additional musicians

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications