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| Simple Minds celebrate 30 years with UK tour One of the most successful bands of their generation; Simple Minds will take a break from the preparations of their new album to celebrate their 30th Anniversary with a series of six rare UK concerts during November and December. The concerts celebrates 30 glorious years dating back to the first time Simple Minds played their very first concert on January 17th at the Satellite City Club in Glasgow, as the support act to Steel Pulse. Simple Minds will perform for the first time the entirety of their multi-million selling 1982 album 'New Gold Dream' featuring the hits Promised You a Miracle, Glittering Prize, and Someone, Somewhere (In Summertime). The second half of the concert will see the band perform some of their best known songs from their classic albums staring off with 'Life in a Day' (1979), 'Reel To Reel Cacophony' (1979), 'Empires & Dance' (1980), right up to their groundbreaking first album with Virgin, 'Sons & Fascination' (1980) featuring the hit Love Song. The band will also highlight songs from the album 'Sparkle in the Rain' (1984) that includes the hits Waterfront and Up On The Catwalk, as well as the U.S. No.1 hit single Don't You (Forget About Me) (1985), plus the benchmark album 'Once Upon A Time' (1985) featuring the massive global anthem Alive and Kicking. But that's not all. The band will also perform songs like Belfast Child from 1989's 'Street Fighting Years' right up to 2005's return-to-form album 'Black & White 050505' featuring the songs Home and Stranger. Incredibly, Simple Minds have scored over twenty Top 20 hits in a career spanning nearly three decades. They have sold over 35 million records, had five number one albums, a No. 1 single in America - plus three American top ten singles and been Voted Q magazine's World's Best Live Act. Throughout their illustrious 30-year career in music, Simple Minds have embarked on countless sold out stadium tours including headlining three times at Wembley stadium. They have influenced bands as diverse as current favourites Bloc Party, Muse, as well as Moby, Manic Street Preachers and the Klaxons along the way. "We are delighted to announce these six rare UK concerts, " says lead singer and founding member, Jim Kerr. "The concerts will reflect our entire musical journey from day one to the current phase of creativity and without doubt will also conjure up all the energy, atmosphere and passion that for many is symbolic of Simple Minds shows over the last 30 years." "There is no better way of announcing to the world, " adds Kerr, "that Simple Minds continues to embrace an uplifting musical spirit and enthusiasm that that defined our best work. We are really looking forward to these concerts and celebrating 30 years of musical history with the fans." SIMPLE MINDS – BIOGRAPHY For those too young to remember Simple Minds the first time around the group are perhaps best known for their 1985 number one hit Don't You (Forget About Me) from the film The Breakfast Club, the classic 'Brat Pack' movie starring Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson and Molly Ringwald. Scotland's Simple Minds evolved from a post-punk art rock band influenced by Roxy Music into a grand, epic-sounding pop band along the lines of U2. The band grew out of a Glasgow punk group called Johnny and the Self-Abusers, which featured guitarist Charlie Burchill and lead singer Jim Kerr. The inaugural 1978 lineup of Simple Minds featured a rhythm section of Tony Donald on bass and Brian McGee on drums, plus keyboardist Mick McNeil; Donald was soon replaced by Derek Forbes. Their early albums leaped from one style to another, with Life in a Day consisting mostly of dense, arty pop songs; critical acclaim followed the darker, more experimental art rock of Reel to Real Cacophony and the Euro-disco of Empires and Dance. The group began a transition to a more accessible pop style with the albums Sons and Fascination and Sister Feelings Call, originally issued together and subsequently split up. New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) became their first chart album in the US, and the tour-shy McGee quit owing to burgeoning popularity, eventually being replaced by Mel Gaynor. Following the Steve Lillywhite-produced Sparkle in the Rain, Jim Kerr married Pretenders lead singer Chrissie Hynde (the two groups toured together). After Bryan Ferry rejected the opportunity to sing Don't You (Forget About Me), Simple Minds almost did so as well; Kerr was dissatisfied with the song's lyrics, which he regarded as formulaic. His change of heart gave Simple Minds their only American chart-topper, and the song later became an international hit as well; however, Kerr's feelings about the song remained ambivalent, and it did not appear on the follow-up album, Once Upon a Time. The album went gold and reached the US Top Ten. The next 10 years saw the group release a number of albums, all of which failed to match the dizzy heights of their earlier successes… until now. write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Jazz News :: home page |