Midge Ure reunites with Ultravox, writes his autobio and embarks on a solo tour

From the boy-band bubblegum of Silk in the '70s to the synth-pop of Ultravox in the '80s - with stops at Thin Lizzy, the Rich Kids, and Visage in between - Midge Ure has long been a centerpiece of the musical landscape in the United Kingdom. A flourishing solo career, coauthorship of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and its Band Aid charity, and a wry pencil-thin mustache only made the Scottish-born Ure more famous.

Yet, in his eyes, he's never had quite the level of platinum-plated name success in the States as he's had in Europe. Having not toured here for 10-plus years hasn't helped. Yet the reformation of Ultravox (with a new album, Brilliant, in 2012), his e-book autobiography If I Was, and this month's solo tour with a new album to follow should put Ure's name in your ear.

As for his lack of U.S. impact, Ure chuckles and says, "It's one of those long-winded stories where I got signed to BMG in America and got completely and utterly lost in the haze of major-label turmoil. I never quite fit." Ure, as soloist, lost his focus for a moment but kept writing new music ("the time away made me a much better songwriter") while serving as ambassador for Save the Children and displaying his culinary passions on British television's Celebrity MasterChef series.

Ultravox has always been an unfinished-seeming project, and 28 years between albums is a long time between drinks. Ure laughs: "We left the band on a bad note - dreadful term, that - just walked away from it. That last album, the very unconfused U-Vox, our fans won't even call it by name. They call it 'the pink thing.' "

After Ultravox reformed in 2009, Ure got tons of U.S. e-mails and tweets asking when the synth-phonic quartet would tour here. "As a run-up to anything like that, you've got me reinventing our songs and my songs along with some surprises" - such as his hit cover of the Walker Brothers' "No Regrets" - "that you'll only be able to hear during this tour."

Ure digs the idea of constant reinvention. Those keen on Ure's writing know well his signature soaring chords and like-minded vocal skills. On his most recent Ultravox project, Brilliant, he doesn't allow such bold music to rest on its retro synth-epic laurels. That simply would not be fascinating. "I don't like to dip into the past and regurgitate what could be the soundtrack to my audience's youth," Ure says. "They're smart, and the world is a phenomenal place with a lot of things to write about and different angles through which to write it."

The tune that sticks out for Ure is "Strong," a self-deprecating, even fragile track that takes the wind out of the male pop ego. "I wrote it to be the antithesis of what someone would think an artist in the music industry is like," he says. "I'm not a brash character. I don't believe my own press, good or bad. I have uncertainty and fears like everybody else. I doubt all my own abilities. That's not a bad trait to have, that doubt. I've met far too many people with beliefs in themselves far beyond their capabilities. I find that hard to take."

Midge Ure is a rare refreshing breed in his forthrightness. "Nothing wrong with being honest," he says.