Bob Geldof usually gets the credit for the original Live Aid Concert and the Live 8 event that followed in more recent times. He had a lot of help, not least from Midge Ure who co-wrote the hit song ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ featuring the glitterati of the mid-80s British pop world which was a direct precursor to the Live Aid Concert.
Ure also worked closely with and as tirelessly as Geldof in pulling both these shows together. Only recently has his important role in producing these ground-breaking benefit concerts been publicly acknowledged: the Queen honored him with a medal.
With the passage of time, Midge Ure’s musical career has also suffered from the public’s lack of interest. That’s a pity because he was, and is, a very talented man. His breakthrough came when he became the front man for the group Ultravox, one of the seminal bands of the late ’70’s, early ’80’s New Wave movement in music that featured performers such as Blondie, The Police, Gary Numan, and Elvis Costello. New Wave was a derivative of punk rock that tended more towards actual musicality, experimentation and electronica. Ultravox had all that and more and in 1981 they had a big hit with the song ‘Vienna.’ The band then went on to a successful recording and touring career that lasted several years and through several albums. In 1985, Ure split from Ultravox and began his solo career with the release of the hit single ‘If I Was’ from his album ‘The Gift.’
‘The Gift’ is a quintessential ’80’s album and none the worse for that. In fact, it is beautifully produced by Ure and showcases his talents as songwriter, singer and multiple instrumentalist. The album opens with ‘If I Was’ which features Mark King of Level 42 on bass. The song poses a range of hypothetical questions in which Ure asks what he could change about himself that might make him more attractive to the object of his desire.
It has a very catchy melody and witty lyrics that compel the listener to sing along – perfect words to repeat into the ear of your dancing partner because they beg a favorable response. No wonder it sold in huge numbers. The album includes another worldwide hit, ‘Living In The Past,’ written by fellow Scot, Ian Anderson, lead singer and all-around lunatic front man of the group Jethro Tull. Ure’s version of this song is not only quite different from the original it is also better than the original: he slows it down, gives it a much heavier beat and adds some new instrumentation.
The title track begins with the sound of a hammer striking an anvil; then voices produce a new beat created by strange glottal harmonies; the intro is rounded off by haunting synthesizers that produce literal waves. The melody is haunting and the lyrics intelligent and unexpected – this song is about art, specifically the art of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, one of the most influential leaders of the early 20th century modernist architect and design movement.
The connection is that Mackintosh lived and worked in Glasgow, Ure’s hometown, where he is venerated. ‘The Gift’ is reprised at the end of the album as a short instrumental, one of three instrumental tracks on the album and in each of them, Ure explores complex rhythms and very satisfyingly mixes the sounds of seemingly incompatible instruments such as the delicate Japanese koto with heavy duty bass and percussion. In ‘Wastelands’ he tackles the same theme of teenage alienation as The Who did with their brilliant song ‘Baba O’Riley’ (from the album ‘A Quick One’) but Ure manages to make it much more poignant. Sample lyrics: “His bedroom window opens to the evening air/ The fox is in his lair/ The volume of his system is full on/ But the neighbors moan and the parents call/ This angry noise is the music of the wastelands.”
The whole album is of a uniformly high quality and there are none of those ‘skip over’ tracks which, unfortunately, infest too many albums. So if you’re old enough to have been around when New Wave was cutting edge but you’re too embarrassed to let your children listen to your Culture Club or Flock of Seagulls tapes, then get hold of this album and play it to them with pride.
If you are too young to have been around in the early ’80s then this would be a good album with which to impress your friends because this retro-style must be due for a come-back any day and you’ll be at the cutting edge.
