70s Artist Watch:Midge Ure

Midge Ure, O.B.E. Was born in 1953 and was a massive star in the 80s with Ultravox, Live Aid, but his roots really do go back to the music of the 70s. He started with a group called Salvation in 1972 as a guitarist mainly performing around Glasgow, but Salvation disbanded in 1974, some of the group joined together to make the group Slik. They had no single success until this 1976 hit ,this is where I first heard of Slik with there number one UK record “Forever and Ever”, this record is often referred to as a Bay City Roller type record, which is not surprising as the same writers were working on both groups and for Bell records.




Here is “Always and Forever”

The follow up single “Requiem” loosely based on “Manuel and The Music Of The Mountains”, which was a hit for Geoff Love a few months before, it was not a great hit, and with Midge being involved with a car accident he was not able to promote and tour.

Slik changed their name to “PVC2” to cash in on the Punk Rock wave, and had a single called “Put You In The Picture”, but Midge left the group in 1977 to join the punk group “The Rich Kids”. Fronted by ex Sex Pistols member Glenn Matlock. One small single success, and the group ceased to exist in 1979.

Midge Ure formed a short lived group “The Misfits” and also played for ” Thin Lizzy” for a short while in 1979.

Midge Ure then joined “Ultravox “which was founded by the very influential Steve Strange and Rusty Egan. Again no chart success in 1979, but into 1980s that was a different story with the amazing “Vienna”.