The Gift by Midge Ure

The Gift, Midge Ure's first solo album, arrived on Chrysalis on 7 October 1985, made while Ultravox were sitting things out; the band would manage one more album, U-Vox, before calling it a day. Ure came into it riding high. A year earlier he had co-written and produced "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for Band Aid, the charity outfit he put together with Bob Geldof, and his years steering Ultravox through "Vienna", "Hymn" and "Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" had already put his name on a string of synth-pop and new wave hits.

"If I Was" did the heavy lifting, hitting number one on the UK singles chart in September 1985 and helping haul the album up to number two. It's polished, melodic synth-pop with a romantic streak, Ure's clear, keening voice floating over glassy keyboards, and "That Certain Smile" and "Wastelands" followed as singles into early 1986.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.