Chris Cross facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Chris Cross
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Cross in 2009
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Christopher Thomas Allen |
| Also known as | Chris St. John |
| Born | 14 July 1952 Tottenham, London, England |
| Died | 25 March 2024 (aged 71) |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
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| Years active |
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Chris Cross (born Christopher Thomas Allen, 14 July 1952 – 25 March 2024) was an English musician. He was best known as the bass guitarist for the new wave band Ultravox.
Contents
About Chris Cross's Life
His Early Years
Christopher Thomas Allen was born in Tottenham, London, England. This happened on July 14, 1952. Chris went to Belmont Secondary Modern School. He also attended William Forster Comprehensive.
He started his music journey playing in different bands. These bands were in Tottenham, North London. He was greatly influenced by bands like Small Faces and Desmond Dekker. He also liked The Crazy World of Arthur Brown.
Later, he joined a band called Stoned Rose. This was in Preston, Lancashire. He played with Pete Hughes and Mick Carroll. They later formed a band called Ritzi. Chris also decided to go to college. He wanted to study psychology, which he had always found interesting.
Joining Tiger Lily and Ultravox
In 1973, Chris came back to London. He went to Art College to study Art and Psychology. At the same time, he saw an advertisement. A student named Dennis Leigh was looking for band members.
They formed a new band called Tiger Lily. Guitarist Stevie Shears joined them. Drummer Warren Cann joined soon after. A year later, violinist and keyboardist Billy Currie also joined.
Tiger Lily spent a year working on their songs. They practiced in a workshop in Kings Cross. From 1974 to 1976, they played many shows. In 1976, the band changed its name to Ultravox!. They signed a deal with Island Records.
In 1979, Ultravox had released three albums. These albums were Ultravox!, Ha!-Ha!-Ha!, and Systems of Romance. They were not big hits, but they were important. The band then toured the USA and Canada. After this, the original singer John Foxx left. Guitarist Robin Simon also left.
Chris Cross then worked on a fun side project. He played with Pretenders' guitarist James Honeyman-Scott. He also played with Eddie and the Hot Rods' singer Barrie Masters. The Rods drummer Steve Nicol was also part of this project.
Midge Ure then joined Ultravox. The band started to create more unique synthesiser sounds. They did this while recording their successful Vienna album. By this time, Chris and Midge were good friends. They even directed music videos together. Some of these were Bananarama's "Shy Boy" and "The Telephone Always Rings" by Fun Boy Three.
Chris Cross also took part in the Band Aid video. He wrote the music for a song called "The Bloodied Sword". Ultravox released a few more successful albums. These included Rage in Eden (1981) and Quartet (1982). Other albums were Monument (1983) and Lament (1984). Their last album, U-Vox, was less successful. After a tour in 1987, the band members started other projects. Chris said they "never got round to working on Ultravox" again for a while.
Ultravox's Return
In November 2008, it was announced that Ultravox would tour again. This tour was called "Return to Eden". It started in April 2009. They also played at two music festivals. EMI released a Best of Ultravox CD/DVD.
In 2012, the band released a new album called Brilliant. Chris Allen helped write all the songs. He worked with Billy Currie and Midge Ure. The band promoted the album with a UK tour. They also played several shows in Europe.
Chris Cross's Musical Gear
When John Foxx was the singer of Ultravox, Chris used certain instruments. He played a Guild B-301 bass. He also used a white Gibson EB-3 bass. Another bass he used was a fretless Fender Precision bass. For keyboards, he used an EMS Synthi AKS and later a Mini Moog synthesiser. He used an Ampeg amplifier with large speaker cabinets.
When recording the Vienna album, he used different gear. He played a Yamaha bass and a Fender Precision bass. He also used a Mini Moog synthesiser and a Yamaha synthesiser.
Later, he also used Status and Steinberger basses.
Chris Cross had a special grey bass guitar. It was an Ibanez RoadStar from the early 1980s. This bass was used on many Ultravox albums. It was his main instrument during the "Return to Eden" Tour in 2009.
On the 2010 "Return to Eden" tour, he used a Rickenbacker 4003 bass. It had a Fireglo finish. He also had a black Fender Telecaster Bass as a backup.
His Passing
Chris Cross passed away on March 25, 2024. He was 71 years old.
See Also
In Spanish: Chris Cross para niños
