MIGHTY Midge Ure, of Band Aid and Ultravox fame, will be celebrating ’80s’ Gold times at Newton Abbot Racecourse this summer.
Speaking from Bath, his hometown of more than 20 years, he still has the distinctive Glaswegian accent of his youth and the ’80s, when he and Bob Geldof brought the mighty Band Aid and Live Aid to the world.
‘I kind of got sucked into this vortex at that time, hanging on to someone’s coat-tails,’ Midge said modestly. ‘It was hectic and mad.
‘But after the initial madness had worn off I could just go home. It was much harder for Bob. He was the voice piece, as he’s better at shouting and commanding a presence. I was the guy in the background tuning the guitars and pushing the knobs.’
Although he probably won’t be singing 'feed the world' Midge will definitely be belting out his ’80s’ hits – including the iconic Vienna from his Ultravox days – at the racecourse.
He said: ‘These ’80s’ shows tend to be very hit led. I’m not going on stage to be clever and introduce new stuff. Some of the audience will be there to see their favourite band, but the majority will be there to have a good time.
‘I’ll be performing a bit of Ultravox, Visage and some of my solo stuff.
‘I’d be shot if I didn’t play Vienna or, what’s the Devon equivalent, have pasties thrown at me?’ he joked.
The quiet and unassuming Midge said he won’t be staying around for any big post show celebrations.
He added: ‘I won’t be joining Tony Hadley’s party backstage. I’ll be back up the M5 and tucked up in bed. My dirty party days are well and truly over.’
Midge is very enthusiastic about the forthcoming gig with his former pals. He has recently toured the UK with other ’80s’ greats Big Country and Nick Heyward.
He said: ‘We all cross paths all the time. These ’80s’-orientated festivals have become a huge thing. It’s partly nostalgia, but also there was something in the air in those days, which made songwriters excel.
‘I’m not blowing my own trumpet here but we all made some great records. At that time the song was king, it was so important.
‘Then the beats became more important with the arrival of dance music. But you don’t hear dance music so much on the radio now, you hear the old songs from the ’80s as there’s something there.’
Midge has already toured twice this year, with Big Country and Nick Heyward, and with a 50-piece orchestra on a European tour.
‘I love music and live gigs,’ he added. ‘Just like if you’re a mountain climber and doing a job you love, none of it’s a hardship. Yes, of course, travelling can be tiring, but it’s no major hardship being on a plane these days.
‘Unless you’re a megastar and expect people to travel to you you’ve got to get out there and take your songs to the people – I learnt that a long time ago.’
The ’80s’ Gold gig will be Midge’s second outing to Devon this summer. His first is with two multi-instrumentalists originally from the county.
‘I’m a man of many hats,’ he said. ‘Once the big hits stopped, I discovered another world out there. It’s a world of grown-up music, which I’m as enthused about now as I was then.
‘Ultravox got back together six years ago after curiosity got the better of us. We made an album then put the group back on the shelf again. We dipped our toes in the water and are leaving it open for now.
‘I couldn’t do the one band as a full-time thing now. I’ve got too many strings to my bow nowadays.’
Midge is also a big family man, which he says keeps him ‘very grounded’. He has three daughters with his second wife Sheridan Forbes, and an older daughter from his first marriage to actress and writer Annabel Giles.
He also moved his parents from their Scottish council house to a private house near Axminster.
Growing up on a large council estate on the outskirts of Glasgow cemented Midge’s dreams of a life in music.
He said: ‘Being born into a tenement slum with an outside loo, it was music which took me out of my head and into a dream world.
‘I got lost in the music, and would always be singing on my paper round. And I’ve never stopped loving and making music since.’ - KATE COTTON