BACK ON THE ROAD

Singer, producer and household name Midge Ure is touring his live show at last, after the pandemic disrupted his plans not once but twice. Fresh from a packed performance at Venue Cymru in May, the musician spoke to Shire about his latest work.

It’s hard to believe that fresh-faced Midge Ure turns 70 this year. Despite five decades at the heart of the music industry, the former Ultravox frontman and Live Aid veteran is still writing and releasing new music, and is currently on tour with his band Electronica.

Midge – he owes the name to a pal who reversed the less-original Jim – grew up near Glasgow and found fame in bands including Slik, Rich Kids and Visage before joining Ultravox. From topping the pop charts in the early ’80s, he co-wrote and produced the charity hit ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ to raise funds for famine in Ethiopia. Live Aid, Live 8 and his work for Save the Children earned him an OBE for services to music and charity – his latest contribution was on ReMission International’s ‘TOS 2020’, raising money for Covid-19 charities at the start of the pandemic.

The second lockdown was the toughest, he said. “It was a strange time for all of us. I felt bad as the tour was postponed twice, which was a double whammy, but I felt worse for the audience – and the crew. I could keep myself occupied in the studio but their entire world had just ground to a halt. Everyone was looking forward to getting back out there, then all of a sudden it was all gone again. It was horrendous, and it got to the point we were thinking maybe it won’t ever come back. The idea that performing music could become unattainable was something nobody had considered.”

Finally the band was ready to head out into the whole new world that emerged from Covid, only to be hit by another set-back.

“My voice was completely gone. I hadn’t used it for about two years, and I had to start all over again and build it back up. The whole experience gave me even more of an appreciation of what I have. The day you stop doing what you do should be the day you choose, not something that’s forced on you.”

Star struck

Despite his years of stardom with Ultravox, Midge admits that his experiences of working with Beatles legend George Martin, who produced his album Quartet, were nerve-wracking even for him.

“There was a moment in particular, where I was doing my multitrack vocals thing at the start of ‘Hymn’. I’m in the studio on my own with the headphones on and George said it didn’t sound right. So off they went and came back with this wooden box containing a very rare and expensive Neumann valve microphone – which would have been something in itself but it was John Lennon’s microphone! So we set it up and I did my vocals literally shaking. I was singing into John Lennon’s microphone! It was one of those ‘pinch me’ moments. It’s the stuff you dreamed of when you were a kid.”

There are no plans to settle into the heritage act circuit, despite enjoying playing the old favourites and crowd-pleasers at his shows.

“Making new music is so important, as far as I’m concerned. It’s just something I do, no different from breathing or blinking. As long as I’m able and willing, I’ll be writing and releasing new music, there’s no doubt about that.”