If this had been here when I was growing up, I’d probably rule the world by now,” Midge Ure says. The former singer with Slik and Ultravox, who went on to create Band Aid with Bob Geldof, is back where it all began for him in Cambuslang, one of Glasgow’s most deprived areas.

He’s here to check out the young musical talent at the Universal Connections youth centre, a facility for local teenagers to make music and learn about recording techniques.

The centre is a just a short walk from where Ure was born. “The house where I lived is now a car park. I’ve just parked there,” he says.

Much else has also changed in Cambuslang since he left in the mid-70s to find pop fame and fortune. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard they had a 24-track studio here.

“It’s better equipment than the Eurythmics recorded Sweet Dreams on. And when the Beatles made Sgt Pepper they only had four-track. It’s an amazing resource.”

The facilities are made available to local young musicians for a nominal fee of pound;1 an hour, when time in a commercial studio would begin at a prohibitive pound;60. Ure is equally impressed that the centre has a bank of electric guitars and other instruments for loan to local youth, and it also offers a stage and PA system for them to perform live.

“That’s the only way you learn, by playing in front of people,” he says. “My advice to any young band is get as many gigs under your belt as you can.”

Among the receptive young musicians lapping up this advice are twins Graham and Jim Moore, 16, and Ashlea Russell, 17, all pupils at the local Cathkin community school and members of the aspiring rock band Little City.

“There is music at school,” singer Ashlea says. “But it’s very traditional. We wouldn’t have the chance to do this anywhere else.”

“The best thing here is the chance to meet other musicians and swap ideas and learn,” says Graham, who writes the songs and plays rhythm guitar.

Twin Jim, who plays lead guitar, agrees. “We couldn’t afford to do this on our own. We’re very ambitious. We’d really like to make a go of it and the centre has given us the chance.”

Since starting to rehearse at Universal Connections, Little City has secured several gigs in Glasgow clubs and is now pushing for a booking at the legendary King Tut’s, where record label boss Alan McGee first discovered Oasis.

Drummer Michael Marr, 18, who is currently putting a new band together, is another who has benefited from the centre’s resources. “I did a sound engineering course and I’ve recorded some of my songs onto a CD. It’s amazing that this is here - Cambuslang used to have about as much going for it as Bosnia.”

Funded by South Lanarkshire Council’s education department, the centre is one of 10 run by the Universal Connections organisation, all set up since 1998, when the first facility opened in Hamilton. All work closely with local schools, offering drug and alcohol abuse workshops, advice services, and social education programmes for persistent school non-attenders.

But what makes the Cambuslang centre special is its recording studio and musical instrument bank, established with Social Inclusion Partnership funding.

“We can supply everything from a plectrum to a Fender Stratocaster guitar,” boasts team worker Stevie Douglas. “We also offer instrumental tuition and courses on recording techniques. And the important thing is that the impetus for all this came from the kids.

“They were asked what they wanted and they said music. The council initially said no, and it was the kids themselves who formed a steering group and applied for the SIP money.”

Empowerment is the keyword according to Ros Gallagher, co-ordinator of the Universal Connections centres.

“We’re now putting a lot of money into music because we’ve found it breaks down territorial boundaries. You can address numeracy and literacy through music. We’ve had songwriting competitions and young people who won’t communicate in other ways are doing it through music,” he says.

Back in the hall, about 80 Cambuslang kids - many of them given time off school for the occasion - have turned up to hear Ure play a few songs and answer questions.

“Songs are the soundtrack to people’s lives,” he tells them. “So my number one piece of advice is concentrate on songwriting. If you’ve got a good idea and the talent to back it up, this place allows you the environment in which it can grow.”