The Gift is the debut solo studio album by Scottish musician Midge Ure, released on 7 October 1985 by Chrysalis Records. It was released while his band Ultravox were taking a break; the band would go on to release U-Vox (1986) before breaking up. The album reached No. 2 in the UK Albums Chart partly due to the large attention drawn to it by the single "If I Was" which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in September 1985. "That Certain Smile" was released as the second single in November 1985, and "Wastelands" was released as the third single in January 1986.
Daniel Mitchell and Ure wrote "Wastelands" together for the band Modern Man. They started a songwriting partnership that has produced 5 songs on "The Gift", including a reworking of "Wastelands", which was originally from the Midge Ure-produced Modern Man album Concrete Scheme released 1980. Ure had built his own new recording studio Musicfest in his garden in Chiswick, and recorded most of the album there.[3]
"The Gift" features 3 instrumental tracks, which was recorded on the Caribbean island of Montserrat using a Casio CZ-101. Ure said in 1985:[4]
"I like instrumental music. I find it very easy to listen to and it allows you to use your imagination in a way that most pop music doesn't. It's refreshing."
Ure said in 1989:
"When I did The Gift, Ultravox was very much still in existence and I was simplifying what the band did. I wanted to do something easier than Ultravox music, and I wanted to indulge myself and my passion for instrumental music, which Ultravox didn't do a lot of. So I did that, and it was quite successful; I was quite pleased with it."[5]
On "Edo" Ure plays on a koto he bought in Japan the first time Ultravox toured there.
At the end of October 1985 Ure started The Gift World Tour with Zal Cleminson on guitar, Kevin Powell on bass guitar, Daniel Mitchell and Craig Armstrong on keyboards and Kenny Hyslop on drums. In addition to shows in the UK and Europe the tour even reached four shows in United States and Australia, two in Canada, and one show in Tokyo, and ended with a closing show at Wembley Arena 23 December 1985. Recordings can be found on the super deluxe edition of The Gift released in September 2023.[6][7][8]
