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What can fans expect from the show at The Brook? "It's a continuation of the Uncovered show. Again it's me and an acoustic guitar but I'll be featuring some songs I've just recorded. I've been talking about making an album of other songwriters' tunes for a long time. I started recording it in January here in Canada and I've just finished it. It will be out in September, it's called Ten. It's ten songs which have been hugely influential to me. It's really eclectic."

What's your favourite song to perform live? "I think there's a variety of old songs that if I didn't perform them I'd be shot! I think that's understandable. People want to hear what they know, so of course I've got to do Vienna and Dancing and If I Was but because it's me on my own I give them a very different interpretation.

"They're still very recognisable as those songs but because I'm just sitting there with my acoustic guitar you get to see an intimate version of them. It keeps it alive for me."

You are in Canada at the moment - have you moved there or are you just there for work? "The family's been based here for the last nine or ten months. We've been building a house here. The house is almost complete so we're in the process of packing up and coming back to the UK. As much as we love it out here it's going to be a holiday home. Canada is Scotland with seasons! You're guaranteed snow in the winter and we really enjoy skiing as a family and the girls are guaranteed a fantastic summer. It's very safe and family-orientated."

Clearly Ultravox had a major influence on new romantic and electropop - how does it feel to have played such an important role in the course British music has taken? "It was a very exciting time, really, musically. It was a real oddity because what we were trying to do at the time with Ultravox and Visage was just make interesting electronic pop music. We were making music that we were happy with and when the likes of Vienna came out it appealed to a huge audience that we never anticipated."

What's the strangest media project you've been approached with? "I think the strangest ones are the usual suspects - celebrity ballroom dancing and that kind of thing. Celebrity anything is pretty bizarre - to think that you're considered a celebrity or that you'd be interested in doing most of them.

"The only reason I did the Celebrity Masterchef was because it's something I really enjoy - I thought I might learn something."

You sell directly to the public through your website - what made you go down this route? "The music industry is ever changing. It didn't take a genius to figure that when I was embarking on the business I was at the beck and call of someone in a suit who had no interest in music whatsoever, who was adding up numbers at the end of every day. Eventually those numbers won't add up and you'll be dropped so the first thing I did when I had any money was build a recording studio because I figured if I had the tools I wouldn't need the guys in the grey suits, I could do it myself. With your own website you've got control of what's going out there, you've got instant access to your fans, they've got instant access to you."

Your musical success has, of course, opened up lots of doors for you. What has been the most surprising result of your success? "It's taken me to a lot of places I've never anticipated. The Band Aid thing was bizarre to say the least. I didn't see it coming and before I knew it I was in the middle of it all. It has taken me to odd places. Getting an honorary degree from Edinburgh University was something I'd never have dreamed of. The words of my primary school teacher were ringing in my ears: you will never amount to anything, boy'."

How did you feel about being made an OBE? "It was fantastic. It wasn't just for the charity work, it was services to music and that was really important to me. Also the kids got the chance to go to the palace and not many kids get the chance to do that. They had a lovely day."

Midge Ure is at The Brook, Portswood, on Sunday. Tickets: from £14.50. Box office: 023 8055 5366 or visit the-brook.com.

2:58pm Friday 27th June 2008

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