Midge Ure

Midge Ure biography

James "Midge" Ure, OBE (born 10 October 1953, Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, Scotland) is a Scottish guitarist, singer, keyboard player, and songwriter. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim, the diminutive form of his real name.

Ure 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?", whose reissue won an Ivor Novello Award in 2005 for Best Selling UK Single. Ure co-organised Band Aid, Live Aid and Live 8 with Bob Geldof. Ure acts as trustee for the charity, and serves as ambassador for Save the Children.

Career

Early years

Born to a working-class family in Cambuslang, he attended Cambuslang Primary School and Rutherglen Academy in Glasgow until he was 15 years old. After leaving school Ure attended 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), that included a girl-singing duet, Christine and Agnes. The band's line-up included lead guitar John McMenemy, Alan Wright on harmonica, Fraser Spiers on bass, Kenny Ireland on drums, Alec Baird on vocals Gordon Appacellie.

Salvation, Slik and PVC2

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 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. The band performed covers as house band in the Glasgow discothí¨que 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,

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.

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.

The Rich Kids

By October 1977 Ure had left PVC2 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. The Rich Kids were renowned for their high-octane energetic live shows, including a show at the London College of Printing. In January 2010, The Rich Kids reformed for one night only, for a benefit concert for Steve New who was fighting terminal cancer (and died on 24 May 2010). Although it had been over 30 years since they played together, the press reports praised the gig, with energetic performances of "Ghosts of Princes In Towers, and "Hung on You". The Rich Kids were joined on stage by Mick Jones and Gary Kemp. Ure also played an acoustic set of Ultravox and Visage songs.

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