Paul Young starts making up for 31-year Chicago absence alongside Midge Ure’s new wave magnetism

Photos by Ed Spinelli

All those new wave fanatics who scoured the UK import bins in the early 1980s knew about Paul Young ages before “Every Time You Go Away,” while Midge Ure’s name was regularly popping up on releases by Ultravox, Visage, Rich Kids and Silk prior to feeding the world with Bob Geldof and the rest of Band Aid with the all-star single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” And while the suburban strip mall circuit (specifically B House Live in Lombard) was galaxies away from the stature of Live Aid or even just one of the guys’ standard European tour dates, just to have Young in town after a 31-year absence was a treat, while the more frequently-visiting Ure kept on exceeding expectations.

Up next was none other than Paul Young, who seriously hadn’t been to the Chicago area since stopping by the Auditorium Theatre in 1987, though he started making up for some of that lost time with retro favorites through his latest soulful covers collection “Good Thing.”

On this particular date of a co-headlining excursion called “The Soundtrack Of Your Life,” Ure took the earlier slot, performing regular editions of several tracks from his brand new “Orchestrated” album (which mirrors the gorgeously rearranged tone of its title). Backed by a band shared between both acts, “If I Was,” “Hymn,” “Vienna,” “Fragile” and “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes” found the man who sang lead on them all pouring every ounce of his soul into each selection as the majority of the audience stood spellbound.

Up next was none other than Young, who seriously hadn’t been to the Chicago area since stopping by the Auditorium Theatre in 1987, though he started making up for some of that lost time with retro favorites through his latest soulful covers collection “Good Thing.” Despite taking the entire “Some People” to find his vocal footing, the crooner was sailing smoothly by “Love Of The Common People,” “Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home),” “What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted,” “I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down” and the above biggie.

As if that wasn’t enough, the encore found both pals collaborating on Thin Lizzy’s playful “The Boys Are Back In Town,” which might have appeared to be an extremely random classic rock cover, but does in fact link back to Ure, who briefly toured as a guitarist and keyboard player for that very band in the late ‘70s! Now if only he could convince Young to “Come Back And Stay” around America in general, it could ensure so many of these cherished selections won’t fade away on this side of the pond.

Click here for more photos of Paul Young and Midge Are at B House Live.

For additional information on Paul Young and Midge Ure, visit Paul-Young.com and MidgeUre.co.uk.

For a list of upcoming shows at B House Live, visit Brauerhouse.com.