Midge Ure revisits 40-year-old classics as he heads to Hastings, Guildford and Southampton

They play Hastings’ White Rock Theatre on September 27; Guildford’s G Live on May 2 2023; and Southampton’s Engine Rooms on May 3 2023.

At the start of 1981, Ultravox were laying their claim to be one of the defining acts of the 80s following the global success of the hit Vienna. Heading back into the studio the same year, they recorded their second album with Ure as frontman, Rage in Eden. Quartet, their third album with Ure, came in quick succession in 1982 with production from Beatles producer George Martin. It became their third top ten album, featuring four top 20 singles including the anthem Hymn.

Focusing on the albums now is partly a reminder of just what an album is: “Albums tell a story. They take you on a journey. It's something you have to decide. We used to get crazy when various promoters would say you can't open with a seven-minute instrumental and we would say but that's exactly how it's supposed to open and in America they would try to stack all the hits up front but that's not how it was supposed to be. So yes, I mourn the death of the album and I do think it has died for the younger generation. I went to the Womad Festival couple years ago and there was a dance act that came on and played their big hit and the place was just rammed and then when they played the next track everybody left!”

So yes, partly Midge is flying the flag for albums and their continuation: “But it is also a reminder that we are here still. You become invisible after a while, after the peaks that people remember you for. If you did a vox pop and asked what do people remember Ultravox for, then most people would say Vienna. But there was so much more. So really this is partly to re-engage with the audience. I’m really just looking at ways to reinstate what we did. I am looking for ways to reboot us in people’s minds!

“Three years ago we did the entire Vienna album and people liked it. It was making a statement. Once people have heard Vienna again they might start thinking about the other tracks. Rage in Eden came straight after Vienna. Vienna was written and toured before we went into the studio, and we recorded the entire thing in three weeks. But after such commercial success it meant that we had the freedom to experiment. We did the exact opposite with the next album and went into the studio with no songs and we used the studio as a tool. That was how we made Rage in Eden and it is still one of my favourite albums. You've got a combination of youth and naivety and stupidity and also just being allowed to do something. Commercial success gives you a platform and gives you a little ego boost. Had Vienna been an abject failure we would not have been able to spend three months in a studio. It became very apparent as we travelled around the world that the record labels wanted Vienna Part 2 with countries suggesting their capital cities would be great titles, a kind of Ultravox travelogue! So we did the absolute antithesis of that!”