Midge Ure
OBE (born James Ure
, 10 October 1953, Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, Scotland) is a guitarist, singer, keyboard player, and songwriter. He enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980s in bands including Slik, Thin Lizzy, The Rich Kids, Visage, and most notably as frontman of Ultravox. Ure co-wrote and produced the charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and co-organised both Band Aid, Live Aid and Live 8 with Bob Geldof. He twice received an Ivor Novello Award with Geldof for co-writing "Do They Know It's Christmas?" Ure acts as trustee for the charity, and serves as ambassador for Save The Children. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of his real name, Jim.
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MIDGE URE TICKETS
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Career
Early years
Born to a working-class family, he attended
Rutherglen Academy, in Glasgow, until he was 15 years old. After leaving school, Ure began to work as engineer and playing music in a Glasgow band called Stumble (c 1969 - c 1971), that included a girl singing duet Christine, Agnes, and on lead guitar John McMenemy / Alan Wright on harmonica Fraser Spiers on bass Kenny Ireland on drums Alec Baird on vocals Gordon Appacellie.
Salvation and Slik
Ure joined Salvation as a guitarist in 1972. The band had been formed in Glasgow in June 1970 by the brothers
Kevin (vocals) and
Jim McGinlay (bass guitar). Kevin McGinlay decided to turn Ure's name backwards to "Midge" to avoid any confusion caused by two members of the band having the same first name. Ure has since presented himself in the music scene as Midge Ure.
[1] The band performed covers as house band in the Glasgow discotheque Clouds, the venue for major bands playing on tour in the city. The band also comprised
Billy McIsaac on keyboards and
Kenny Hyslop on drums.
In April 1974, Kevin McGinlay left to pursue a solo career,
so Ure assumed vocals in addition to his guitar duties. In November 1974 the band changed their name to
Slik, with
Bay City Rollers writers
Bill Martin and
Phil Coulter providing songs. In 1975 Ure turned down an offer to be the lead singer of the
Sex Pistols, stating that he felt at the time that McLaren had "his priorities completely wrong!", a position he later reversed.
[2] [3]
Although Slik were rising in popularity in early 1976, achieving a number one single in February with 'Forever And Ever', the band were soon to be out of step with the rising
punk rock scene. In early 1977 Jim McGinlay decided to quit the band, being replaced by
Russell Webb.
Punk days: PVC2 and The Rich Kids
Slik terminated their contract with Martin and Coulter, realising their boy-band image was hindering their chances of success. They changed their name to
PVC2 and adopted a more punkish style. Ure's only release with the band under this name was the "Put You In The Picture" single. By October 1977 he had left the band to join former Sex Pistol
Glen Matlock in
The Rich Kids. Ure moved to London and soon found himself immersed in a scene he had previously only read about in the pages of the NME.
Musical tensions within the band led to Ure's departure. Having acquired a synthesiser, Ure, alongside band-mate
Rusty Egan, wanted to integrate the new instrument into the band's sound. With Matlock and Steve New preferring to remain with the traditional guitars and drums approach, the band split. Egan and Ure formed
Visage with lead vocalist
Steve Strange in 1978 releasing a cover of the Zager & Evans classic "
In The Year 2525". The lineup was expanded in 1979 with the inclusion of
Magazine members
Dave Formula,
John McGeoch and
Barry Adamson, and
Ultravox keyboardist
Billy Currie. Egan and Ure would also form the short-lived band
The Misfits, whose career was curtailed by an approach from
Thin Lizzy.
Thin Lizzy
In July 1979 Ure replaced
Gary Moore, co-writing "Get Out Of Here" with
Phil Lynott for the album
Black Rose
. He also contributed guitar parts to "Things Ain’t Working Out" and "Dublin" for the 1979 Thin Lizzy compilation
The Continuing Saga of the Ageing Orphans
. The band then embarked upon a tour of America and Japan. In 1980, during the second part of the tour he switched to keyboards, replaced by
Snowy White as guitarist. At the end of the tour Ure decided to leave the band, although he continued to collaborate with Lynnott, providing the chorus to "
Chinatown" and co-writing Lynott's biggest solo hit, "Yellow Pearl". Ure felt his energies were better committed to another group:
Ultravox.
Ultravox
1979 had seen Ure and
Billy Currie form a close bond playing together in
Visage. The pair decided to resurrect Currie's former group, the synthpop band
Ultravox. The group had been presumed defunct since guitarist
Robin Simon quit and lead singer
John Foxx had left to pursue a solo career. In April Ure joined the band as singer and guitarist to complete the "classic" Ultravox lineup of Currie (keyboards, violin),
Chris Cross (bass) and
Warren Cann (drums). Although Ure had spent the latter half of 1979 on tour with Thin Lizzy, Ultravox found time late in the year to tour in the USA. During this time the band wrote a number of songs which were included on their debut album with Ure.
The album,
Vienna
, was recorded early in 1980. The singles "Sleepwalk", "Passing Strangers", "
Vienna" and "All Stood Still", saw Ultravox become one of Britain's most successful bands for several years. "Vienna" spent 4 weeks at #2 in the UK singles chart. Inspired by the film
The Third Man, the video, directed by
Russell Mulcahy,
[4] utilised cinematic techniques and became influential. In interview Ure has recalled the way "[music] video changed after that. All these things that became video clichés – cropping the top and bottom off the screen, shooting on film as opposed to videotape, making it look like a movie ... we were quite a groundbreaking act for a while."
The same year Visage released their
Visage
album, which together with single "
Fade to Grey", further served to inspire the direction of the New Romantic music scene.
[5]
In 1982 Ure left Visage shortly after the release of
The Anvil
, citing differences with frontman Steve Strange. The same year saw Ultravox record and release their third album
Quartet
, with production by
Beatles' producer
George Martin. This period also saw Ure work as a producer for other artists, amongst them
Steve Harley,
The Skids and
STRASSE.
Band Aid
In 1984 Ure co-wrote the
Band Aid hit, "
Do They Know It's Christmas?" with
Bob Geldof. Ure was rehearsing with Ultravox or an episode of
The Tube
when Paula Yates handed him the phone. It was her then husband, Geldof, who proceeded, recalls Ure, "to rant on about the Michael Buerk news report on the Ethiopian famine." Geldof provided the initial lyrics, with Ure working the musical theme on a small keyboard in his kitchen. The second half was composed by Ure, with the bridging chorus only assembled in the studio when the artists had gathered. Ure has described the song as one of the worst he has ever written, commenting that "[t]he momentum the artists gave it in the recording studio is what made it".
[6]
At the studio recording Ure also took on the production of the song. Although
Trevor Horn had been approached to fulfill this role, he needed more time to fulfill his obligations than was available.
[7] Ure stepped into the breach, with Horn providing his studio, remixing the track and producing the 12" version. He and Geldof jointly set up the Band Aid Trust, and he remains active as a Band Aid Trustee to this day. He also co-organised the Live Aid concert of 1985 alongside Geldof and
Harvey Goldsmith. Geldof and Ure have been honoured with two
Ivor Novello awards for writing the song.
[8]
Solo career
After members of Ultravox went their separate ways in 1986, Ure pursued a solo career. The single "If I Was" was a UK number one single, and the subsequent album
The Gift
reached #2. The non-album single "Call Of The Wild", released in 1986, reached #27 in the charts. A career retrospective, "If I Was" was released in 1993, while in 1998 the single "Breathe" was a hit in Europe, boosted by its use in a
Swatch TV ad campaign.
In 2005 Midge Ure organised
Live 8 concerts with
Bob Geldof with the aim of pressing
G8 leaders into taking action to end world poverty. Later that year he was made an Officer of the
Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to music and charity. He has also received four honorary degrees in recent years. He was made an Honorary
Doctor of Arts in 2005 by the
University of Abertay Dundee for his artistic and charity work over the past 30 years.
[9] He was made a
Doctor of Music by
University of Edinburgh in 2006.
[10] In 2007, he received from the
University of Paisley his third honorary doctorate, for his contribution to Scottish culture and charity work.
[11] In 2008, Glasgow Caledonian University awarded him his fourth honorary doctorate, for his musical and humanitarian achievements.
[12]
Ure is an Ambassador for
Save the Children and in recent years he has gone back to
Ethiopia and visited
Sierra Leone in that capacity.
Ure continues to perform his own songs, along with popular Ultravox songs, in
concerts both solo, acoustic and with a band. Ultravox have briefly reformed in 2009 and toured succesfully to large audiences (Isle of Wight 2009 Festival among other venues) to celebrate, in their own words, the "anniversary of their classic lineup". There are however no plans for new recordings announced as, in Ure's own words tyo a BBC interview in April 2009, "we are not trying to get our youth back, nor the hair that's fallen off already".
[13] [14]
Personal life
Ure resides in the village of
Southstoke near the city of
Bath. Ure has been married twice: to actress and writer
Annabel Giles (with whom he has one daughter,
Molly) and to Sheridan Forbes (with whom he has three daughters, Kitty, Ruby and Flossie). Ure's two main passions are music and cooking. He was able to indulge the second of these in the 2007
Celebrity Masterchef
series, winning his heat and progressing to the final on 15 June, alongside
Nadia Sawalha and
Craig Revel Horwood. Although all three competitors greatly impressed the judges, the trophy was won by Sawalha.
Solo discography
Albums
- The Gift
- (1985, Chrysalis Music Ltd, 0946 CCD 1508) (#2 UK Albums Chart)
- Answers to Nothing
- (1988, Chrysalis Music Ltd, CCD 1649) (#30 UK Albums Chart, #88 Billboard 200)
- Pure
- (1991, BMG, 261 922) (#36 UK Albums Chart)
- Breathe
- (1996, BMG, 74321346292)
- The Gift
- (1996, Chrysalis Music Ltd, CDGOLD 1045) - Expanded reissue with four bonus tracks.
- Answers to Nothing
- (1998, Chrysalis Music Ltd, 496 8242) - Expanded reissue with four bonus tracks.
- Went To Coney Island On A Mission From God... Be Back By Five
(soundtrack) - (2000, EvenMore Entertainment) - Instrumental soundtrack.
- Move Me
- (2001, Curb Records Ltd, CURCD 100)
- Move Me +
- (2006, Hypertension) - Expanded 2CD digipack reissue with bonus tracks.
- 10
- (2008, Hypertension, HYP 8264) - Cover versions album.
- Pure + Breathe
- (2009, Edsel Records, EDSD 2034) - Expanded 2CD reissue of both albums with bonus tracks. [15]
Compilations & Live Albums
- Live In Concert
- (1999, Strange Fruit, SFRSCD086) - Live album recorded at the Manchester Apollo, 12/11/1991.
- If I Was: The Very Best Of Midge Ure & Ultravox
- (1993, Chrysalis Records Ltd) (#10 UK Albums Chart) - Compilation album.
- If I Was: The Very Best Of Midge Ure & Ultravox
- (1993, Chrysalis Records Ltd, f2 21995) - US version with three bonus tracks.
- No Regrets: The Very Best Of Midge Ure
- (2000, EMI Records Ltd, 528 5622) - Compilation album comprising studio and live sets.
- A Glorious Noise - 'Breathe' Live
- (2001, Environment Records, ENVCD 001) - Live album. Released exclusively via the web site.
- The Very Best Of Midge Ure & Ultravox
- (2001, EMI Records Ltd, 535 8112) - Compilation album.
- Little Orphans
- (2001, Environment Records, ENVCD 002) - Unreleased tracks. Released exclusively via the web site.
- Intimate Moments: April 12th - 22nd 2002
- (2002, Environment Records, ENV03) - Live album. Released exclusively via the web site.
- One Night In Scotland: Nov 21st 1988
- (2002, Environment Records, ENV04) - Live album. Released exclusively via the web site.
- Once Upon A Time In America
- (2003, Environment Records, ENV05) - Live album (CD & VCD). Released exclusively via the web site.
- Septemberfest
- (2004, Environment Records, ENV06) - Live album (CD & VCD) recorded in Germany 1996. Released exclusively via the web site.
- Re*Live
- (2005, Hypertension, HYP 5235) - Live album recorded in 2003 from the UK 'Sampled, Looped And Trigger Happy' tour.
- Duet
- (2006, Environment Records, ENVCD 009) - Live album with Troy Donockley. Released exclusively via the web site.
- A Live Christmas
- (2007, Environment Records, ENVCD 010) - Live album recorded at Wembley Arena 23/12/1985. Released exclusively via the web site.
- Intimate Moments 2
- (2008, Environment Records, ENV10) - Live album (CD & DVD-R) recorded in Germany 2006 / 2007. Released exclusively via the web site.
Singles
| Single
| Year
| UK Singles Chart | US Hot 100
| US Modern Rock
| US Main- stream Rock
| Album
|
| No Regrets
| 1982
| 9
| -
| -
| -
| ''
|
| After A Fashion
(with Mick Karn)
| 1983
| 39
| -
| -
| -
| ''
|
| If I Was
| 1985
| 1
| -
| -
| -
| The Gift
|
| That Certain Smile
| 28
| -
| -
| -
|
| Wastelands
| 1986
| 46
| -
| -
| -
|
| Call Of The Wild
| 27
| -
| -
| -
| ''
|
| Answers to Nothing
| 1989
| 49
| -
| 26
| -
| Answers to Nothing
|
| Dear God
| 55
| 95
| 4
| 6
|
| Cold, Cold Heart
| 1991
| 17
| -
| 12
| -
| Pure
|
| I See Hope (In The Morning Light)
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
| Breathe
| 1996
| 70
| -
| -
| -
| Breathe
|
| Guns And Arrows
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
| You Move Me
| 2001
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Move Me
|
| Beneath A Spielberg Sky
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
References
- Title Unavailable
- Title Unavailable
- "Midge Ure interview", Global Friends of Scotland. ARchived 14th January 2009.
- Ultravox - Vienna (version 1: concept)
- Rimmer, Dave. ''New Romantics: The Look" (2003), Omnibus Press. ISBN 0711993963
- Crichton, Torcuil. "Whatever Happened To Midge Ure?" Nov 25, 2007, ''Sunday Herald''
- Hunt, Dennis. "Pop Music Ure, The Elf Behind 'Christmas'", Apr 28, 1985, LA Times, p.63.
- "Live Aid duo win second Ivor gong", June 4 2005, ''Music Week'', p.1
- Title Unavailable
- Title Unavailable
- Title Unavailable
- "Midge tots up 4th uni honour". November 26 2008, ''Evening Times''.
- "Ultravox announce UK dates for Return to Eden tour (2009)" ''indieLONDON'', 2008.
- Spencer, Kathryn. "
Midge collects another degree", 27 November 2008, ''The Express''.
- British Hit Singles & Albums