Interview with Midge Ure
Interview with Midge Ure
Published: 16 May 2016
It is the antithesis of karaoke singers getting wheeled on...this is about proper, gritty bands who have worked to get to the level they have got to
What can viewers expect?
I’d describe it as more of a documentary than a talent show. It’s a programme that highlights the fact that not every part-time musician in an amateur. These musicians are exceptionally good. They’ve made a decision somewhere down the line to get a real job but that doesn’t diminish the fact they still have a desire to perform. And the programme shows some of the amazing talents that are out there who have maybe no aspirations whatsoever to become the next big thing. It’s not about being the next big thing, it’s about being the musician you’ve always wanted to be, but not necessarily on a full-time basis.
What were the highlights of doing the show for you?
A big surprise was the quality and the diversity of the talent out there. We had everything - from rock bands to punk bands, a rock-n-roll band who supported The Who in the early 60s, broke up and got back together. That shows the tenacity and the pure love of it. The amount of people I met who didn’t have stars in their eyes, and didn’t have ideas of being signed, but they still absolutely love performing! And the fact that these people are out there doing all sorts of jobs - doctors, scaffolders, slushy-machine repair men. And instead of playing golf at weekends they go off in their transit vans and play gigs. And that’s just the best ever.
What did you think of the level of talent that you saw?
I think some people expect that if you don’t do something for a living you’re not going to be very good at it. And that’s not true. Someone who’s a great guitarist when they were 18 is probably still a great guitarist when they’re 50, because they love it, they play all the time. The dedication is just phenomenal. The fact that people leave work on a Friday evening and head straight to a rehearsal or jump in a van to pick up their equipment and drive to a venue to play their two 45-minute sets, that shows absolute dedication. There’s no money in it - they don’t divvy up at the end of the night - they can just about cover the costs of doing it. They do it for the absolute love of doing it.
What is it about being in a band that appeals do you think?
There’s a certain magic that happens when you play with other musicians, when you’re working together and you do something and it gels. There’s a little glow you get that you can’t buy - you cannot go to school and learn how to do this, it just happens. It’s not something you can order online. You have to sit down and work with other people and it’s the best feeling in the world. The fact that they do that instead of going to the pub, the fact is they are doing something that scratches an itch nothing else can reach.
Was it difficult to make your choices?
That was the horrible bit - it wasn’t easy. Because how do you choose who’s the best? I think we sat and had many hours debating. We had many hours trying to refine what we were looking for. And we decided that what we were looking for was totally undefinable. It was something, the person, the people, the band who walked on that particular evening, whoever got you to go ‘wow’, whoever made you glad to be standing in that room that evening - they were the winner at that moment in time. It was the ones who pulled it out of the bag that night we based it on.
What attracted to be part of the series initially?
It’s not normally the sort of thing I’d see myself doing. But I found that once I was given the opportunity to get in there and open my big mouth I enjoyed it very much. I’m passionate about the music industry. The talent that bolsters the music industry is still there but they just don’t have a platform to show it off. And this programme was a great platform for them.
I think the show is the antidote to the regular talent shows out there at the moment. It’s not a talent show as such - it’s more documentary. It highlights a lot of talent. The wealth of artists who were in the heats was phenomenal. The winner in our show doesn’t actually win anything. What they’re winning is the opportunity to be in the programme. They are using the programme as a platform to tell their hardcore fans that they’ve got to this show - that’s what they win. They win the opportunity to go out there to perform in front of each other. They were all unbelievably supportive of each other. The camaraderie was brilliant. It is the antithesis of karaoke singers getting wheeled on doing carbon copies of songs. This is about proper, gritty bands who have worked to get to the level they have got to.
