If I Was: The Very Best of Midge Ure & Ultravox

Last updated

If I Was: The Very Best of Midge Ure & Ultravox
Midge Ure & Ultravox If I Was The Very Best of.jpg
Greatest hits album by
Released1993
Genre
Label Chrysalis
Producer
Midge Ure chronology
Pure
(1991)
If I Was: The Very Best of Midge Ure & Ultravox
(1993)
Breathe
(1996)
Ultravox chronology
U-Vox
(1986)
If I Was: The Very Best of Midge Ure & Ultravox
(1993)
Revelation
(1993)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]

If I Was: The Very Best of Midge Ure & Ultravox is a 1993 compilation album by Scottish musician Midge Ure, featuring songs from his solo career and as part of the new wave and synthpop band Ultravox, along with Ure's collaborations with Mick Karn ("After a Fashion"), Phil Lynott ("Yellow Pearl"), Visage ("Fade to Grey"), and charity supergroup Band Aid ("Do They Know It's Christmas?").

Contents

Track listing

Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Performer(s)Length
1."If I Was" (from The Gift )
Midge Ure5:21
2."No Regrets" (non-album single) Tom Rush Midge Ure4:02
3."Love's Great Adventure" (from The Collection ) Ultravox 3:08
4."Dear God" (from Answers to Nothing )UreMidge Ure5:02
5."Cold Cold Heart" (from Pure )UreMidge Ure4:06
6."Vienna" (from Vienna )
  • Cann
  • Currie
  • Ure
  • Cross
Ultravox4:38
7."Call of the Wild" (non-album single)
  • Ure
  • Mitchell
  • Colin King
Midge Ure4:21
8."After a Fashion" (non-album single)Midge Ure and Mick Karn3:59
9."Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" (from Lament )
  • Cann
  • Currie
  • Ure
  • Cross
Ultravox4:10
10."All Fall Down" (from U-Vox )
  • Ure
  • Cross
  • Currie
Ultravox5:09
11."Yellow Pearl" (from Solo in Soho )Phil Lynott3:20
12."Fade to Grey" (from Visage )
Visage 3:47
13."Reap the Wild Wind" (from Quartet )
  • Cann
  • Currie
  • Ure
  • Cross
Ultravox3:43
14."Answers to Nothing" (from Answers to Nothing)UreMidge Ure3:40
15."Do They Know It's Christmas?" (non-album single) Band Aid 3:47
16."That Certain Smile" (from The Gift)
  • Ure
  • Mitchell
Midge Ure4:09
US bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Performer(s)Length
17."The Man Who Sold the World" (non-album single) David Bowie Midge Ure5:30

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic. [2]

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1993)Peak
position
UK Albums Chart [3] 10

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [4] Silver60,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ultravox</span> British new wave band

Ultravox were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was their 1981 hit "Vienna".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Currie</span> British multi-instrumentalist

William Lee Currie is a British multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter from Huddersfield, England. He is best known as the keyboard and strings player with new wave band Ultravox, who achieved their greatest commercial success in the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visage (band)</span> British synthpop band

Visage were a British new wave band, formed in London in 1978. The band became closely linked to the burgeoning New Romantic fashion movement of the early 1980s, and are best known for their hit "Fade to Grey" which was released in late 1980. In the UK, the band achieved two Top 20 albums and five Top 30 singles before the commercial failure of their third album led to their break-up in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midge Ure</span> Scottish musician (born 1953)

James Ure is a Scottish musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim, the diminutive form of his actual name. Ure enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980s in bands including Slik, Thin Lizzy, Rich Kids and Visage, and as the frontman of Ultravox. In 1984, he co-wrote and produced the charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?", which has sold 3.7 million copies in the UK. The song is the second-highest-selling single in UK chart history. Ure co-organised Band Aid, Live Aid and Live 8 with Bob Geldof. He acts as a trustee for the charity and also serves as an ambassador for Save the Children.

<i>Greatest Hits</i> (Thin Lizzy album) 2004 greatest hits album by Thin Lizzy

Greatest Hits is a double-CD compilation of Thin Lizzy songs released in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren Cann</span> Canadian drummer, drum machine programmer and songwriter

Warren Reginald Cann is a Canadian drummer, drum machine programmer and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the British new wave band Ultravox, for which he was one of the main songwriters.

<i>Dance with My Father</i> (album) 2003 studio album by Luther Vandross

Dance with My Father is the thirteenth and final studio album by American R&B/soul singer Luther Vandross. It was released by J Records on June 10, 2003 in the United States. The album, especially its title track, was dedicated to Vandross' late father and features production credits from Nat Adderley Jr., Shep Crawford, and Marcus Miller as well as guest appearances by singer Beyoncé, R&B trio Next, and rappers Foxy Brown, Queen Latifah, and Busta Rhymes.

<i>Solo in Soho</i> 1980 studio album by Philip Lynott

Solo in Soho is the debut solo album by Irish rock singer Philip Lynott, released while he was still in Thin Lizzy. Current and former Lizzy members guested on the album, including Scott Gorham, Brian Downey, Snowy White, and Gary Moore. Brian Robertson also contributed to the writing of one of the tracks, "Girls".

<i>The Continuing Saga of the Ageing Orphans</i> 1979 compilation album by Thin Lizzy

The Continuing Saga of the Ageing Orphans is a 1979 compilation album by the rock group Thin Lizzy.

<i>The Anvil</i> (album) 1982 studio album by Visage

The Anvil is the second studio album by the British rock/pop band Visage, released in March 1982 by Polydor Records. The album reached No. 6 in the UK and was certified "Silver" by the British Phonographic Industry in April 1982.

<i>U-Vox</i> 1986 studio album by Ultravox

U-Vox is the eighth studio album by British new wave band Ultravox, released on 9 October 1986 by Chrysalis Records. It was the band's fifth album during the Midge Ure era, and the final one featuring the band's 1979 lineup, with the exception of Warren Cann, for nearly 26 years. The Ure-era lineup would eventually reform in 2008. It was also the last Ultravox album to reach the top 10 of the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number nine.

<i>The Philip Lynott Album</i> 1982 studio album by Philip Lynott

The Philip Lynott Album is the second and final solo album by Irish rock singer Philip Lynott, released in 1982.

<i>The Gift</i> (Midge Ure album) 1985 studio album by Midge Ure

The Gift is the debut solo studio album by Scottish musician Midge Ure, released on 7 October 1985 by Chrysalis Records. It was released while his band Ultravox were taking a break; the band would go on to release U-Vox (1986) before breaking up. The album reached No. 2 in the UK Albums Chart partly due to the large attention drawn to it by the single "If I Was" which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1985. "That Certain Smile" was released as the second single in November 1985, and "Wastelands" was released as the third single in January 1986.

<i>Answers to Nothing</i> 1988 studio album by Midge Ure

Answers to Nothing is the second solo studio album by Scottish musician Midge Ure, released on 22 August 1988 by Chrysalis Records. It was the first release by Ure following the demise of Ultravox.

"Boogiest Band in Town" is the debut single by Scottish glam rock band Slik. This was the first single and recording released by Midge Ure, singer and guitarist of the band, formed also by drummer Kenny Hyslop, bassist Jim McGinlay and keyboardist Billy McIsaac. The single was released in the first months of 1975, being released by Polydor. However the song did not chart, but the band was featured playing the song in the glam rock movie Never Too Young To Rock, the same year.

<i>Sunshine, Moonlight</i> 1995 studio album by Toshinobu Kubota

Sunshine Moonlight is the eighth studio album of Japanese singer Toshinobu Kubota, released on September 5, 1995. The album credited under the name, Toshi Kubota. This was also Kubota's first English-language album. The album's musical style ranges from 1980s–90s R&B and pop to funk elements such go-go. Synth instrumentation was not employed in recording most of the song as the album contains live instrumentation.

<i>Yellow Pearl</i> (album) 2010 compilation album by Phil Lynott

Yellow Pearl is a compilation album of songs recorded by Irish rock musician Phil Lynott; the only such compilation as of 2022. The album, released in 2010, features songs taken from Lynott's two solo albums, Solo in Soho and The Philip Lynott Album, together with rare singles, remixes and b-sides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow Pearl (song)</span> 1980 single by Phil Lynott

"Yellow Pearl" is a song recorded by Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, originally for his 1980 solo album, Solo in Soho. It was written by Lynott and Midge Ure, who was a temporary member of Thin Lizzy at the time, and who later went on to join Ultravox. It was subsequently remixed and released again on Lynott's second album, The Philip Lynott Album. The remixed version was used as the theme music to the British music chart television programme Top of the Pops from 1981 to 1986.

Messengers were a Scottish new wave duo consisting of Danny Mitchell and Colin King. The duo were originally part of Modern Man, a Glasgow post-punk/new wave band discovered by Midge Ure of Ultravox. Modern Man disbanded after releasing one album produced by Ure, Concrete Scheme (1980), after which Ure stayed as producer with Mitchell and King as Messengers.

<i>Pure</i> (Midge Ure album) 1991 studio album by Midge Ure

Pure, released 16 September 1991, is the third solo album by former Ultravox frontman Midge Ure. It was the first release by Ure with a new record label BMG-Arista. The first single "Cold Cold Heart" reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart in August 1991. "I See Hope in the Morning Light" and "Let It Go?" were also released as singles. The album has a blend of ethnic rhythms and clean album-oriented rock pop, pervaded by catchy hooks.

References

  1. "If I Was: The Very Best of Midge Ure & Ultravox - Midge Ure,Ultravox - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  2. "If I Was: The Very Best of Midge Ure & Ultravox - Midge Ure,Ultravox - Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  3. "midge-ure-and-ultravox - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  4. "British album certifications – Midge Ure & Ultravox – If I Was ... The Very Best Of Midge Ure And Ultravox". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 25 October 2018.