Grammy and Brit Award winning musician Midge Ure returns to North America for leg two of the ‘Live and Electric’ Tour tonight. He’s playing with a full band for the first time since the Retro Futura Tour in 2014: with former Right the Stars drummer BC Taylor and L.A. based keyboard player Tony Solis “I have been fortunate enough to meet up with some brilliant American musicians over the last few years and will be working with a couple of them on this tour. Both are multi instrumentalists and will cover drums, bass and electronics”
This run of dates will be mosty West Coast then crossing into Texas and ultimately Nashville, TN. Last year saw Ure playing mostly East Coast dates and the year prior he toured solo acoustic on the Fragile Troubadour Tour not only playing but traveling completely solo and recording the whole experience himself for a documentary released late last year. The film highlights the realities facing the modern touring musician. Ure explains how the idea came to be: “After I was asked to do a masterclass at Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts I realised that talking about multi album record deals and world tours would be something most of the students would never experience so I set about doing the six week tour completely alone. No crew. No tour manager. No musicians. I wanted to show the reality of what they might face, if they pursue a career in the current music industry.”
Midge Ure:Fragile Troubadour from midge ure on Vimeo.
Midge will be performing Ultravox, Visage and solo material as well as playing songs from his highly acclaimed album Fragile, released in 2014. Listen here via Billboard Magazine. Very much plugged in, this tour features Ure on electric guitar and synthesizer recalling the groundbreaking, innovative sound he is known for.
Ure is constantly in the studio when breaks in touring allows working on new material with hopes for a new full-length album to be done by late next year. He has also contributed a song for the accompanying album to the movie ‘Fly’ about the Olympic ski underdog Eddie the Eagle released in the UK and US in 2016. The song Touching Hearts and Skies while contemporary is steeped in the essence of the early 80’s Ultravox/Visage sound.
Midge has also just appeared in a new highly acclaimed BBC TV show looking for ‘part time’ bands, exploring unsigned bands who perform just for the she joy of it. He travelled across Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales with a film crew choosing artists to perform at a concert in Manchester where the audience would select their favorite band. New Order’s Peter Hook and Soul to Soul’s Jazzy B covered other parts of the UK. Unlike other ‘talent shows’ there is no record deal, music equipment or blank cheques awarded. The prize is appearing on the show and the platform it gives them.
Another recent UK happening saw Midge reunite with some old friends…After meeting up with old Rich Kids bandmate ex Sex Pistol Glen Matlock at the prestigious Q Awards the pair decided to get together with drummer Rusty Egan and do a ‘one off’ show to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the birth of UK punk. The band performed the London show with Spandau Ballets Gary Kemp helping out on guitar.
Midge Ure Tour Dates:
January 5 – Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw
January 6 – Seattle, WA – Triple Door
January 7 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir
January 9 – Sacramento, CA – Harlow’s
January 10 – Petaluma, CA – Mystic Theater
January 11 – San Francisco, CA – Social Hall
January 12 – Orange County, CA – Coach House
January 13 – Los Angeles, CA – The Roxy
January 14 – San Diego, CA – The Roxy
January 16 – Salt Lake City, UT – Grand at The Complex
January 18 – Denver, CO – Soiled Dove
January 20 – Austin, TX – 3Ten
January 21 – Denton, TX – Dan’s Silver Leaf
January 23 – Nashville, TN – City Winery
