Review by Ken Ebbens - Flash Radio
I was quite surprised when, before going to see Midge (think ‘Jim’ backwards) Ure at the Guildhall, how many people 45 and under had “never heard of him”. Their loss.
I’ve never been the biggest fan of new wave, synth-pop or electronica but this show was anything but, an excellent mix of that but with a rock element that made it so memorable, on his A Man Of Two Worlds Tour.
Support act Scenius, an Anglo-French synth pop duo (Fab Nau and Steve Whitfield) were for me and friend Pete a little too one-paced apart from the last couple of songs but must commend Fab for some very clear lyrics. Pete thought “too clinical and derivative” sound-wise thinking he heard echoes of Depeche Mode “Black Celebration” whilst I thought of Pet Shop Boys/Communards plus “Funny Sky” reminded me of “National Express” (Divine Comedy).
The darkened auditorium had a message “This performance begins with a non-stop 45-minute musical journey – enjoy”. On came Midge in the low light to play a gentle tune (A Different View) joined by the other band members Russell Field (drums), Cole Stacey (keyboards and bass guitar) and Joseph O’Keefe (keyboards and violin) and then all sped to their positions and off we went for 52 minutes and 12 songs, no chat, just a trip through Ultravox with the odd Visage and other bands added; standouts for me were “Call of the Wild”, “Accent on Youth”, “Man of Two Worlds” but especially the guitar riff-laden “Astradyne” and Led-Zeppelinesque “Monster”. This section ended with “Vienna”, an obvious (large) crowd pleaser.
Midge then spoke for the first time, thanking the crowd for their patience and that at least Vienna was something they knew. He then commented on the age profile of the audience but having the minds of an 18-year-old (lots of laughter), so there are no snipers so feel free to stand and shake about…which lots did.
The show sped towards the end with fan favourites including “If I Was”, “The Voice”, personal favourite “Fade to Grey” and “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes”, encore being “Yellow Pearl” and “Hymn”.
The whole 85-minute show was supplemented with a varied, highly imaginative and very effective light show, one of the best I have ever seen, not distracting, the exact opposite.
Midge was superbly supported by Russell on drums, no flamboyance, but creating the foundation for Cole and Joseph to flourish, all four being excellent musicians, even though Midge has seemingly never rated himself as a guitarist…not from what I heard, Midge!
The sound was just right in clarity and volume; vocally Midge definitely to Pete and myself has changed, especially noticeable in “Vienna”, and has an interesting microphone style making the occasional word difficult to hear, but in no way detracting from an excellent performance by him.
Never heard of Midge Ure? Go see him next time, you will not be disappointed. Most enjoyable.