Today (10 March), acclaimed musician, producer, and songwriter Midge Ure announces his new album A Man Of Two Worlds, due for release on 8 May.
In recent years Midge Ure has spent his time playing live, and not had the time to fully immerse himself in his studio creating music. To that end, A Man Of Two Worlds is his first album of new material in 12 years.
Well worth the wait, the album is a formiddable collection of outstanding music, divided into two clear parts. The first half, World One: Music, consists of eight instrumental pieces, while the second half, World Two: Songs, features eight vocal songs.
This concept was partly inspired by the time Midge spent during lockdown listening to instrumental music, and some of the beautiful work he heard whilst presenting THE SPACE on Scala Radio. Hearing music that rarely finds a home on mainstream radio, he set about making something without lyrics to guide the way, where the melodies had to speak for themselves. He began writing what became a strong selection of instrumental pieces — music shaped by reflection, uncertainty, and a strange kind of quiet.
The eight vocal songs which form the second part of the album, came to Midge as the world reopened. A more divided world, in many ways a much harder and less empathetic one.
Sharing an atmosphere with the preceding instrumentals, these songs are incredibly sparse and meditative, and whilst they are subtle, with some songs dealing with the frailty of the human condition, underlying many songs is a reflection of Midge’s concerns for the discord infecting world today.
Lead track, ‘Just Words’ explores what the ’new normal’ is for people in positions of power who blatantly deny or lie, irrespective of what we can see or hear, while ‘The Man Who Stole Your Soul’ laments the current state of the US, and ‘Shouting At The Moon’ is a reminder about the power we have through unity.
Elsewhere on the album, ‘Caught In The Middle’ muses on human falliability, ‘Ordinary Man (Precious Moments)’ reflects on passing time and mortality, and the tender ‘The Pictures You Carry With You’ was crafted from a melody Midge sang to his daughters when they were babies, now recorded in the hope they might too one day sing it to their own children.
A Man Of Two Worlds brings two worlds together: the songs and the instrumentals. No particular genre. Just worlds colliding.
Midge on the Man Of Two Worlds album and tour: “Almost every album I’ve made over the past 40+ years has featured at least one instrumental track. For this album I wanted to explore this further, showing two sides of what I do. The ‘Man of Two Worlds’ Tour will reflect this idea, combining instrumentals I have done over the years with songs, album tracks and fan favourites side by side taking the audience on a journey.”
The album will be available on 2CD, 2LP and digital download. A keen photographer, all photos in the booklet/innersleeve were taken by Midge Ure.
TRACKLIST:
WORLD One : Music
1/ A Different View
2/ The Space In Between
3/ Hearing The invisible
4/ Just Below The Surface
5/ The Dimming Light
6/ The Other Side
7/ Blues and Greys
8/ The Pictures You Carry With You
WORLD Two : Songs
1/ Just Words
2/ World Away
3/ Shouting To The Moon
4/ Caught In The Middle
5/ Ordinary Man (Precious Moments)
6/ Somewhere Out There
7/ The Man Who Stole Your Soul
8/ Fan The Flame
Formats:
-2xCD, DVD sized Mediabook with 20 page booklet
-2xLP Black Vinyl, 3mm Spined sleeves,printed inners and housed in a slipcase
-D2C, Limited Edition 2xLP Coloured Vinyl, 3mm Spined sleeves, printed inners and housed in a slipcase with an alternative cover image
-Digital, 2 volume release available as download and on DSP’s
PRE-ORDER LINK: http://midgeure.lnk.to/AMoTW
To celebrate the release of A Man Of Two Worlds, on the day of release Midge begins the 21-date tour of the same name. Promising a rare and deeply personal concert experience, this tour will blend his classic album tracks and fan favourites with cinematic instrumentals in a seamless, emotionally resonant journey through his expansive career.
A MAN OF TWO WORLDS Tour Dates :
8-May-26 Bath Forum
9-May-26 Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
11-May-26 Leicester De Montfort Hall
12-May-26 Birmingham Symphony Hall
14-May-26 Oxford New Theatre
15-May-26 Plymouth Pavilions
18-May-26 Sheffield City Hall
19-May-26 Manchester Bridgewater Hall
20-May-26 Aberdeen Music Hall
22-May-26 Glasgow SEC Armadillo
24-May-26 Edinburgh Usher Hall
25-May-26 London Barbican Hall
26-May-26 Reading Hexagon
27-May-26 Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre
29-May-26 Bradford Live
30-May-26 Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
31-May-26 Cambridge Corn Exchange
2-Jun-26 Southend Cliffs
3-Jun-26 Portsmouth Guildhall
4-Jun-26 Milton Keynes Theatre
5-Jun-26 Gateshead Glasshouse
ADDED DATES IN NOVEMVBER:
20-Nov-26 York Barbican
21-Nov-26 Derby Vaillant Live
22-Nov-26 Hull Connexin Live
23-Nov-26 Brighton Dome
25-Nov-26 Cardiff Depot
27-Nov-26 Watford Colosseum
29-Nov-26 Coventry Warwick Arts Centre
30-Nov-26 Guildford G Live
Tickets available from midgeure.seetickets.com/ & www.midgeure.co.uk
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