# ROckWrok

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"**ROckWrok**" is a single by the [post-punk](/source/Post-punk) band [Ultravox!](/source/Ultravox), released by [Island Records](/source/Island_Records) on 7 October 1977. It was the last British non-free single (the next, "[Quirks](/source/Quirks_(song))", came free along with initial copies of the album) released from the *[Ha! Ha! Ha!](/source/Ha!_Ha!_Ha!)* album and featuring [Stevie Shears](/source/Stevie_Shears) as guitarist. The next non-free single was "[Frozen Ones](/source/Frozen_Ones)", released only in Germany shortly afterwards.[4]

"ROckWrok" features a punk sound derived from Warren Cann's drums and Stevie Shears' guitar alongside [John Foxx](/source/John_Foxx)'s hard vocals. It was regularly performed live until Ultravox's U.S. and Canadian tour in 1979,[5] when Foxx decided to go solo. The song was performed live by [Massive Attack](/source/Massive_Attack) on their 2019 tour. They had previously sampled "ROckWrok" for their 1998 song "[Inertia Creeps](/source/Inertia_Creeps)".[6]

The B-side is an early version or demo,[7] or alternate version of "Hiroshima Mon Amour" (named after the famous [French movie](/source/Hiroshima_Mon_Amour)), written by John Foxx and Billy Currie. It has a punkier sound than the album version of the song. A third version of the song was performed live on *[The Old Grey Whistle Test](/source/The_Old_Grey_Whistle_Test)* the next year, with [Robin Simon](/source/Robin_Simon) replacing Shears as guitarist; it was quieter than the "ROckWrok" single version but maintained the rock style, also differing from the synthpop oriented version on *Ha! Ha! Ha!*.

This single, like all the *Ha! Ha! Ha!*-era releases, did not perform well in the charts.

## Track listing

**7" version**

1. "ROckWrok" – 3:33
1. "Hiroshima Mon Amour" – 4:54

## Personnel

- [John Foxx](/source/John_Foxx) – vocals
- [Chris Cross](/source/Chris_Cross) – bass, vocals
- [Stevie Shears](/source/Stevie_Shears) – guitar
- [Warren Cann](/source/Warren_Cann) – drums, vocals
- [Billy Currie](/source/Billy_Currie) – keyboards, synthesizer, violin

## References

1. ["\[promotional advertisement\]"](https://www.flickr.com/photos/57779449@N02/54690876393/in/album-72177720328022110). *[New Musical Express](/source/New_Musical_Express)*. October 8, 1977. p. 63. Retrieved 12 November 2025. – via [Flickr](/source/Flickr)

1. ["Metamatic - The Official John Foxx Website: Discography"](http://www.metamatic.com/mdiscdocs01/wip6404.shtml). *metamatic.com*. Retrieved 6 November 2025.

1. ["ROckwrok \[Comments and Reviews\]"](https://www.45cat.com/record/wip6404&rc=1509417#1509417). *45cat.com*. Retrieved 10 November 2025.

1. ["ULTRAVOX ROCKWROK singles"](https://web.archive.org/web/20081018031544/http://sound.jp/rockwrok/single_uv.html). Archived from [the original](http://sound.jp/rockwrok/single_uv.html) on 18 October 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2009.

1. [Ultravox – The Story Pt 4, Warren Cann Interviewed by Jonas Wårstad: Feb 1979 – First US tour starts](http://www.discog.info/ultravox-interview4.html)

1. Patrin, Nate (8 January 2017). ["Massive Attack – Mezzanine"](http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22703-mezzanine/). *[Pitchfork Media](/source/Pitchfork_Media)*. Retrieved 28 July 2017.

1. [Ultravox – The Story Pt 2, Warren Cann Interviewed by Jonas Wårstad: 14 Oct 1977 – Third single 'ROckwrok/Hiroshima mon amour (early version)'](http://www.discog.info/ultravox-interview2.html)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [ROckWrok](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROckWrok) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROckWrok?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.