Side by side, Midge Ure is like a man from two worlds…
His first album of new material in 12 years, Midge Ure presents ‘A Man Of Two Worlds’ a double opus partly inspired by Ure’s own lockdown exploration of instrumental music when he was presenting ‘The Space’ on Scala Radio.
Over the decades, Ure has shown his prowess with instrumentals like ‘Astradyne’ and ‘Monument’ with ULTRAVOX, ‘The Dancer’ with VISAGE and solo with the B-sides ‘Mood Music’ and ‘Piano’, along with album tracks such as ‘Edo’, ‘Antilles’, ‘Monster’, ‘Wire & Wood’ and ‘Bridges’. One of his most widely heard instrumentals was ‘Rivets’, his collaboration with the late Chris Cross for a Levi’s TV and cinema commercial in 1983.
Ure’s first solo album ‘The Gift’ had actually originally been pitched as a split album of songs on one side and instrumentals on the other, like David Bowie’s ‘Low’. But the realisation turned out slightly differently. However, ‘A Man Of Two Worlds’ sees that concept coming to fruition comprising of two distinct halves; ‘World One: Music’ features eight instrumentals while ‘World Two: Songs’ contains eight new vocal tracks.
Despite the acoustic six string intro on ‘A Different View’, melancholic piano-based instrumentals with virtual string and vibe embellishments are what form this eight track suite. Composed with the keys triggered by a guitar synth, an instrumental that Ure first experimented with in 1984, these are slow brooding pieces that are not quite fully ambient or classical.
Photo by Toddevision
Haunted by the spectre of lockdown, ‘World One: Music’ is an elegiac soundtrack of remembrance. From the chamber recital of ‘The Space In-Between’ featuring Joseph O’Keefe of INDIA ELECTRIC CO on violin to the threadbare sparseness of ‘Blues & Greys’, while these works might not possess the echoing pastoral resonance of the late Harold Budd, Ure understands his sense of space and does not overload the arrangements to achieve the desired effect.
Using the melody of a lullaby that Ure used to sing to his children, the gently swung closer of ‘The Pictures You Carry With You’ gets closest to being lively. But that is not the point to this beautiful music, as exemplified by the haunting tones of ‘The Dimming Light’. While ‘World One: Music’ will not instantly be appreciated by everyone, this wordless wonder is a worthy string to the bow to the veteran Glaswegian.
Working again with Ty Unwin who produced and mixed ‘Orchestrated’, ‘World Two: Songs’ does what it says on the tin with compositions that came to Ure as the world came out of lockdown. “Where does hope go when it’s gone?” asks Ure but with a rousing chorus reminiscent of ‘You Move Me’, ‘Just Words’ reflects on the hurt and fears caused by the misguided in the loose talk of so-called opinion under the umbrella of free speech; the end result is epic. Swathed in synths and distinctly electronic in its percussive backbeat, the weary ‘World Away’ emulates the drama of Ure’s ULTRAVOX days and will delight those who have followed his career since joined Billy Currie, Warren Cann and Chris Cross.
Frustration over “stupid noise from smart devices” colours ‘Shouting To The Moon’ as it provides an electrifying highlight with sweeping synth solos and layers of guitars. But ‘Caught In The Middle’, Ure reflects on how he has become “split and divided” as “I’m only human after all” over cinematic orchestrations. The bursts of simulated fretless bass on ‘Ordinary Man (Previous Moments)’ could be seen as a musical eulogy to past collaborator Mick Karn of JAPAN, but proceedings are stripped right down to the ivories on ‘Somewhere Out There’ where Ure asks the listener to “imagine yourself in a world where they care”.
A call to action, ‘The Man Who Stole Your Soul’ is embroiled in despair despite its seemingly anthemic electronic rock backbone and crunchy guitars reminiscent of ULTRAVOX. In a time when divisive elements like to ‘Fan The Flame’, Ure takes aim at the “cruel selfish game” as he despairs at the Trumps, Farages and Putins with their axis of hate in a world that could do better and was once full of hope.
It’s been 41 years since Live Aid, 33 years since The Berlin Wall came down and 14 years since the London Olympics so Midge Ure could be forgiven for wondering “what the hell happened?” and it’s a question we could all ask ourselves. ‘A Man Of Two Worlds’ is a 72-year-old elder statesman calling for a return to a more compassionate era of decency… now THAT is the country you want back and THIS is the accompaniment for it!
‘A Man Of Two Worlds’ is released as a double vinyl LP and double CD by Chrysalis Records
Midge Ure 2026 UK tour dates include:
Bath Forum (8th May), Liverpool Philharmonic Hall (9th May), Leicester De Montfort Hall (11th May), Birmingham Symphony Hall (12th May), Oxford New Theatre (14th May), Plymouth Pavilions (15th May), Sheffield City Hall (18th May), Manchester Bridgewater Hall (19th May), Aberdeen Music Hall (20th May), Glasgow SEC Armadillo (22nd May), Edinburgh Usher Hall (24th May), London Barbican Hall (25th May), Reading Hexagon (26th May), Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre (27th May), Bradford Live (29th May), Nottingham Royal Concert Hall (30th May), Cambridge Corn Exchange (31st May), Southend Cliffs Pavillion (2nd June), Portsmouth Guildhall (3rd June), Milton Keynes Theatre (4th June), Gateshead Glasshouse (5th June)
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Text by Chi Ming Lai
8th May 2026
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