Features
Midge Ure And Paul Young To Co-Headline North America Tour
– Midge Ure & Paul Young
Two most excellent British musicians have joined forces for a late spring co-headlining run across North America. The Midge Ure / Paul Young “Soundtrack Of Your Life” excursion begins in Austin and includes shows in Atlanta, New Orleans, Toronto, Detroit and Chicago.
Ure casts a long shadow through the annals of rock history. He was recruited by Thin Lizzy to replace guitarist Gary Moore when the latter departed the band during a 1979 U.S. tour. His band credits include Visage and Rich Kids, but it was his time fronting Ultravox on songs like “Sleepwalk,” “Passing Strangers” and “All Stood Still” that helped set him up for a solo career. Ure shares a songwriting credit with Bob Geldof and Trevor Horn for the 1984 anti-hunger anthem “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”
Young began gathering attention in 1983 when his single “Wherever I Lay My Hat” hit No. 1 in the U.K. His debut album No Parlez also hit No. 1. Other hits include “Every Time You Go Away,” “Oh Girl” and “What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted.’ Young has a “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” connection with Ure, having sung the first few lines of the famous recording.
Ure last toured North America in early 2017. Reports submitted to Pollstar include his Jan. 6 evening at Seattle’s Triple Door where he sold 260 tickets and grossed $6,595. It was a different story Jan. 10 when he played the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma, Calif., where he sold 77 tickets for a $1,789 gross.
Young spent part of 2017 in North America on the “Retro Futura Tour” with The English Beat, Modern English, Howard Jones, and Men Without Hats. Data reported to Pollstar included an Aug. 9 gig at State Theatre New Jersey in Brunswick, N.J., where 1,800 tickets sold and the gross was $70,020. The final show on record – Aug. 17 at State Theatre in Minneapolis – sold 913 tickets and grossed $59,771.
Some shows are already on sale. Keep watching for updates via Pollstar’s pages for Midge Ure and Paul Young.