Brilliant (album)

Brilliant (stylised as Brill!ant) is the eleventh and final studio album by British synth-pop band Ultravox. It was released on 25 May 2012 by Chrysalis Records. It is the group's first studio album in 18 years, and the first in 28 years from the "classic" Ultravox line-up of Midge Ure, Billy Currie, Warren Cann and Chris Cross (the last being 1984's Lament). The title track was released as its lead single, and premiered on 17 April 2012 on BBC Radio 2. The inspiration for the album was Ms Elizabeth Coles, Midge Ure met her in a sandwich bar in Battersea and was convinced that she was utterly brilliant and said he would name his next album after her.

Brilliant
Studio album by Ultravox
Released	25 May 2012 (2012-05-25)
Recorded	January–December 2011
Studio	Battery, Sarm (London, England) Environment (Bath, England) Studio City Sound (Studio City, California) The Lakehouse (Montreal, Canada)
Genre	Synth-pop
Length	52:48
Label	Chrysalis
Producer	Ultravox Stephen Lipson
Ultravox chronology
Finest (2004) Brilliant (2012)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Bolton News	Favourable[2]
Consequence of Sound	D−[3]
Metro	Mixed[4]
musicOMH	[5]
Release Magazine	8/10[6]
The Scotsman	[7]
Spin	4/10[8]
The West Australian	[9]

Brilliant debuted at number 21 on the UK Albums Chart, selling 6,100 copies in its first week.[10] It received mixed reviews from critics.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Chris Cross, Billy Currie, and Midge Ure.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Live"	4:11
2.	"Flow"	4:24
3.	"Brilliant"	4:22
4.	"Change"	4:30
5.	"Rise"	4:04
6.	"Remembering"	3:43
7.	"Hello"	5:40
8.	"One"	4:43
9.	"Fall"	4:07
10.	"Lie"	4:35
11.	"Satellite"	3:58
12.	"Contact"	4:31

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Brilliant.[11]

Ultravox

• Warren Cann – drums
• Chris Cross – bass, synthesiser
• Billy Currie – piano, synthesiser, violin
• Midge Ure – vocals, guitar, synthesiser

Additional personnel

• Darren Evans – design
• Stephen Lipson – mixing, production
• Mazen Murad – mastering
• Tom Weir – drum engineering

Charts

Chart (2012)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12]	59
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13]	182
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14]	185
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[15]	42
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16]	27
Italian Albums (FIMI)[17]	84
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[18]	28
Scottish Albums (OCC)[19]	13
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[20]	36
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[21]	67
UK Albums (OCC)[22]	21

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Ref.
Australia	25 May 2012	EMI	[23]
Germany		Eden	[24]
United Kingdom	28 May 2012	Chrysalis	[25]
Poland		EMI	[26]
France	29 May 2012		[27]
Italy			[28]
Sweden	30 May 2012		[29]

References

1. O'Brien, Jon. "Brilliant – Ultravox". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
2. Hutchinson, Martin (3 June 2012). "CD Review: Ultravox – Brilliant". The Bolton News. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
3. Ferguson, Jason (31 May 2012). "Album Review: Ultravox – Brilliant". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
4. Haider, Arwa (28 May 2012). "Ultravox's latest offering fails to live up to Brilliant tag". Metro. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
5. Young, Martyn. "Ultravox – Brilliant". musicOMH. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
6. Svensson, Fredrik "Schlatta" (28 May 2012). "Ultravox: Brilliant". Release Magazine. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
7. Shepherd, Fiona; Walton, Ken; Mathieson, Kenny; Gilchrist, Jim; Church, Michael (28 May 2012). "Album reviews: Ultravox | Scissor Sisters | Classical | Jazz | Folk | World". The Scotsman. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
8. Walters, Barry (6 June 2012). "Ultravox, 'Brilliant' (Capitol/EMI)". Spin. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
9. Dwyer, Michael (25 May 2012). "CD Review: Brilliant (Ultravox)". The West Australian. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
10. Jones, Alan (3 June 2012). "Official Charts Analysis: Gary Barlow LP sells 40k". Music Week. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
11. Brilliant (liner notes). Ultravox. Chrysalis Records. 2012. 6239752.CS1 maint: others (link)
12. "Austriancharts.at – Ultravox – Brilliant" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
13. "Ultratop.be – Ultravox – Brilliant" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
14. "Ultratop.be – Ultravox – Brilliant" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
15. "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 201223 on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
16. "Offiziellecharts.de – Ultravox – Brilliant" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
17. "Italiancharts.com – Ultravox – Brilliant". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
18. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
19. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
20. "Swedishcharts.com – Ultravox – Brilliant". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
21. "Swisscharts.com – Ultravox – Brilliant". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
22. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
23. "Brilliant – Ultravox". JB Hi-Fi. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
24. "Ultravox // Brilliant". EMI Music Germany (in German). Archived from the original on 29 May 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
25. "Ultravox: Brilliant". HMV. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
26. "Brilliant – Ultravox". Empik (in Polish). Archived from the original on 10 June 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
27. "Brilliant : Ultravox". Fnac (in French). Retrieved 11 June 2012.
28. "Ultravox – Brilliant". IBS.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
29. "Brilliant – Ultravox" (select "Specifikation" tab). CDON.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 June 2012.