Latest news with #Visage
Sydney Morning Herald
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
What happens when New Romantics grow old? Just ask Midge Ure
It was so polarising that it led to the group's demise. Undeterred, Ure and Rich Kids bandmate (and influential club DJ) Rusty Egan co-founded Visage, the New Romantic frontrunners who had a hit in 1980 with the song Fade To Grey. In the decades since, Ure has become one of music's most reliable practitioners, successfully proving there is a world in which guitars and synthesisers can co-exist, first with his post-Visage band Ultravox, and then as a solo artist. And though the days of releasing hit singles may be behind him, his catalogue is blessed with enough fan-friendly deep cuts – solo chart toppers such as If I Was and mainstream hits like Ultravox's Vienna – to sustain a healthy touring schedule. In October, it will bring Ure to Australia for the aptly named Catalogue tour, in which he will perform music from throughout his career, including tracks from the ill-fated Rich Kids. (There may also be a few Thin Lizzy songs, given Ure was drafted in by frontman Phil Lynott to replace guitarist Gary Moore on a US tour supporting Journey in 1979.) 'I wanted to avoid 'the hits' tour, so I called it 'Catalogue', but 'the hits' managed to squeeze its way onto the tour poster,' he says. 'You're expected to play a lot of those anyway. But I dug deep and started looking at songs that should have been singles in retrospect, and other key tracks for me. 'They're not all three-minute pop songs. I do things like [Ultravox's] Your Name (Has Slipped My Mind Again), which is a long, atmospheric, filmic thing.' The idea for the Catalogue tour stemmed from a similarly themed 2023 concert at London's Royal Albert Hall to mark Ure's 70th birthday. Given Ure has now joined the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Robert Plant in the ranks of septuagenarian musicians still going strong, it raises the question: is rock'n'roll no longer just a young person's game? 'It's totally changing!' says Ure. 'I'm reading a book called Hope I Get Old Before I Die [by David Hepworth], and it's all about the fact that at Live Aid, something changed. There were no youngsters on Live Aid, the youngsters were in their mid-to-late thirties. Ultravox and Spandau Ballet were the youngsters. 'McCartney was 48 when he did Live Aid, and we all thought of him as an old guy! So it all changed at that point and became more about whether you were good or not as opposed to whether you were new or not.' No matter the magnitude of Ure's achievements, the spectre of Live Aid – which this month marked its 40th anniversary – and 1984's Band Aid charity single Do They Know It's Christmas? will forever loom large. Ure co-wrote the song with Bob Geldof, who spearheaded the project to fight famine in Ethiopia. 'Bob came to mine with a song he didn't tell me at the time that he'd kind of half written and played to The Boomtown Rats, who thought it was shit,' laughs Ure. 'It wasn't a great song. It felt like we were trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. It had no chorus, there were no repeating bits, there was nothing that people could latch on to.' Ure recorded the music and arranged Do They Know It's Christmas? over a four-day session in his home studio. Geldof, meanwhile, set about enlisting some of Britain's biggest pop stars to sing on it, including Bono, Boy George, George Michael, Simon Le Bon and Sting. 'Maybe tenacity and desperation of trying to get [the song] done and out there was what drove it through in the long run,' says Ure. 'As a record it worked incredibly well, and that was due to the fact we had some of the best artists that the UK had to offer lending their name and their fan base.' Though well into his sixth decade as a performer, Ure says he will get the same buzz walking onstage at his Australian dates that he felt as a teen watching artists such as Led Zeppelin and The Carpenters at The Apollo in Glasgow. 'If you don't, you're dead,' he says. 'There's something not right. I'm still enthusiastic about it. You know why? Because it's too much like hard work if you don't feel it.'
The Age
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
What happens when New Romantics grow old? Just ask Midge Ure
It was so polarising that it led to the group's demise. Undeterred, Ure and Rich Kids bandmate (and influential club DJ) Rusty Egan co-founded Visage, the New Romantic frontrunners who had a hit in 1980 with the song Fade To Grey. In the decades since, Ure has become one of music's most reliable practitioners, successfully proving there is a world in which guitars and synthesisers can co-exist, first with his post-Visage band Ultravox, and then as a solo artist. And though the days of releasing hit singles may be behind him, his catalogue is blessed with enough fan-friendly deep cuts – solo chart toppers such as If I Was and mainstream hits like Ultravox's Vienna – to sustain a healthy touring schedule. In October, it will bring Ure to Australia for the aptly named Catalogue tour, in which he will perform music from throughout his career, including tracks from the ill-fated Rich Kids. (There may also be a few Thin Lizzy songs, given Ure was drafted in by frontman Phil Lynott to replace guitarist Gary Moore on a US tour supporting Journey in 1979.) 'I wanted to avoid 'the hits' tour, so I called it 'Catalogue', but 'the hits' managed to squeeze its way onto the tour poster,' he says. 'You're expected to play a lot of those anyway. But I dug deep and started looking at songs that should have been singles in retrospect, and other key tracks for me. 'They're not all three-minute pop songs. I do things like [Ultravox's] Your Name (Has Slipped My Mind Again), which is a long, atmospheric, filmic thing.' The idea for the Catalogue tour stemmed from a similarly themed 2023 concert at London's Royal Albert Hall to mark Ure's 70th birthday. Given Ure has now joined the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Robert Plant in the ranks of septuagenarian musicians still going strong, it raises the question: is rock'n'roll no longer just a young person's game? 'It's totally changing!' says Ure. 'I'm reading a book called Hope I Get Old Before I Die [by David Hepworth], and it's all about the fact that at Live Aid, something changed. There were no youngsters on Live Aid, the youngsters were in their mid-to-late thirties. Ultravox and Spandau Ballet were the youngsters. 'McCartney was 48 when he did Live Aid, and we all thought of him as an old guy! So it all changed at that point and became more about whether you were good or not as opposed to whether you were new or not.' No matter the magnitude of Ure's achievements, the spectre of Live Aid – which this month marked its 40th anniversary – and 1984's Band Aid charity single Do They Know It's Christmas? will forever loom large. Ure co-wrote the song with Bob Geldof, who spearheaded the project to fight famine in Ethiopia. 'Bob came to mine with a song he didn't tell me at the time that he'd kind of half written and played to The Boomtown Rats, who thought it was shit,' laughs Ure. 'It wasn't a great song. It felt like we were trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. It had no chorus, there were no repeating bits, there was nothing that people could latch on to.' Ure recorded the music and arranged Do They Know It's Christmas? over a four-day session in his home studio. Geldof, meanwhile, set about enlisting some of Britain's biggest pop stars to sing on it, including Bono, Boy George, George Michael, Simon Le Bon and Sting. 'Maybe tenacity and desperation of trying to get [the song] done and out there was what drove it through in the long run,' says Ure. 'As a record it worked incredibly well, and that was due to the fact we had some of the best artists that the UK had to offer lending their name and their fan base.' Though well into his sixth decade as a performer, Ure says he will get the same buzz walking onstage at his Australian dates that he felt as a teen watching artists such as Led Zeppelin and The Carpenters at The Apollo in Glasgow. 'If you don't, you're dead,' he says. 'There's something not right. I'm still enthusiastic about it. You know why? Because it's too much like hard work if you don't feel it.'
Glasgow Times
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Scottish singer announced 'immersive' Glasgow concert
Ure said: 'This is my two worlds coming together. 'Almost every album I have made over the last 40-plus years has featured at least one instrumental track. Instrumental music is one of my main loves. 'I realised most of these have never been performed live. So my intention on this tour is to seamlessly insert some of these atmospheric, cinematic instrumentals between a selection of hits and favourite album tracks.' The tour promises to offer a 'rare and deeply personal concert experience' for fans by bringing together album favourites with 'cinematic instrumentals'. Speaking about the tour, Ure said he wanted to 'take the audience on a journey rather than just play a list of individual songs'. 'This will be an immersive experience for the audience both visually and sonically,' he said. READ MORE: American music legend announced exciting Glasgow gig READ MORE: Warning ahead of massive rock band's Glasgow gig in July Ure's musical career has spanned decades with his early years performing as part of bands such as Irish rockers Thin Lizzy, and new wave groups Visage and Rich Kids before going on to have a successful solo career. The Ivor Novello winner, who has also been nominated for a Grammy, became an OBE in 2005 for services to music and charity. The musician went on to celebrate his 70th birthday with a sold-out show at the Royal Albert Hall in 2023. The tour will take place in May and June 2026. On top of Glasgow, Ure will perform in places, including Edinburgh, Milton Keynes, London, Reading, and Manchester.
The Herald Scotland
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Midge Ure announces dates for ‘immersive' tour
Ure is best known for being the frontman of electronic pop group Ultravox, whose track Vienna (the title track from their studio album of the same name) is among the most well-known songs of the 80s. Midge Ure said his upcoming tour will be immersive (Matt Crossick/PA) Ure said: 'This is my two worlds coming together. 'Almost every album I have made over the last 40-plus years has featured at least one instrumental track. Instrumental music is one of my main loves. 'I realised most of these have never been performed live. So my intention on this tour is to seamlessly insert some of these atmospheric, cinematic instrumentals between a selection of hits and favourite album tracks.' The tour promises to offer a 'rare and deeply personal concert experience' for fans by bringing together album favourites with 'cinematic instrumentals'. Speaking about the tour, Ure said he wanted to 'take the audience on a journey rather than just play a list of individual songs'. Ure said he wants to take his audience on a journey (Ian West/PA) 'This will be an immersive experience for the audience both visually and sonically,' he said. Ure's musical career has spanned decades with his early years performing as part of bands such as Irish rockers Thin Lizzy, new wave groups Visage and Rich Kids before going on to have a successful solo career. The Ivor Novello winner, who has also been nominated for a Grammy, became an OBE in 2005 for services to music and charity. The musician went on to celebrate his 70th birthday with a sold-out show at the Royal Albert Hall in 2023. The tour will take place in May and June 2026 and is expected to open in Bath with performances in Liverpool, Sheffield and Edinburgh.
AllAfrica
22-05-2025
- Business
- AllAfrica
China's Origin Quantum upgrades its software for chip debugging
A Chinese quantum computer maker has recently upgraded its self-developed quantum computing control system (QCCS) to improve debugging, a process to improve the performance of its machines. The Hefei-based Origin Quantum, or Benyuan Quantum, has launched its fourth-generation QCCS, Benyuan Tianji 4.0, which supports more than 500 qubits, according to the Anhui Quantum Computing Engineering Research Center (AQCERC). Guo Guoping, director of research and chief scientist at Origin Quantum, said the launch of Benyuan Tianji 4.0 indicates China's quantum computing industry now has replicable and scalable engineering capabilities, laying a solid foundation for the mass production of quantum computers with hundreds of qubits. The qubit, or quantum bit, is the unit of the fundamental unit of information in quantum computing. The higher the qubit, the faster a quantum computer. However, as different quantum firms use different definitions, it isn't easy to directly compare the performance of superconducting quantum computers in terms of their qubits. IBM Quantum Heron 2, dubbed the world's fastest quantum computer, has 156 qubits. Google's Willow quantum chip features 105 qubits. Origin Quantum's Benyuan Wukong, launched in January 2024, has 72 qubits. A McKinsey report last year predicted that quantum advantage, a situation in which quantum computers can solve problems much faster and more efficiently than classical computers, will happen around 2027-2030. By 2035, annual revenue from quantum applications in chemicals, life sciences, finance, and mobility sectors could reach $2 trillion. To boost the number of qubits, engineers need to manually debug physical qubits. They must also use software to correct every physical qubit's error to create logical or usable qubits. 'The Benyuan Tianji 4.0 system is built entirely on China's self-developed hardware and software,' said Kong Weicheng, deputy director of AQCERC and head of the Benyuan Tianji 4.0 development team. 'This enables more efficient control and precise quantum chip readout, significantly reducing quantum computer research and delivery cycle.' Origin Quantum sets up monitoring system for its superconducting quantum chips. Photo: Origin Quantum He explained that Benyuan Tianji 4.0 has four additional core software programs: service management software (Naga&Venus), superconducting quantum chip control software (Monster), full-interface quantum chip control and analysis software (Visage) and operating system connecting software (Storm). Kong said Visage is the brain and can quickly detect qubits. 'Every qubit of a quantum chip needs to be debugged. Traditionally, a PhD-level expert may take more than one day to finish this process, making the debugging cycle too long for any quantum chip with more than 100 qubits,' he said. 'But with Visage, junior engineers can run standardized debugging processes for quantum chips more easily.' US investment ban Quantum computing can support scientific experiments, but it is also a sensitive technology that can break sophisticated encryption, create highly secure communication networks, accelerate supercomputers for missiles and drone navigation, enable quantum communications and improve AI model training. In August 2023, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order restricting US investments in China's quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and semiconductor sectors. Last October, the US Treasury Department finalized the relevant regulations, which took effect in January 2025. In recent years, China's state-owned funds have provided substantial financial resources to many quantum projects, encouraging local firms to build a complete supply chain and an ecosystem. Origin Quantum and Chengdu Zhongwei Daxin Technology can make a wide range of quantum equipment. Footage showed that Origin Quantum imported lithographic machines from Germany's SÜSS MicroTec to make its superconducting quantum chips. Origin Quantum develops its operation systems and software, following in the footsteps of IBM, which offers users a suite of tools such as IBM Quantum Platform, Qiskit SDK and Qiskit Runtime to run quantum computations. The company launched its 72-qubit Wukong computer and the Benyuan Tianji 3.0 system in January 2024. Wukong has so far completed over 380,000 quantum computing tasks across various industries, including fluid dynamics, finance and biomedicine. It is now accessible in 139 countries and regions worldwide, with major international users in the US, Russia, Japan, and Canada. Last month, Origin Quantum said it successfully used Wukong to boost the training performance of an AI model with one billion parameters by 8.4%. It said it also reduced the number of parameters of the AI model by 76%, which means an improvement in efficiency. However, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) said in a report that Chinese quantum computers are still far from being used in large-scale commercialized quantum computing. 'Most quantum technologies in China are just coming out of the laboratory, waiting for real applications and commercialization,' Jin Yirong, a researcher at the Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences, told Xinhua. 'It created a chicken-and-egg problem as immature technologies lead to insufficient applications, which in return limited the development of the technologies.' He said China lacks engineers specializing in quantum and classical computing, while local graduates can only fill half of the quantum-related job vacancies in the market. Read: China uses foreign machines to make quantum computers
