MIDGE URE
TOWN HALL, BIRMINGHAM
21 FEBRUARY
© Dave Freak
Without a doubt, 1980 was a vintage year for Midge Ure. An adaptable pop veteran, he’d briefly tasted stardom with Glaswegian ‘boyband’ Slik in the mid-70s followed by stints in Sex Pistols spin-off the Rich Kids and Phil Lynott’s hard rockers Thin Lizzy. But he hit an all-time high in 1980 thanks to two influential albums, transforming the 20-something Scot into a New Romantic icon.
Having formed a strong bond with Rich Kids’ Rusty Egan, their shared fascination with emerging synthesiser tech and clubbing led to the formation of Visage, a studio-based project with Ultravox’s Billy Currie, the inimitable Steve Strange, and others. Meanwhile, with Ultravox down both a guitarist and vocalist, Midge was lured into the fold, debuting with their fourth album, Vienna, in