The Scottish singer and musician Midge Ure was a founding member of the New Romantic act Visage. He later found major success fronting Ultravox, the Krautrock-influenced band whose 1981 single Vienna reached Number 2 in the UK. In 2005, he was awarded an OBE in acknowledgement of his work on Live Aid and Live 8 alongside Sir Bob Geldof. Now Ure is back with Ultravox and Brilliant, their first studio album in almost three decades.
Zillions of bands have reformed recently - was it inevitable that Ultravox would follow suit?
Absolutely not. It only came about because [gig promoter] Live Nation got in touch with us all individually and said, "It's 30 years since you wrote Vienna - how about some anniversary shows?" I thought we'd never agree on the terms, but we did.
Your new song Contact seems dubious about some modern forms of communication.
Yes. My daughters text and Skype like mad. Sometimes they'd rather do that than go and visit their friends in person. They get asked out on dates by text, too. That obviously requires less courage, but it's not quite the same, is it?
I can't imagine a synth-pop pioneer like yourself being a Luddite, though?
No, I've always loved my gadgets and my synthesisers, but I actively avoided Facebook for a long time, even though there were plenty of people on there pretending to be me. I eventually realised it's quite a useful tool. You can keep your fans updated and you get all the fan mail that might previously have ended up in the record company's cupboard.
The title track on Brilliant deals with the fickle nature of fame.
That's right. A lot of kids these days seem to want to be famous for the sake of being famous. They want the icing without having to build the cake.
When your 1970s pop band Slik's single Forever And Ever went to Number 1 in the UK, you were 23. How did you handle early-onset fame?
Incredibly well. The fame went away as quickly as it arrived (laughs). I hadn't written the song, and, truth be told, I wasn't even allowed to play on it. That's how things were done back then. It was all very bittersweet.
You famously co-organised Band Aid, Live Aid and Live 8 with Bob Geldof. Can you imagine today's young bands picking up the baton?
The template is still there, so why not? But it was telling that, when we did Live 8 20 years on from Live Aid, it was the same old dinosaurs that showed up - and thank God they did. There were a few new artists, but the brunt of it was your U2s and your Pink Floyds.
In 2007, you were a finalist on BBC TV's culinary competition Celebrity Masterchef. Any new recipes?
No, that show put me off cordon bleu cooking for life (laughs). The tasks were ridiculous. I still enjoy making dinner for my family, though. It's my way of relaxing.
Musically speaking, you'll likely be remembered for Vienna. Comfortable with that?
Well, there are other songs I've written that I'd prefer weren't my legacy - let's put it like that. I'm proud of Vienna. We stuck our necks out there. It's an electronic ballad that speeds up and has a viola solo in the middle.
Can you still identify with the pencil-mustachioed young man you were in the song's video?
It looks dated, but that video launched a thousand ships. Suddenly people wanted mini-movies; music videos that were shot on 16mm film. I still don't know how I managed to arch my eyebrow and suck my cheeks in at the same time, though.
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
RESULTS
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group 1 (PA) Dh119,373 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: Brraq, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Jean-Claude Pecout (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Taamol, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Turf) 1,800m
Winner: Eqtiraan, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial (TB) Dh183,650 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Soft Whisper, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
9.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Hypothetical, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m
Winner: Etisalat, Sando Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
Your Guide to the Home
- Level 1 has a valet service if you choose not to park in the basement level. This level houses all the kitchenware, including covetable brand French Bull, along with a wide array of outdoor furnishings, lamps and lighting solutions, textiles like curtains, towels, cushions and bedding, and plenty of other home accessories.
- Level 2 features curated inspiration zones and solutions for bedrooms, living rooms and dining spaces. This is also where you’d go to customise your sofas and beds, and pick and choose from more than a dozen mattress options.
- Level 3 features The Home’s “man cave” set-up and a display of industrial and rustic furnishings. This level also has a mother’s room, a play area for children with staff to watch over the kids, furniture for nurseries and children’s rooms, and the store’s design studio.
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
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SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
FIGHT%20CARD
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Walls
Louis Tomlinson
3 out of 5 stars
(Syco Music/Arista Records)
TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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