When I was at the Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig in 2011 I saw Midge Ure, the singer of Ultravox. I didn’t know him at the time, but I knew the band, so I was interested. It turned out to be a memorable concert. Midge Ure is really charismatic, and the concert was for small number of people. It was a treat. As a result, I bought this record, and some cd’s.
The Gift is his debut record as a solo artist, but by that time he had already co-started three bands: Ultravox, Visage and Thin Lizzy, and been part of countless other projects as producer or instigator. At the end of the Eighties he was co-writing for charity with the single Do they know it’s Christmas, and he was co-organizing Band-aid, Live-aid and Live 8 with Bob Geldof. Given that résumé I’m still wondering how on earth he was at a fringe festival like Wave Gotik Treffen, and why there were just a handful of people.