Midge is up to par with golf gig
He admits he’s never beeen a golfing man - but Midge Ure is looking forward to tee-ing off for the Ryder Cup.
The Cambuslang-born singer will be performing his classic hit Vienna at a special gala gig for the Ryder Cup that’s taking place at the huge SSE Hydro venue in Glasgow on September 24.
He’ll be accompanied on the night by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, an opportunity the former Rutherglen Academy pupil couldn’t ignore.
“What I know about golf could be written on the back of a stamp, but the opportunity to perform with an orchestra is something you jump at,” he says.
“It’s an odd show but in a good way - normally it’s such an expensive thing to play with an orchestra it’s not possible, but when you get that chance, in front of a home crowd, then that’s wonderful.”
The gig will feature a range of talent from home and abroad performing unique collaborations, with names lined up including Chic’s main man Nile Rodgers, Scottish rockers Twin Atlantic, local songbird Amy Macdonald and English singersongwriter Jake Bugg.
Both the European and American Ryder Cup teams will also take the stage on the night, but don’t expect Midge to have any golfing tips ahead of the Gleneagles clash.
“I think I might have done the pitch and putt when down in Largs and that was about it,” chuckles the 61-year-old.
“In my day, golf was seen as something that old people do, whereas now it’s a very trendy thing that young people adore.
“Maybe I’ve missed out on it but I’ve never been a sporty type - the idea of going around a field chasing a ball has never appealed to me.”
What has appealed to Midge is making new music.
In recent years he’s reunited with his old band Ultravox, releasing a new album and touring with them.
However he’d cooled on the idea of making any more solo records due to a general disillusionment with the modern music industry.
However he rediscovered his energy, and released Fragile earlier this year, playing all the instruments and earning fine reviews for its blunt honesty about his life.
“You end up in a habit, where you write, you record, you tour and once you’re finished the tour you go back in to write the next one,” explains Midge.
“It’s been like that for many years, except this time I had huge doubts about whether I wanted to be part of the music industry the way it is and I had huge doubts over whether I could write anything that was interesting.
“So that’s why the gap is 10 or 11 years ( since his last solo record), but if your heart’s not in it then why make music just for the sake of making music?
“You want to make music because you’ve got something to say, so it was quite a long time before I got back on my feet and thought you can’t complain about the state of the music industry and then battle it by walking away - you can battle it by trying to redress the balance.”
He’s been delighted with the positive press that Fragile’s received, something he admits he’s not used to!
“I’ve just done what I was interested in and it’s paid dividends,” he adds.
“The response has been spectacular, which is something that historically I never really got - with Ultravox the media liked to put their size 10s on and give us a good kicking.
“This time around, for whatever reason, it’s had a great reaction.”
He’s been happy to look to the past, too - when he speaks to the Reformer he’s sitting on a tourbus in Arizona, and he’s currently on a jaunt around America with fellow 80s hit-makers Howard Jones and Tom Bailery of the Thompson Twins.
He doesn’t mind going back to the past to help his future projects, either.
“This tour is all about the hits, about playing music that’s sound tracked people’s lives,” he says.
“But there’s another generation coming along and listening to it now, because they’ve heard it on Youtube.
“This isn’t the right environment for me to playing tracks from Fragile but what I can do is talk about it, and come back early next year with something that’s a bit more current.
“There are no record company advances, or even record companies anymore - so to justify the expense of making the new stuff I can go out and play the old stuff.”
Tickets for the Ryder Cup Gala Concert are onsale now priced at £39.20 - £61.60 and available from various ticketing outlets.