SIMPLE MINDS

"Simple Minds are a phenomenon. There really is no other word for them. Quietly and subtly they built themselves up. They promised you a miracle, now they are delivering it. The glittering prize is theirs - and yours - for the taking." Maintained by Rachel (bones--mccoy)

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"We are all in the gutter ,but some of us are looking at the stars"

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As the music became more expressive, so did Kerr's lyrics. The titles - '70 Cities as Love Brings the Fall,' 'In Trance as Mission,' 'Careful in Career' - indicated the way in which he was now working. Lyrics had lost any narrative function and, more than ever before, the accent was on conveying moods. 'One line can be the image of a song and the rest can be padding,' Jim explained to Sounds. 'If it came to a lyric sheet, I'd now rather take a line from each song. I think you'd get more of a focus. Of course the lyrics are very important but in terms of value and that, I wouldn't care if no one at all paid any attention. They're all pictures in themselves, every line's a different picture. It's the atmosphere of words. It could be for the sound, or it could be for the meaning, or for the image of the word. They deal with a lot of images and ambiguities.'

'Sons and Sinners', Glittering Prize, Dave Thomas

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Jim Kerr performing live with Simple Minds in New York, 1979.

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1983

Click to make them bigger

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Happy 54th birthday to Jim Kerr, born on the 9th of July 1959

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Back row: Simon Draper (assistant director of Virgin Records), Robert White (assistant manager and lawyer), Mick MacNeil, Bruce Findlay (manager)

Middle row: Charlie Burchill

Bottom row: Jim Kerr, Brian McGee, Derek Forbes

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Outsider - XSM

I realise this isn't technically Simple Minds but it's created by Derek, Mick and Brian and it's incredible

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From the funk groove of 'Colours Fly and Catherine Wheel' to the yearningly anthemic 'Someone Somewhere in Summertime,' Simple Minds created an album that was little short of majestic. Yet the pomposity, which is usually so vital an ingredient if an album is to be labelled 'classic', was absent. Simple Minds' feet remained planted firmly on the ground. Their hopes may have been high, but their expectations were not. When Charlie described 'New Gold Dream' as being an album jammed full of classics; the immodesty in his words reflected a calm sense of genuine achievement.

'Glittering Prize', Glittering Prize, Dave Thomas

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Promised You a Miracle / Theme For Great Cities

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Today I Died Again - Simple Minds

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Factory - Simple Minds, New York (1979)

So one day I decided to dive right into Simple Minds’ back catalogue. How about I will freely admit that I was shocked, nay pleasantly surprised, to discover that Simple Minds are more than just (Don’t You) Forget About Me and Sanctify Yourself (two staples of my childhood). I was pleased to discover that their roots aren't just in radio friendly rock. They started out as a punk/post-punk band. They named themselves after lyrics from David Bowie’s Jean Genie. Their earlier work is reminiscent of many post-punk bands popular around that time. Jim Kerr at times sounds akin to a less theatrical Bryan Ferry or like Wire’s Colin Newman. Their first or second albums, Life in a Day or Real to Real Cacophony respectively, are great starting points to revisit their (maybe to you) lesser known works.

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The album's key was alienation. In 'Calling Your Name,' Jim sang of the frustration of trying to get out of Glasgow, while 'Veldt' was swamped in the sounds of the jungle, conjuring up pictures of darkness and primitivism. There was a tune, barely, but it wasn't one you'd want to whistle.

'Jesus, where's the Chelsea Girl?', Dave Thomas, Glittering Prize

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Submitted by glamtasticvoyage

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Promised You A Miracle

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Sanctify Yourself - Simple Minds