MIDGE Ure has been a solo artist for so long, you tend to forget that he also fronted a huge Eighties band - Ultravox - and several other bands before that.
Midge pays homage to his Ultravox heritage in his Voice & Visions tour, heading for St George’s Hall on May 11. With Band Electronica, he’s celebrating 40 years since the release of Ultravox’s Rage In Eden and Quartet albums.
At the start of 1981, Ultravox were laying claim to be one of the defining acts of the decade, following mega hit Vienna. Their second album with Midge as frontman, Rage in Eden, hit the Top 5. Quartet, produced by George Martin in 1982, featured four hit singles, including the anthem Hymn.
Voice & Visions takes fans back to the decade of pop electronics, experimentation, synths and great songwriting; with album highlights showcased alongside hits from Midge’s solo career. The tour was cancelled twice due to the pandemic. “It was a double whammy, but I felt worse for the audiences and crew,” says Midge. “I could keep myself occupied in the studio, but the crew were on their uppers, their entire world had ground to a halt. Then things were happening again and everyone was looking forward to getting back out there, then it was all gone again. 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 ever considered as it had never happened in our lifetimes.”
Finally, Midge and the band jumped right back into it - “only for me to discover that my voice was completely gone, as I hadn’t used it for about two years!” he recalls. “I had to build it back up again. The whole experience gave me even more of an appreciation of what I have and what I never thought I wouldn’t have.”
The release of Vienna meant Ultravox went from being a serious synth band to pop sensations. Did that restrict their freedom? “Popdom was thrust upon us,” says Midge. “Once you’re in that position it’s weird, especially in those days, as you’re riding the crest of a wave. To a certain extent it didn’t really matter how obscure or dark the songs we were writing were, as they always got a spin on the radio and reached a large audience. The success Vienna gave us enabled us to go do Rage In Eden.”
Were they under pressure to produce more commercial hits? “Chrysalis Records trusted us, they let us go off and see what we could do. We’d turn up after three months with it all done and dusted, none of which they’d never heard even a hint of previously. It was great to be allowed that artistic freedom.”
Both Rage In Eden and Quartet are the sound of a band challenging themselves. Was it important to keep evolving?
“We weren’t trying to write hit records, we just wanted to make interesting pieces of music. To let someone else into our inner sanctum as it were, was huge. Weirdly, I prefer Rage In Eden to Quartet - much as I loved working with George Martin, what came out of it sounded much more polished. It lost some of that raw, spiky edge we had on Vienna and Rage In Eden. It’s still a record I’m proud of though.”
Working with George Martin was memorable: “I was doing my multi-track vocals thing at the start of Hymn, in the studio, and George said it didn’t sound right. He said, ‘Do we have John’s mic here?’ Off they went and came back with this wooden box containing a rare, expensive Neumann valve microphone, which was something in itself, but it was John Lennon’s microphone! I did my vocals literally shaking. Me, a boy from Cambuslang, working with George Martin and Lennon’s equipment. Stuff you dream of as a kid.”
This tour is retrospective, but Midge is still working on new music and has no plans to settle into the nostalgia tour circuit. “Making new music is so important, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t want to be considered a heritage act, though there’s an element of that you can’t avoid just by getting older. Saying that, tours like this that concentrate on heritage albums, you’re trying to remind people that they exist, like you’re saying ‘I didn’t just do Vienna, by the way!’It’s a way of garnering an audience back into the fold. Remind them of the old music, then give them new music as well.”
* MIKRON Theatre explores the story of pioneering women in the police in Amanda Whittington’s new play A Force to be Reckoned With. More Heartbeat than Happy Valley, is performed by a cast of actor/musicians.
With a handbag, whistle and a key to the police box, WPC Iris Armstrong is ready for her first beat on the mean streets of a 1950s market town. But, fresh from police training school, she’s stuck at the station, typing and making tea. Iris and fellow WPC Ruby Roberts are called to any case involving women and children, but what starts as ‘women’s work’ becomes a specialist role, and Iris earns her place in a historic force; along the way she discovers Edwardian volunteers, Suffragettes-turned-moral enforcers, and secrets of the police box. Amanda says her play celebrates the spirit of 1950s women constables, and their “heroic efforts to break the glass ceiling without a truncheon.”
For 51 years Marsden-based Mikron has performed in unusual locations, including a vintage narrowboat, an allotment; a chip shop and lifeboat stations. A Force to be Reckoned With is at Marsden Mechanics Hall on May 13. Call (01484) 843701 or visit mikron.org.uk
* A SUMMER of entertainment at Bradford arts hub Kala Sangam has opened with the inspiring Why Don’t We Exhibition, showcasing the creative talents of learning disabled artists in the district.
Also on the new season line-up is coming-of-age comedy SHEWOLVES; powerful musical drama KaskoSan: Roma 600, featuring local Roma children; Zoobin Surty Karma Dance: Bollywood Tyohar; rap show Elvis Died of Burgers; Bradford coming out story Besharam (Shame-LESS), three new plays from Bloomin’ Buds Theatre tackling Bradford topics; globally renowned Inner Vision Orchestra Quintet with Baluji Shrivastav; and this year’s Moves Fest.
The season ends with Mahmud Manning’s Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow exhibition of the work of local people taking up the challenge of learning Quranic Illumination.
Kala Sangam creative director Alex Croft says:‘We’re particularly excited to be showcasing the work of so many talented Bradfordians, including Sid Akbar’s proudly provocative Besharam, Mahmud Manning’s stunning Quranic illuminations and previews of Bloomin’ Buds’ Edinburgh Fringe Festival shows.” Visit kalasangam.org
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