Midge Ure

Primarily celebrated for his collaborations with Bob Geldof on the historic Band Aid and Live Aid charity projects, Midge Ure nevertheless had already enjoyed much success with a variety of bands - notably Slik and Ultravox - long before then. Born James Ure on October 10, 1953, his musical journey began in Glasgow in 1969 in a covers band called Stumble, who gradually transformed themselves into the pop boy band Slik, securing a Number 1 single in 1976 with "Forever and Ever". Turning down an offer to join the Sex Pistols, Midge Ure re-shaped Slik as the punk-influenced PVC2, before he moved to London to join ex-Sex Pistol Glen Matlock in The Rich Kids. Becoming hooked on the synthesiser, he then formed a new band Visage with Rusty Egan, enjoying a major hit in 1980 with synthpop single "Fade to Grey". After a short spell with Thin Lizzy, Midge Ure was invited by Billy Currie to help resurrect Billy Currie's old synth-pop band Ultravox, resulting in one of the biggest hits of Midge Ure's career, the 1981 smash "Vienna". The albums Vienna and Rage in Eden also sold well, while Midge Ure also made his mark behind the production desk working on tracks with the likes of Skids and Steve Harley, and released his solo single "No Regrets". In the meantime he had another hit with Ultravox - "Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" - and released his first solo album. Midge Ure's reputation rocketed after collaborating with Bob Geldof on Band Aid's 1984 Number 1 "Do They Know It's Christmas", after which he achieved his first solo Number 1 with "If I Was" from the album The Gift (1985), and he continued recording and playing concerts into the 2000s. Subsequent Midge Ure solo albums include Pure (1991), Breathe (1996), Move Me (2000), 10 (2008), and Fragile (2014). In 2017, he released Orchestrated, featuring orchestral versions of some of his hits. It was followed in 2026 by the diptych Man of Two Worlds, including World One: Music and World Two: Songs.

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