Iconic ‘computer-generated TV host’ Max Headroom is best known for his music-video-styled TV appearances and Coke commercials, but music was central to the project from the start. The 1985 film Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future drew heavily on music-video aesthetics, making the score by Ultravox’s Midge Ure and Chris Cross a defining part of its identity. In this interview, Ure reflects on composing the music and why the film’s vision of media still resonates today.
I remember really liking the “Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future” soundtrack and thinking it was very effective. How did the project come about and what was the experience like?
Midge Ure: Chris and I used to direct promos for Ultravox, Visage etc so the obvious move forward was to do some soundtrack music. We had, after all, been doing it in reverse for quite a while. Making the soundtrack and adding pictures afterwards, while movies have the images first and music after.
The cinematography and editing seemed strongly influenced by music videos. Did your own experience with music video have any impact on how you approached the soundtrack?
Midge Ure: The directors, Rocky and Annabel had directed many promos before doing Max so they had a great understanding of how music and pictures gelled together, as Chris and I had. It was a good combination of people with like minded thoughts.
Looking back, what are you thoughts on the overall concepts of the film, particularly the portrayal of the media of the ‘future’ vs what we have today (the internet, reality tv, etc)?
Midge Ure: It was way ahead of it’s time and the subsequent Max Headroom tv programs took music and television way beyond where it had ever gone before. I just wonder if we are all being exposed to ‘blipverts’ and just haven’t noticed! [Blipverts were highly compressed commercials with the unfortunate side effect of sometimes causing people to explode….]
In 2014 Midge Ure released a new solo album, “Fragile,” and he as been touring extensively. Check out the interview with did with him about that album, and visit his official site for the latest news.
