ShareMidge Ure performing his Voice And Visions Tour at Rock City Nottingham on Tuesday 30th May 2023.
Images and Review by Kevin Cooper
Midge Ure finally arrived at Rock City on Tuesday night for the first time in his career as part of his Voice And Visions Tour. Having enjoyed success in the 1970’s and 1980’s in bands that included Slik, Thin Lizzy, Rich Kids, and most notably as the front man of Ultravox, Ure is now a solo artist of the highest calibre.
Having been on social media lamenting the prohibitive cost of touring, the band was a stripped back affair with Cole Stacey and Joseph O’Keefe from support band India Electric Co. providing the backing music along with Russell Field on the electronic drum kit.
Opening with Dear God from his 1988 album Answers To Nothing, rapturous applause met the intro to If I Was, his only UK solo number one, which was followed up with Fade To Grey, the most successful single that Visage ever had.
An early stand out moment was his rendition of Tom Rush’s No Regrets made famous by the Walker Brothers, which showcased his impeccable vocals and had the crowd singing along. And then there were the Ultravox songs such as The Voice, We Stand Alone, The Thin Wall and I Remember (Death In The Afternoon) from their 1981 album Rage In Eden, which served to demonstrate the influence the band had in the synth-pop wave that dominated the early 80’s.
Some songs from 1982’s Quartet were given an outing, and the likes of Reap The Wild Wind and We Came To Dance led up to the anthemic Hymn before the main set was finished with fans favourite, Visions In Blue which received rapturous applause.
For the encore there was the whimsical Astradyne which never ages and on the unmistakable beats that introduced Vienna, possibly the finest single never to make number one, the crowd went wild. Finishing with the up tempo Dancing With Tears In My Eyes and All Stood Still, the energy was kept high, with Ure in his element and the band in full swing.
