REHEARSING," according to Midge Ure, "is a necessary evil".

Press Online is on the phone to the Ultravox icon as he hurtles along the M4 from his Bath home to "smelly old London".

He's not looking forward to spending a day-and-a-half auditioning a new drummer.

Midge will be happily unemcumbered by tub thumping when he plays the Carnegie Hall this month as part of a solo acoustic tour.

It's something he is relishing. A simple set up, no backline, no feedback. A far cry from the synth overload and multi-sensory shows of his Ultravox days.

Hence the tour's title � Uncovered.

"The shows are so informal that I'm not even sure what I'm going to be playing yet," he laughed.

"It's more fun and relaxed and is like an extension of me coming into your sitting room and playing you some tunes.

"I love performing, I hate rehearsing," This summer he will jump aboard the continuing eighties nostalgia fest that is the arena-based Here and Now tour.

That will see stars like Boy George, Jason Donavan and, ahem, Pepsi and Shirey play to thousands of eighties music obsessives.

"It's a bunch of people you probably thought were dead playing all their hits," he laughed.

"It's a very good show, as it's all people who had massive hit records at the time. You get your ticket and there's bound to be something up there you enjoy." After co-writing the Band Aid single with Bob Geldof in the eighties, Midge had an overflowing contacts book (think Phil Collins, Sting, Boy George) and he'll have the chance to catch up with some old friends.

"People like Jimmy Somerville I haven't seen for years," he said. "George I've seen loads of times over the years.

"But there's people on the bill I've never met before. I wouldn't know A Flock of Seagulls if it fell on me." Maybe most importantly there's still the ongoing and successful Ultravox reunion.

Fans flocked to previous shows to hear hits like Vienna since they reformed in 2009. But it's only now they are planning what will be their first album in 26 years, a time Midge admits is "longer than it should've been".

In the meantime, 'Uncovered' is the latest live incarnation, giving him the chance to explore his own musical roots and share some of the anecdotes and journeys his career has followed.

'Uncovered',Carnegie Hall, Monday 28th February