Midge Ure — Dear God

JUL 01 1988 · 12:00

Midge Ure — Dear God (1988) Era: Late New Wave / Post-Synth Transition (1988) - Solo output from a key architect of British synth-pop, following the dissolution of Ultravox; bridges anthemic electronic rock with introspective singer-songwriter aesthetics. High. This video represents a culturally significant transitional moment in Midge Ure's career — the first major post-Ultravox solo visual statement — and carries embedded thematic resonance with the Band Aid humanitarian movement. Its understated documentary aesthetic and warm observational grammar are relatively rare within the synth-pop artist catalogue of the period, making it a valuable counterpoint to the high-production theatrical videos of the Ultravox years. The song's exceptional US chart performance lends it additional cross-market archival importance. Context: Released in 1988 as a single from 'Answers to Nothing' — Midge Ure's first post-Ultravox solo album — 'Dear God' arrived at a moment when Ure was consciously redefining his artistic identity after years as a synth-pop figurehead. The song's lyrical challenge to the weaponisation of religion (Ure described finding religiously motivated violence 'bizarre' and 'obscene') gave the video a thematic gravity unusual for mainstream British pop. The video's use of ordinary people and children visually echoed the humanitarian empathy central to the Band Aid / Live Aid movement Ure had co-founded with Bob Geldof in 1984 — a cultural ethos now embedded in his artistic brand. The track became Ure's sole US Hot 100 entry and his strongest American chart performance, reaching No. 6 on Billboard Mainstream Rock and No. 4 on Alternative, positioning him credibly within the late-1980s US college-rock and adult alternative landscape. Director notes: The video intercuts Ure performing the song on guitar with observational footage of ordinary people and children from varied backgrounds engaged in everyday moments of life. The warm colour temperature (2.08), subdued brightness (89.23/255), and moderate motion score (7.56) are consistent with a location-shot, low-intervention production style. IMVDb confirms the 1988 release date but holds no crew credits. IMDB's page for the video lists no director. No production company, cinematographer, or production designer has been sourced from any credible database.