I start with the subject matter I want to write about. Then I make a musical base for that and create an atmosphere with the music. Once I've done that, the lyrics come last.

This period also saw Ure work as a producer for other artists amongst them Steve Harley The Skids and Strasse and in 1982 he also released his first solo single a cover of the 1968 Tom Rush song "No Regrets" (based on the 1975 hit cover version by The Walker Brothers) which made the UK Top 10. Though Visage's first single was unsuccessful they signed with Polydor Records in 1980 and their second single "Fade to Grey" became a hit. After leaving school Ure attended Technical College and then began to work as an engineer training at the National Engineering Laboratory (NEL) in nearby East Kilbride.

Ure co-wrote and produced the charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" whose reissue won an Ivor Novello Award in 2005 for Best Selling UK Single. Ure co-organised Band Aid Live Aid and Live 8 with Bob Geldof. Ure acts as trustee for the charity and serves as ambassador for Save the Children.