James "Midge" Ure (; born 10 October 1953) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and record producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim. Ure enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980s in bands including Slik,

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. The band initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon although Wr ...

, Rich Kids, Visage, and as the second bandleader of

Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which wa ...

after John Foxx had left, carrying the band into the high charts positions for the six following years before disbanding it. In 1984, he co-wrote and produced the charity single "

Do They Know It's Christmas? "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of pop ...

" putting together for the occasion the supergroup Band Aid. The single has sold 3.7 million copies in the UK at first release, and has become a staple of Christmas songs compilations ever since. The song is the second-highest-selling single in UK chart history. Ure co-organised Band Aid and the events

Live Aid Live Aid was a two-venue benefit concert and music-based fundraising initiative held on Saturday, 13 July 1985. The event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, a m ...

and

Live 8 Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 2005 ...

with

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part ...

. He acts as a trustee for the charity and also serves as an ambassador for

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

. Ure is the producer and writer of several other

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

and new wave hit singles of the 1980s, including " Fade to Grey" (1980) by Visage and the Ultravox signature songs "

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

" (1980), "

Hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

" (1983) and " Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" (1984). He achieved his first UK top 10 solo hit in 1982 with " No Regrets". In 1985, his solo debut studio album '' The Gift'' reached number two in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

and yielded the UK Singles Chart number-one single " If I Was". He also co-wrote

Phil Lynott Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the co-founder, lead vocalist, bassist, and primary songwriter for the hard rock band Thin Lizzy. He was known for his distinctive ...

's " Yellow Pearl", which served as the theme of ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'' for much of the 1980s.

Biography and career

Early years

Born to a working-class family in

Cambuslang Cambuslang (, from ) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th-largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a town hall, it may also be cons ...

(on the outskirts of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

), Ure attended Rutherglen Academy until he was 15 years old. For the first 10 years of his life he lived in a one-bedroom tenement flat in Cambuslang with his brother, sister and parents, later moving to a new house in nearby Eastfield. After leaving school, Ure attended Motherwell Technical College and then began to work as an engineer, training at the National Engineering Laboratory (NEL) in nearby East Kilbride. He started playing music in a Glasgow band called Stumble (c.1969 – c.1971). 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). Jim McGinlay (born James McGinlay) decided to turn Ure's name backwards to "Mij" (Midge, as a good-natured mocking hint to Ure's diminutive stature) 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. The band performed covers as house band in the Glasgow and Edinburgh Clouds discothèques. 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 its name to Slik, with

Bay City Rollers The Bay City Rollers are a Scottish pop rock band known for their worldwide teen idol popularity, as a band in the 1970s. One of many 70s acts heralded as the "biggest group since the Beatles", they were called the "tartan teen sensations fro ...

writers Bill Martin and Phil Coulter providing songs. In 1975 Ure turned down an offer to join the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

, stating that he felt at the time that

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English fashion designer and music manager. He was a promoter and a manager for punk rock and new wave bands such as New York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Adam and the Ants, and ...

had "his priorities completely wrong!", a position he later reversed. Slik achieved a number one single on the UK Singles Chart in February 1976 with " Forever and Ever". In early 1977, Jim McGinlay decided to quit the band, being replaced by Russell Webb. Slik terminated their contract with Martin and Coulter, believing that their

boy band A boy band is a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their Teenage, teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many boy bands ...

image was hindering their chances of success during the rising

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

scene. They changed their name to PVC2 and adopted a more punkish style. Ure's only release with the band under this name was the single " Put You in the Picture".

Rich Kids

By October 1977, Ure had left PVC2 to join former Sex Pistol bass guitarist

Glen Matlock Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956) is an English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs on the Sex Pistols' only offic ...

in Rich Kids. He moved to London and soon found himself immersed in a scene he had previously only read about in the pages of the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

''. Musical tensions within the band led to Ure's departure. Having acquired a Yamaha CS50 synthesiser, Ure – alongside bandmate Rusty Egan – wanted to integrate the new instrument into the band's sound. With Glen Matlock and Steve New preferring to remain with the traditional guitars and drums approach, the band broke up. In January 2010, Rich Kids reformed, for one night only, for a benefit concert for former Rich Kids guitarist Steve New, going then by the name Stella Nova, who was fighting terminal cancer (and who died on 24 May 2010). Although it had been over 30 years since they played together, the press reports praised the gig, which included energetic performances of "Ghosts of Princes in Towers" and "Hung on You". Rich Kids were joined onstage by Mick Jones of

the Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

and Gary Kemp of

Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet ( ) were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids (New Romantics), ...

. Ure also played an acoustic set of

and Visage songs. In February 2016, it was announced that Rich Kids would reform for a joint headline show with the Professionals at London's

O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was original ...

. The show was later rescheduled (due to building work at the Empire) to the O2 Islington Academy on Thu 23 June 2016, and went ahead as rescheduled, with Ure singing and playing guitar.

Visage

In 1978, Egan and Ure formed Visage with lead vocalist Steve Strange, and utilised their new synthesiser when they recorded a cover of the

Zager and Evans Zager and Evans was an American rock music, rock-popular music, pop Duet (music), duo active during the late 1960s and early 1970s, comprising Denny Zager (born February 14, 1944, Wymore, Nebraska) and Rick Evans (born January 20, 1943, Lincoln, ...

classic " In the Year 2525" for promotional purposes. The line-up was expanded in 1979 with the addition of

Magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

members Dave Formula, John McGeoch and Barry Adamson, and

keyboardist Billy Currie, and the band signed briefly to Radar Records for the release of their first single " Tar" in November 1979. The single failed to chart, but the band managed to secure a deal with

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

, the following year. In November 1980 their second single, " Fade to Grey", became a hit-single (making the top ten in the UK and topping the chart in several other countries), and was quickly followed by the release of their self-titled debut album which was also a chart success. In 1982 the second album "The Anvil" went silver in the UK and reached number 6 in the album chart, although the album spawned two further hit singles ( "The Damned Don't Cry" and "Night Train"), tensions within the band members were beginning to threaten its musical future. Ure left Visage shortly after the second album was released, citing creative differences with frontman Steve Strange.

Thin Lizzy

Ure already knew

singer

, and in early 1979 Ure received co-writing credit for "Get Out of Here" on Thin Lizzy's ninth studio album '' Black Rose'' (1979). In July 1979 Ure stepped in to help Thin Lizzy complete a US tour following guitarist

Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career, he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, Heavy metal music, heavy ...

's abrupt departure. Ure also contributed guitar parts to "Things Ain't Working Out" and "Dublin" for the Thin Lizzy remix compilation album '' The Continuing Saga of the Ageing Orphans'' (1979). Thin Lizzy then toured America and Japan. In 1980, during the second part of this tour, Ure switched to keyboards, and was replaced by Dave Flett and then Snowy White as guitarist. At the end of the tour Ure left Thin Lizzy and returned to his primary interest at that time,

. Ure continued to collaborate with Lynott, co-writing Lynott's biggest solo hit, " Yellow Pearl", and produced the track "Together" on '' The Philip Lynott Album''.

Ultravox

In 1979, Ure and Billy Currie formed a close bond playing together in Visage. Rusty Egan persuaded Billy Currie to ask Ure if he was interested in joining a revived Ultravox. Ultravox had been presumed defunct since guitarist Robin Simon quit and lead vocalist John Foxx had left to pursue a solo career. In April 1979 Ure regrouped the band and assumed duties as singer, songwriter, guitarist and second keyboardist. This second incarnation would become the classic line-up, with Currie (keyboards, violin), Chris Cross (bass) and Warren Cann (electronic 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 US. During this time the band wrote a number of songs which were included on their first studio album with Ure. The album, ''

'', was released in July 1980. Although it was the band's fourth studio album, it was the first with Ure, and the first one to chart, although it was only a minor success on first release. However, when the title track "

" was released as a single in January 1981 it became a huge hit and spent four weeks at no. 2 in the UK singles chart and was the 5th highest selling single in the UK that year. The album itself re-entered the album chart and peaked at no. 3. Inspired by the film noir ''

The Third Man ''The Third Man'' is a 1949 film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene, and starring Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, Alida Valli as Anna Schmidt, Orson Welles as Harry Lime and Trevor Howard as Major Calloway. Set in post-Worl ...

'' (1949), the

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Vienna" was directed by

Russell Mulcahy Russell Mulcahy ( ; born 23 June 1953) is an Australian director of film, television, and music videos. He began his career directing music videos for artists like Elton John and Duran Duran, before making his feature directorial debut with the ...

utilising cinematic techniques, and became quite influential. In an interview Ure recalled the way that "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 that Ultravox released the ''Vienna'' album, Visage also released their self-titled debut studio album which made the UK Top 20 and featured the hit single " Fade to Grey" (co-written by Ure and Currie with Chris Payne), also influential in the direction of the

New Romantic New Romantic was an underground subculture movement that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The movement emerged from the nightclub scene in London and Birmingham at venues such as Billy's and The Blitz. The New Romantic mo ...

electropop music scene. For a while between 1979 and 1980, then, Ure was deeply committed to three different bands, all of them quite successful: Ultravox, Visage and Thin Lizzy. In September 1981, Ultravox released their second studio album with Ure as frontman, '' Rage in Eden'', which was a Top 5 hit in the UK. This period saw Ure also work as a producer for other artists, amongst them

Steve Harley Stephen Malcolm Ronald Nice (27 February 1951 – 17 March 2024), known by his stage name Steve Harley, was an English singer-songwriter and frontman of the rock music, rock group Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, Cockney Rebel. The band achieved ...

, Peter Godwin, and Strasse. In 1982 Ure had left Visage, and Ultravox released their third studio album with Ure, '' Quartet'', in October 1982, with production by

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

producer

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...

. The album became their third Top 10 hit and featured four Top 20 singles. After the live album ''

Monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

'' released in October 1983, Ultravox released their fourth studio album with Ure, ''

Lament A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about something ...

'', in April 1984. The album was another Top 10 success and contained the Top 3 hit " Dancing with Tears in My Eyes". The band released '' The Collection'', their first "greatest hits" album at the end of the year, featuring all the singles from 1980 onwards. The album peaked at no. 2 in the UK and was later certified triple platinum. After Ure's successful debut solo studio album in 1985, the fifth and final Ultravox studio album with Ure, '' U-Vox'', was released in October 1986. Although another Top 10 hit, the album (and singles) fared less well than their earlier releases. After the end of the U-Vox Tour Ure left Ultravox. He stated in an Extreme Voice Fanzine 1991: "The spark kind of went out of it for me, Live Aid and Band Aid had a lot to do with it, I suppose. We had a long break from each other and when we came back together we were all working in different directions". "I think we went out with a kind of whimper but we chose to do that really, we didn't do the all-singing, all-dancing farewell tour cash-in that a load of bands do. I had decided that I was leaving before we did our last European tour, the U-Vox tour. We were in Italy." Ure and Currie had met in October 2008 and played an acoustic "Vienna" together on

Absolute Radio Absolute Radio is a British digital radio station owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Absolute Radio Network. It broadcasts nationally across the UK via digital audio broadcasting. The station focuses on alternative ...

in UK. In April 2009, Ure and the other members (Cann, Currie and Cross) reformed Ultravox for the Return to Eden tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the album ''Vienna'' (1980), and in their own words, the "anniversary of their classic line-up". Ure stated in a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

interview in April 2009, "we are not trying to get our youth back, nor the hair that's fallen off already". After appearing at the Isle of Wight Festival 2009 Ultravox followed up the next year with a second round of the tour. In late 2010, Ultravox started working on their sixth studio album fronted by Ure. This album, titled '' Brilliant'', was released in May 2012. Following this release the band embarked on the 'Brilliant Tour' performing shows in the UK and Europe in late 2012. In November 2013, Ultravox were special guests on a four-date arena tour with

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977, becoming best known internationally for their song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100 ...

. Ure also did backstage photography for Ultravox.

Band Aid and charity work

In November 1984, Ure co-wrote the Band Aid hit, "

" with

. Ure was rehearsing with Ultravox for an episode of the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

music show '' The Tube'' when host

Paula Yates Paula Elizabeth Yates (24 April 1959 – 17 September 2000) was a Welsh television presenter and writer. Yates is best known for her work on two television programmes, '' The Tube'' and ''The Big Breakfast''. She was subjected to intense media ...

handed him the phone. It was her then husband, Geldof, who proceeded, recalls Ure, "to rant on about the

Michael Buerk Michael Duncan Buerk (; born 18 February 1946) is a British journalist and newsreader. He presented BBC News from 1973 to 2002 and has been the host of BBC Radio 4's '' Moral Maze'' since 1990. He was also the presenter of BBC One's docudrama ...

BBC 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 not one of the best he has ever written, commenting that "the momentum the artists gave it in the recording studio is what made it". At the studio recording Ure took on the production duties for the song. Although Trevor Horn had been approached to undertake this role, he needed more time to fulfill other obligations than was available. Ure stepped into the breach, with Horn providing his studio, remixing the track and producing the 12" version. Ure and Geldof jointly set up the Band Aid Trust, and he remains active as a Band Aid Trustee. He also co-organised the

concert of 1985 along with Geldof and Harvey Goldsmith. Geldof and Ure have been honoured with two

Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

for writing the song. In 1988, Ure helped to organise the

Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute The Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute was a popular-music concert staged on 11 June 1988 at Wembley Stadium, London, and broadcast to 67 countries and an audience of 600 million. Marking the forthcoming 70th birthday (18 July 1988) of the ...

, at which he also performed. He first performed at

The Prince's Trust The King's Trust (formerly the Prince's Trust) is a United Kingdom-based charity founded in 1976 by Charles III, King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) to help vulnerable young people get their lives on track. It supports 11-to-30-year-olds w ...

rock concert 1982, and has also been the Musical Director at the concerts 1986, 1987, 1988, 2010 and 2011. Ure performed at Music for Montserrat on 15 September 1997 to raise funds for the Caribbean island of

Montserrat Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, wit ...

, which had been devastated by Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and again in 1997, when the island was impacted by volcanic activity. Ure himself lost a house on Montserrat, which was destroyed. On 24 July 1999, Ure was the Musical Director of the Wicked Women concert for the Breakthrough Breast Cancer charity held at Hyde Park in London, featuring artists Ronan Keating,

Big Country Big Country are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981. The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although they have retained a cult following for many years since. The band's music inc ...

and

Lisa Stansfield Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition ''Search for a Star''. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first ...

. In 2005, he organised

concerts with

with the aim of pressing G8 leaders into taking action to end world poverty. Later that year he was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) for services to music and charity in the 2005 Birthday Honours. He has received five honorary degrees and was made an Honorary

Doctor of Arts The Doctor of Arts (D.A.; occasionally D.Arts or Art.D. from the Latin language, Latin ''artium doctor'') is a List of academic disciplines, discipline-based terminal degree, terminal doctorate, doctoral academic degree, degree that was originall ...

in 2005 by the University of Abertay Dundee for his artistic and charity work over the past 30 years. He was made a

Doctor of Music The Doctor of Music degree (DMus, DM, MusD or occasionally MusDoc) is a doctorate awarded on the basis of a substantial portfolio of compositions, musical performances, and/or scholarly publications on music. In some institutions, the award is a ...

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

in 2006. In 2007, he received his third honorary doctorate, from the University of Paisley, for his contribution to Scottish culture and charity work. In 2008,

Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow Caledonian University, informally GCU, Caledonian or Caley (), is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of The Queen's College, Glasgow (founded in 1875) and Glasgow Polytechnic (originally Glasg ...

awarded him his fourth honorary doctorate, for his musical and humanitarian achievements. Ure was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Law A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

s from the

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

in December 2010. As an ambassador for

, Ure returned to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

in 2004 and 2009 and visited

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

in 2006. In August 2020, Ure contributed on ReMission International, Wayne Husseys re-recording of the Mission's " Tower of Strength" called "TOS 2020", to help

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

charities around the world.

Solo career

In June 1982 Ure released his first solo single, a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the 1968

Tom Rush Tom Rush (born February 8, 1941) is an American folk and blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter whose success helped launch the careers of other singer-songwriters in the 1960s and who has continued his own singing career for 60 years. Life ...

song " No Regrets" (based on the 1975 hit cover version by

the Walker Brothers The Walker Brothers were an American pop group formed in Los Angeles in 1964 by John Walker (musician), John Walker (real name John Maus) and Scott Walker (singer), Scott Walker (real name Noel Scott Engel), with Gary Walker (musician), Gary Wal ...

), which made the UK Top 10. Ure also recorded the David Bowie track " The Man Who Sold the World" for the soundtrack to the British comedy film '' Party Party'' (1983). Ure met bassist

Mick Karn Andonis Michaelides (Greek: Αντώνης Μιχαηλίδης; 24 July 1958 – 4 January 2011), better known as Mick Karn, was a British musician who rose to fame as the bassist for the art rock/ new wave band Japan. His distinctive fretles ...

at the first ever Prince's Trust concert in May 1982. Sir George Martin was the musical director and

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...

the Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

was the band leader. In three days in February 1983 Ure and Karn were at

AIR Studios Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producers George Martin, John Burgess (record producer), John Burgess, Ron Richards (producer), Ron Richards, and Peter Sullivan (rec ...

in London and recorded the UK top 40 single "After a Fashion". They also travelled to

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

to film one of the most expensive music videos that Karn would ever be involved in. After working on the Band Aid project and during a hiatus from Ultravox, Ure pursued a solo career in 1985. The single " If I Was" released in September was a UK number one single, and his debut studio album, '' The Gift'', reached No. 2. Ure recruited

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musici ...

to play guitar on his upcoming solo tour. They rehearsed, but Ure was not satisfied with Ronson's playing. A rehearsal live recording of "Fade to Grey" with Ronson's guitar is available from 27 September 1985. Zal Cleminson took over in the five-piece band, alongside Craig Armstrong on keyboards and Kenny Hyslop on drums. After returning to Ultravox for what would be their last studio album together until their 2012 reunion album, the band effectively disbanded in 1987 and Ure concentrated solely on his solo career but with less commercial success. The second studio album, '' Answers to Nothing'' (1988), reached the UK top 30. It featured a duet with

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...

called "Sister and Brother", and the single " Dear God", which helped Ure gain his first foothold with American audiences. It reached No. 6 on the US ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock chart and at No. 4 on the US ''Billboard'' Alternative Music chart. The following year Ure toured in the US with Howard Jones. A change of label to Arista- BMG for his third solo studio album '' Pure'' (1991) saw him back in the UK Top 40. It contained the single "Cold, Cold Heart" which reached UK Top 20, and "I See Hope in the Morning Light", a song written about the possible release of

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

and recorded as a celebration. 11 November 1991, Ure played at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

, with a five-piece band featuring drummer Mark Brzezicki, keyboardist Josh Phillips, bass player Jeremy Meehan, and multi-instrumentalists Steven A. Williams and Willie Dowling. From 22 March to 22 April 1992 Ure toured in the US with four songwriters, Don Henry,

Chip Taylor Chip Taylor (born James Wesley Voight; March 21, 1940) is an American songwriter and singer noted for writing " Angel of the Morning" and " Wild Thing". He is the paternal uncle of actress Angelina Jolie and former actor James Haven. He is the ...

, Darden Smith and Rosie Flores. The tour was called "In Their Own Words". '' If I Was'', a retrospective compilation album of solo and Ultravox hits, was released in February 1993 by

Chrysalis A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages the ...

. It went as high as number 10 in the UK album chart. To support the release he went on a tour in the UK called "Out Alone" which saw Ure performing on his own, accompanying himself primarily on just an acoustic guitar and a keyboard. Ure also made an appearance at the prestigious Oxford University Union Debating Society. His fourth solo studio album, '' Breathe'' (1996), was produced by Richard Feldman. This album had a very Celtic feel with a plethora of acoustic instruments from

Uilleann pipes The uilleann pipes ( or , ), also known as Union pipes and sometimes called Irish pipes, are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the ...

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

s and accordions. Ure said in an interview 2001: "My lowest point was when my album ''Breathe'' came out. I spent two years writing and recording it to find that people weren't taking any notice. As a result all the doors that were normally open to me such as television, had closed." In 1996 the new ''Breathe'' album was followed by further extensive touring, including dates in the US as special guest to

the Chieftains The Chieftains were a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous w ...

. In 1998 the single " Breathe" became a hit-single, in several European countries boosted by its use in a Swatch TV ad campaign, two years after its original release. It entered at No. 1 on both the Italian and the Austrian charts. In 1998 Ure played on a European tour with Troy Donockley, and he also recorded the soundtrack to two American films that year, both directed by Richard Schenkman, ''October 22'', and '' Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five''. Ure's fifth solo studio album, '' Move Me'', was first released September 2000, on Arista label in Germany, later to be released 2001 in the UK on Curb Records. 28 March 2001 Ure was the subject of the '' This Is Your Life'' TV show hosted by

Michael Aspel Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television presenter and newsreader. He hosted programmes such as '' Crackerjack!'', '' Ask Aspel'', ''Aspel & Company'', '' Give Us a Clue'', '' This Is Your Life'', '' Strange ...

on BBC. The same year Ure also released ''Little Orphans'' exclusively from his website. A compilation of previously unreleased recordings. It contained "Feel So Good" with Gordon Giltrap, "Heart" with

, "Personal Heaven" with Glenn Gregory of Heaven 17 and two songs recorded with Mick Karn, Steve Jansen and

Richard Barbieri Richard Barbieri (born 30 November 1957) is an English musician, composer and sound designer. Originally a member of new wave band Japan (and their brief 1989–1991 reincarnation as Rain Tree Crow), he became the keyboard player in the prog ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. In November 2004 Ure released his autobiography, ''If I Was'', through

Virgin Books Virgin Books is a British book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Group, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company. History Virgin established its book publishing ...

. In September 2008 ''10'' was released. The album contains Ure's own interpretations of 10 songs that influenced him and shaped his songwriting. It was recorded in a

log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...

in Eastern Canada, near Montreal, during the long snow bound winter of 2007–2008. Ure worked for over a decade on the next solo studio album, '' Fragile'', which was released on 7 July 2014. The making of ''Fragile'' coincided with Ultravox's 2012 reunion album '' Brilliant''. Reuniting with Ultravox inspired him to focus on music again, and ultimately finish the material that would become ''Fragile''. The album featured the song "Dark, Dark Night", a collaboration with

Moby Richard Melville Hall (September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "amo ...

. In August 2014, Ure also returned to the US with the Retro Futura Tour, featuring Howard Jones, Tom Bailey of

Thompson Twins Thompson Twins were an English Pop music, pop band, formed in 1977 in Sheffield. Initially a New wave music, new wave group, they switched to a more mainstream pop sound and achieved considerable popularity during the early and mid-1980s, scori ...

, China Crisis and

Katrina Leskanich Katrina Elizabeth Leskanich ( ; born April 10, 1960) is an American musician and the former lead singer of the British pop rock band Katrina and the Waves. Their song "Walking on Sunshine (Katrina and the Waves song), Walking on Sunshine" was ...

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. In 2015, Ure's recording of "The Man Who Sold the World" was featured in the video game '' Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain''. On 1 December 2017, the ''Orchestrated'' album was released. It features orchestrated re-recordings of Ultravox and solo career songs arranged by the British composer Ty Unwin, and a new written track called "Ordinary Man". Ure returned to North America in the summer of 2018 on a co-headline tour with Paul Young, called "The Soundtrack of Your Life Tour". In 2019 Ure continued to tour with the Band Electronica (Russell Field, Cole Stacey, Joseph O'Keefe) with "The 1980 Tour", during which they performed Ultravox's album ''Vienna'' (1980) in full and also included highlights from Visage's self-titled debut studio album. On 27 September 2019, Chrysalis Records released ''Soundtrack 1978-2019'', a 32-song collection, encompassing four decades of Ure's rich and varied career. In August 2020, Ure was creating his "Backstage Lockdown Club" with livestreamed acoustic songs and Q&A sessions, to members on the

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website. Ure also invited other artists, including Mark King of Level 42, Glenn Gregory, Howard Jones,

Nik Kershaw Nicholas David Kershaw (born 1 March 1958) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He came to prominence in 1984 as a solo artist. He released eight singles that entered the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart during the decade, i ...

, Gary Kemp, and Clare Grogan of

Altered Images Altered Images is a Scottish New wave music, new wave/post-punk band who found success in the early 1980s. Fronted by singer Clare Grogan, the group branched into mainstream pop music, having six UK top-40 hit singles and three top-30 albums ...

. From 4 January 2021 Ure was hosting on Scala Radio, on their show The Space. 8 October 2021 Ure released the single "Das Beat" with Band Electronica. The project came about when Ure was performing in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

in 2020.

Wolfgang Flür Wolfgang Flür (born 17 July 1947) is a German musician, best known for playing percussion in the electronic group Kraftwerk from 1973 to 1987. Flür claims that he invented the electric drums the group used throughout the 1970s. However, pat ...

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was in the audience and later asked Ure to join a new project he was working on. A few days later, with thoughts of Flür's electronic drumming, the role Düsseldorf has played in the scene, Ure wrote "Das Beat". Whilst Flür went on to record his own version of the song for his album ''Magazine 1'' released in 2022, Ure laid down "Das Beat" with Band Electronica in its original form. Following the 2019's 'The 1980 Tour', Ure and the Band Electronica returned in 2022 with the 'Voice & Visions' tour in Europe, celebrating 40 years since the release of Ultravox studio albums '' Rage in Eden'' (1981) and '' Quartet'' (1982). The much delayed UK leg of the 'Voice & Visions' tour began at Sheffield City Hall in April 2023, and was scheduled to play at 28 venues before concluding in Swindon at the end of May. To mark his 70th birthday, Midge Ure headlined a one-night-only concert at the Royal Albert Hall on 4 October 2023, subtitled 'Celebrating 7 Decades: A Life In Music'. The concert was recorded and released as the live album 'Live at The Royal Albert Hall 04.10.23' on 8 November 2024

Personal life

Midge Ure lives near

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

with his wife, actress and yoga teacher Sheridan Forbes, whom he married in 2003. They have three daughters. He was first married to television presenter, actress and novelist Annabel Giles in 1985. They divorced in 1989, and had one daughter, Molly Lorenne, who was frontwoman and lead guitarist in The Faders from 2004 to 2006. Giles died on 20 November 2023 from a brain tumour. Ure appeared on the 2007 '' Celebrity MasterChef'' series, winning his heat and progressing to the final on 15 June, alongside Nadia Sawalha and Craig Revel Horwood. Ure has been a recovering alcoholic since 2005, something he discusses openly and has written about in his 2004 autobiography ''If I Was,'' the name of his 1985 hit single.

Solo discography

*'' The Gift'' (1985) *'' Answers to Nothing'' (1988) *'' Pure'' (1991) *'' Breathe'' (1996) *'' Move Me'' (2000) *''10'' (2008) *'' Fragile'' (2014) *''Orchestrated'' (2017)

References

External links

* * * *
Midge Ure Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (2005, 2020) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ure, Midge 1953 births 20th-century Scottish male singers Brit Award winners British synth-pop new wave musicians Ivor Novello Award winners Live 8 Living people British male new wave singers Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Cambuslang People educated at Rutherglen Academy Rutherglen Scottish male guitarists 21st-century Scottish male singers Scottish new wave musicians Scottish pop singers Scottish record producers Scottish rock guitarists Slik members Thin Lizzy members Ultravox members Rich Kids members Visage (band) members 21st-century Scottish autobiographers