Midge Ure, If I Was... Paperback – January 1, 2005

Ultravox was and is one of my favorite bands from the 80's, and Midge Ure is one of my favorite singers of all time, so I was delighted to discover this book. Since Ultravox was not huge in America, I didn't know much about Midge apart from his music, his participation in Band Aid, Live Aid, and Live 8. I came to learn that Midge Ure is a man who wears many hats. His story is a fascinating glimpse into his life and music. I especially enjoyed the origin story of his most well-known song, "Vienna." You don't have to be a fan to appreciate his story of struggle, success, failure, hard work, and his passion for music, however, if you're a fan, "If I Was" is a must-read!

Love you, man! Don't you wish all your idols could write intelligent autobiographies that give you insight into their lives and not dash your ideas of what they might really be like? Kind of like when you're afraid to meet them because they might be a jerk and ruin it for you? Happy to say, Midge did not. Very well-written, and shows he's as good a writer as he is musician, and also funny and human. And a good Dad. No images shattered here.

A very personal look into a remarkable - yet seemingly ordinary - life from the man who has lived it. As a fan of Ure's music over the years, I was interested in learning more about his journey as a musician and he delivers on that, as well as with many more personal details to flesh out his story. Many of those details do not necessarily paint him in the best light, but Ure does not shy away from his shortcomings and comes out the better man for it. He is honest about his abilities, his music and his life - something that makes this book a very recommended read.

With a musical career that has spanned over four decades, Midge Ure is one of rock and roll's more original and innovative musical artists.Ure is humble when it comes to describing his musical accomplishments. He speaks candidly about his early days as a musician with bands like Slik and Rich Kids, as well as touring with Thin Lizzy before becoming a member of Ultravox.There's no question as the frontman of the resurrected Ultravox in the late seventies that the band would have a profound impact on the music scene in the early eighties (and now back again!). It is a real treat to read about his days with Ultravox and how the band would define the electro-pop movement with its cutting edge musical stylings.Jeffrey Miller,Author of War Remains

Pretty good and easy read auto bio of Sir Midge. I wish he delved a little deeper into some of the Ultravox and solo albums, but being a recovering alcoholic (as detailed in the book) perhaps that's all he could remember.

Great story of a wonderful musician, singer and song writer. Ultravox was the best and this is a story by the guy who was a great member of that band as well as the stuff he accomplished as a solo performer. Midge's story is a great adventure.

I could not put this book down. I received it around noon and at midnight the same day I was done. An utterly fascinating journey not only through Mr Ure's life, but through the birth, death, and rebirth of the new romantic/ new wave movement. Well done, all.

This book had my interest from start to finish. Well written by an innovator from the music industry. An innovator that it turns out is just like you and I. I couldn't put this book down.

While I thought I would learn about the making of Ultravox and Midge Ure's albums, I was not expecting to be so inspired and filled with hope, including concerning coping with the ups and downs of a career. I also wondered why Midge has played in small venues here in Vancouver, Canada, but now I understand, as well as appreciate, why. I always thought he was cool and distinct looking since buying Quartet at the age of 12, and now respect him even more. Thanks Midge!

Midge ist in all den Jahren zu einem Freund geworden (der mich als Fan natürlich nicht kennt), dem ich sehr gerne zuhöre, ob er singt oder ein Instrument spielt oder interviewt wird, und jetzt auch noch als Erzähler seines bewegten Lebens: Ein durch und durch sympathischer, ehrlicher Mensch! Und diese Geschichte geht noch weiter, in ungebrochener Schaffensfreude...

c'è voluto un po' perché arrivasse. Non per colpa del venditore (la spedizione è stata rapidissima) ma il pacco è sparito nei meandri delle poste impiegando circa una settimana in più del previsto. Pazienza.Il libro mi piace. Fa calare nei luoghi raccontati, sembra proprio di visitarli. Ci sono i ricordi, riportati con grande affetto, e una grande attenzione per i colori, i suoni, gli odori, Un'esperienza a tutto tondo (non solo è successo questo, è successo quello). Io non sono mai stata in Scozia e mi è già venuta voglia di andarci.

Ultravox is one of my favourite groups, pure magic through music and it also reflects very well the period of Midge Ure's personal life through different periods. Great description of the life in the exciting and crazy time of the new romantics in London and their life style and all the legends he met, the English movida! Ure was a great composer and his albums were the top: Vienna, Quartet, Lament... and the last one, Brilliant.

I decided to read this book for two reasons, one being myself descended from the Ure clan of which Midge must certainly be one of the most hononoury members, and secondly out of nostalgia for such great songs as Fade To Grey and Vienna, tracks which I still rate today as among the greatest in popular music.Reading this book Midge comes across throughout as a very level-headed guy, in an industry populated by all manner of extremes of the rock and roll lifestyle. It was thus some surprise to me to learn of the severity of his alcohol addiction, and I was glad to hear he conquered it, both for his own sake and that of his family, who clearly are very important to him. Despite that downside you get the impression Midge had a great time during his career, and loved what he did.His level-headed matter of fact writing style causes some amusement at times especially on recounting the wilder days of his earlier career when he played on the punk rock scene. One incident that particularly stands out is the full pint glass lauched from the audience that hit him right on the head whilst performing - yes, the music industry is one tough business!His writing style is fairly matter of fact, and self-deprecating, and, as one reviewer above has commented, very honest - that makes it a worthy read. Midge is a fairly smart guy I suspect, and despite his claims of lacking a left-brain (ie logical brain) I would guess he is well capable of technical as well as creative work, and would have no trouble at all getting all his computers and synthesizers to work properly.He has written a number of songs relating to his experiences with depression, but I think he can sometimes put himself down too much. Especially regarding Ultravox where he says it all got a bit too 'precious', and dark and gloomy - but that is partly what was distinctive and great about Ultravox ie what made them stand out from the crowd - that unique 'Vienna' atmosphere. And of course their musical and pioneering technical abilities also. I almost feel like saying 'what's not to like?' - Ben Elton 'Blind Faith' style! I was thus glad that Ultravox reformed many years later with Midge once again as front man. At the end of the day these guys made Midge, and Midge made them - a true team effort - I will be checking out this later work of Midge and Ultravox.Likewise re Band Aid and Live Aid, Midge recounts the newspaper hack who suggested he was being side-lined by Bob Geldof, and Midge took some offence regarding that and felt hurt about it - but once again I think Geldof was doing what he did best (and brilliantly well) in the PR department by confronting the people at the very top, and challenging the public with the immortal lines 'give us your f***ing money!", whilst Midge did what he did best ie write a great song and coordinate the contributions to the song of all the participating artists, and at very short notice - a herculean achievement. As Geldof said at an awards ceremony 'this would never have happened without Midge Ure' to standing ovation - Midge got the recognition he deserved - I am glad there was no misplaced animosity - Midge and Geldof made a great team with completely complimentary skills.I was surprised that Midge dislikes the idea of DJ Remixes, given that Ultravox were so hugely influential on electronic and dance music generally - it is quite an irony. The fact is electronic music is cool, though integrating it with classical acoustic musical forms is what is most challenging maybe. In that regard when you listen to a track like Vienna - you hear those classical acoustic forms from the viola and the piano - it works! Playing solo with an acoustic guitar can be very powerful, but it won't create another 'Vienna' - these are tracks on a different level musically - it is not 'pompous' at all - some people just say things like that because they're jealous of other people's success maybe. When it comes to it electronic music adds another dimension (or several other dimensions) - and it combines well with rock - though strangely the sensibility of 'rock' and the sensibility of 'electronic' music are quite contradictory - the rock 'god' and the electronic 'god' are two completely different types of personalities. When these combine together in the right way great music can result, as Ultravox have achieved. Another example is Kasabian's first album before Chris Karloff (now Black Onassis) left - a great album with tracks like Club Foot and LSF - but subsequent albums were just not in the same league.Overall Midge has been a bit unlucky with money, losing money due to bad luck with various things like house fires and stolen motorcycles, but he has been blessed with a wonderful family that is clearly very important to him, it is clear how much he loves his wife and four daughters. On the whole he has had a great life and career, notwithstanding those dark chapters of alcohol addiction.I look forward to listening to the later work of Midge and Ultravox that I've not yet heard, and wonder will there ever be another song like Vienna from anyone ? Perhaps you need to be Scottish to write a song like that. Walking home from the pub with the MP3 player on looking up at some beautiful gothic architecture on a starry night listening to Vienna - something else - still rocks 30 years later!