Star News is currently running a Simple Minds interview and competition. Check it out - you can win a signed copy of Néapolis.

And another Glitterball promo has turned up. Believed French origin, this 7" plastic picture disk features the one-track promo CD pushed onto the back.

Travelling Man
Simple Minds
New & exciting... Live & kicking!

The new OFFICIAL Simple Minds Fanclub is launched 1.4.98
Travelling Man is more than just a fan club
With three publications per year, packed with exclusive information, photographs, competitions, features, & even articles by the band. Included in the annual subscription is an exclusive FAN CLUB ONLY CD. This year it's a stunning live recording of the band from their highly successful 1991 'Real Live World Tour'
This CD features a classic live set containing:

1. The King Is White
2. Big Sleep
3. Sanctify Yourself
4. Let There Be Love
5. Alive & Kicking
6. Waterfront
7. Ghost Rider
8. Belfast Child

Annual subscription is only £15 (GBP) - Worldwide.
Cheques, PO's and IMOS payable to Voiceprint Fanclubs.

Come with us & join the Travelling Man

Free Post (UK Only) to:
Travelling Man, The Official Simple Minds Fan Club
Free Post DU409
PO Box 50
Houghton-Le-Spring
Tyne & Wear
DH5 5YP
England
Or FAX : +(44) 191 512 1104

Credit Card Hotlines:
Free Phone (UK) 0500 829262
Toll Free (USA) 1-800-567-9185
Free Phone (Germany) 0130 818 502

(This flyer is also being sent with Who's Doing The Dreaming Now #5)

Who's Doing The Dreaming Now? has changed. Now professionally digitally printed, the quality of the fanzine has increased dramatically. The front cover, a mixture of unseen Good News From The Next World artwork, with previously unseen Néapolis pictures, is testament to the new look fanzine.

Plus it's still 40 pages of information, interviews, colour pictures and exclusives. Issue five includes:

• The latest news
• Reviews of Néapolis
• Transcription of a radio show from Belgium where Jim is quizzed on many diverse subjects
• US Album Discography
• Chrysalis Press Releases
• Proms Review
• Exclusive : Background and exclusive interview with Fila Brazillia
• Exclusive : Interview between Jim and myself which took place after the VH1 secret gig.

Also included free with each issue is a full reproduction of Simple Minds first newsletter from 1982. This has been reformatted and I've also included some rare Malcolm Garrett artwork.

Plus flyers for the new fan club Travelling Man.

Issue five will be sent to all subscribers today.

Issue six of Who's Doing The Dreaming Now? will be available in late April. Already confirmed for this fanzine is:

• Early Years CD review
• Real Life live CD review
• Reactions to Néapolis
• Néapolis discography
• Review of the VH1 Uncut gig
• Glitterball EPK transcription
• Exclusive: Néapolis song-by-song comments by Jim.

Subscription for 4 issues:
£12.00 UK
£14.00 Europe
£16.00 Rest of the world

Sample issue:
£3.00 UK
£3.50 Europe
£4.00 Rest of the world

Pay either by Postal Order, Cheque (drawn on a UK bank), Eurocheque or IMO. Or cash in pounds sterling or dollars in a registered letter.

Send to:
Simon Cornwell
51 Cambridge Road
Girton
Cambridge
CB3 0PN
UK

With issue six, Who's Doing The Dreaming Now? becomes the longest running UK independent fanzine.
Thank you for your support. And here's to the future.

Tomorrow... Information about the new fan club Travelling Man and their exclusive Real Life CD...

And here's a better link to the site announced yesterday (Thanks to Damian).

Simple Minds have just finished shooting the video for War Babies in South Africa.

Jim was interviewed by Intertainment and the results can be viewed in RealVideo from their site. (Follow the Music link and then Simple Minds.)

Jim talks about Killing Andy Warhol and the Internet. There's also some behind-the-scenes footage of the War Babies video.

Simple Minds had a lucky escape on TFI Friday last week. Host Chris Evans was smashing mirrors and other glass items since it was Friday 13th. Just before the band came on, Evans destroyed two glitterballs. No worries - Simple Minds debuted War Babies on UK television. Glitterball turned up on Top Of The Pops half an hour later.

Néapolis was released on three formats in the UK:

• Cassette : Chrysalis 7243 493712 4 8
• CD : Chrysalis 7243 493712 2 4
• Limited edition CD in tin : Chrysalis 7243 493712 0 0

The tin is the same as the promotional square tins, except for the addition of a sticker on the tin, commerical CD insert, and enhanced CD insert. The CD-ROM features the Bilbao interview, which was also included in the round promotional tin as the Glitterball EPK video.

Promos for War Babies are already starting to circulate. This one track CD features a new remix of the title track.

Other Néapolis promos include a fleece jacket with stitched Simple Minds logo and white V-neck T-shirt with gold logo (mentioned on the 11th March.)

But a bad chart performance for the album: Néapolis struggled into the UK Album Chart at number 19. A disappointing start.

I've had several mails querying the validity of the previous message.

So it's time to let the cat out of the bag. Over the past year I've been receiving mails from Jim and last night he sent me the note below for immediate posting on this site. And if you're still sceptical, then go to simpleminds.com and check out their news section.

In fact, there's loads of news and tour information on simpleminds.com, so be sure to take a look. The Forum Section hasn't started yet, but that's my fault. I'll be working on it over the weekend and it will be appearing on the official site soon.

I've also got a copy of The Early Years. This is the item many hardcore fans have waited years for and it's been well worth the wait. The Early Years are all the demos recorded by Johnny And The Self Abusers plus some of the first demos recorded by Simple Minds (some of which ended up in reworked form on Life In A Day.)

With sleeve notes by Billy Sloan, unpublished pictures of Jim and the boys plus some really trashy late-70s inspired artwork, it's well worth tracking down. I purchased my copy through the UK magazine Record Collector - it may be available through other outlets.

The track listing is impressive:

18-18 By Johhny And The Self Abusers. (First official release)

Tonight By Johhny And The Self Abusers. (First official release)

Little Bitch By Johhny And The Self Abusers. (First official release)

Pablo Picasso By Johhny And The Self Abusers. (First official release)

Subway Sex By Johhny And The Self Abusers. (Full song released - first verse and chorus appeared on The Street Fighting Years radio show)

Lies By Johhny And The Self Abusers. (First official release)

Wasteland By Johhny And The Self Abusers. (First official release in demo form)

Act Of Love By Simple Minds. (First official release)

European Son By Simple Minds. (First official release)

Cocteau Twins By Simple Minds. (Full song released - first verse and chorus appeared on The Street Fighting Years radio show. Became No Cure on the album)

Chelsea Girl By Simple Minds. (First official release in demo form)

Did You Ever? By Simple Minds. (First official release)

Pleasantly Disturbed By Simple Minds. (Full song released - most appeared on The Street Fighting Years radio show)

The full history of Johnny And The Self Abusers appeared in Who's Doing The Dreaming Now? #4. Those who had read the fanzine will recognise the list of songs above. All the known demos by the band have now been finally released.

And there's more releases to come. More news soon...

This is a letter especially to our fans in AMERICA who are destined to be frustrated by the decision of E.M.I./CAPITOL in their "rejection" of our new album NEAPOLIS.

Obviously we are bewildered (and insulted) by such negativity. Especially as we feel that with this record our band is truly back on both artistic and commercial form, and therefore without doubt worthy of the opportunity to re-launch Simple Minds in a country where we still thankfully have such a loyal and wildly enthusiastic fan base!

Quite frankly I don't think it's too much in saying that we all deserve a lot more respect than is being currently offered by E.M.I./CAPITOL.

Let me further explain by saying that to date we have had no official written explanation as why our record has been "cold shouldered", but until this happens (due soon!) we do not feel it appropriate to comment further. Other than to say that quite obviously "SOMEBODY UP THERE (AT EMI/CAPITOL)DOES NOT LIKE US" - or at least the music we are currently making, and therefore does not seem to think that there is a place in your record shops, or on your radio stations, for SIMPLE MINDS.

Surprising then to say the least!!! For if it were true that there is no interest in AMERICA for SIMPLE MINDS then who are you many thousand Americans out there that are visiting our website by the minute!!!!! And could it really be that you have nothing better do do!! Pardon me for thinking it unlikely indeed!

As to where we go from here then, in terms of getting a release elsewhere etc. Well at this point who knows! As soon as we do though, you will also, that is for sure! In the meantime maybe you would like to find out more about this situation for yourself by calling Gary Gersh directly at EMI/CAPITOL Los Angeles and perhaps letting him know how you feel about this particular situation. Ask him why his company will not be releasing our album and e-mail us with whatever reply you get from him or any of his cohorts! Let him know about both your and our obvious disappointment.

Also on our behalf it would also be great if you called the radio stations and harangued them into giving the new album a chance, because have no doubt - we want to come to AMERICA and play shows for you. But we will "die", at least in your country, without the necessary promotional support. Do it for us and we will always do it for you! KEEP THE FAITH!!!!!!!!!

Love
Simple Minds
11/3/98

On Monday, Néapolis will be released in the UK on the following formats:

Cassette

CD in normal jewel case

Limited edition CD in tin case featuring extra CD-ROM information and link to the official web site.

So far three different promotional varients have been circulating in collector's circles:

Full album in card sleeve with card insert (Chrysalis CHCDRDJS 001)

Full album in tin case with paper insert (Chrysalis CHCDRDJ 001)

Deluxe 10" round tin case featuring the card sleeve version of the album, promotional Bilbao CD in card sleeve, Glitterball EPK promotional video, transcription of the Bilbao interview, two separate press releases and three colour promotional pictures of Jim and Charlie.

The deluxe version is currently changing hands for £70 and is bound to become the most sought after item.

There's also a promotional white T-shirt available, with the new Simple Minds logo across the front in gold.

Freelance writer needs to interview faithful Simple Minds fans over the telephone urgently. Please call Alison Carter on (0171) 432 2926. She will call back. Women only. London and London radius only.

I strongly recommend phoning Alison if you can.

I've also been quietly updating the For Sale, Trades And Wants section so check it out. Don't forget Clive Johnson's auction - the Themes Volumes only rarely come up for sale now.

I'll post the information about the Néapolis promos tomorrow.

Simple Minds entered the UK Top 40 chart at a respectable number 18, despite no air-play and virtually no promotion. Not bad but not too good either. Normally their first single from an album does slightly better.

NME gave the album 3/10 in a short review. This is much better than the 1/10 awarded to Good News From The Next World three years previously. Of course, the NME claimed that Simple Minds had done nothing worthwhile during their 20 years which was not what that particular publication was saying during 1978-89.

Q gave the album 3/5, stating that it was better than Good News From The Next World which earned 4/5. So I'm pretty confused about that. Still, there's a great advert for the album on the back of the magazine. And Vox also review the album, and publish an interview with Jim where he selects his top 10 records.

Simple Minds will be on Top Of The Pops and TFI Friday this week. And don't forget the VH1 special (plus someone's got them a better version of the Glitterball video.)

I mentioned the 4 track CD promo for the remixes, but was surprised to hear what was on it. Both Don't You (Forget About Me), Waterfront and Love Song appear in edit forms. Plus a different Fila Brazilia remix of Theme For Great Cities that features more of the original Sister Feelings Call version! One to search out.

Tomorrow... more news about some great Néapolis collectables...

Jim was interviewed in today's Daily Mail. The interview was totally based on his relationships, particularly with Patsy Kensit, so there's not much information about the album or the band. But it's worth searching out.

I don't usually do this but I was mailed the following information from Dotmusic, who were the first on the Internet with the Glitterball cover shot and a press release for the new album. Here it is:

dotmusic - the insider's guide to UK music - is calling for people to vote for their favourite music web site.
The Reader's Choice Award is part of the UK Music New Media Awards which will be presented at the London Hilton on 6 April.
The owner of the winning site will receive a prestigous CAD award (Creative & Design Award) at a gala dinner attended by the cream of the music industry.

So if you feel Dream Giver merits a vote, then surf over. You need to click the blue square panel on the right of the competition page to find the link to the actual competition entry form (the hypertext link is hard to see.)

And after a wait of almost three years, new Simple Minds material is finally available in the shops.

As reported on the 4th February, three formats have been released. Since that time, the B-side of the cassette single changed, but the rest remained accurate:

Glitterball Cassette Single Chrysalis TCCHS 5078

Glitterball [Edit] (4.25)

Waterfront (Union Jack Remix) (7.17)

Glitterball CD One Chrysalis CDCHSS 5078 Double CD set with space for second CD.

Glitterball (4.55)

Waterfront (Union Jack Remix) (7.17)

Love Song (Shredded Beatz Mix - Philadelphia Bluntz Remix) (6.35)

Glitterball CD Two Chrysalis CHCDS 5078. Single CD in jewel case.

Glitterball [Edit] (4.25)

Don't You (Forget About Me) (Jam & Spoon Remix) (7.55)

Theme For Great Cities (Fila Brazilia Remix) (5.35)

There's also another promotional four track CD featuring the four remixes (Chrysalis CDSIMDJ001).

Simple Minds are now VH1's Artist Of The Month. An exclusive (short) interview with Jim started the whole thing, with War Babies and She's A River being unveiled from the secret gig. The whole show will be broadcast on the 14th March.

Can someone give VH1 a new video of Glitterball? Again they showed the video with chewed up sound (they showed it last week and it was terrible) It's obviously not a bad broadcast but a dodgy video.

As reported on the 22nd, Jim was the cover start of the Daily Express Saturday suppliment. The interview was largely based on Jim's relationships and the photographer got some interesting shots - from the picture of Jim on the front cover, to the odd angles and pseudo-dancing poses in the interview itself.

Jim also turned up on the This Morning show on Friday 27th February. The interview, shot in Nice, mainly centered on 20 years of the band, with Jim relating past stories (particularly when Don't You (Forget About Me) shot to the top of the US charts, and he celebrated in the hotel's bar with a bunch of strangers. They dubbed him Elvis.)

The next day, Simple Minds turned up on the National Lottery show, and mimed to Glitterball. Host Terry Wogan is becoming an old hand at introducing the band - many will remember the band's appearance on Wogan in 1991. But it's all still publicity.

Glitterball is released tomorrow in the UK. See the Teaser Campaign #3 below for format information.

On the subject of the teaser campaign, another site has published the Chrysalis press release I was going to post on day four. Still, better late than never! You can find it here.

Jim has been interviewed by Canoe (Canadian Online Explorer) where he talks about web sites and the launch of the official site. It's a good interview with a few mentions of the unofficial sites - and I wonder where they got their picture from? ;-)

Good luck to Jim, Charlie, Derek and Mel tommorow, and to the guys at Motionpixels - looking forward to the webcast and the unveiling of the Official Site.

The image to the right is the cover of the promotional card sleeve version of Néapolis - kindly signed by the band.

Jim was the cover star on this Saturday's TV and Radio listings suppliment of the Daily Express. I don't personally have a copy (I'll be trying to track down one tomorrow) but I've been told that the interview is pretty good.

The official site, simpleminds.com, features all the news about the forthcoming launch at the CyberTheatre in Brussels.

The address of the CyberTheatre is:

Avenue de la Toison d'Or

4-5 - 1050 Brussels

Entrance to the CyberTheatre is by invitation only. But I've been told that the concert will also be broadcast outside so it may be worth travelling down there to see what happens.

There's a new Simple Minds auction now running on this web site. Clive Johnson, a fan in the UK, is auctioning off his collection. This includes most of the Themes Volumes, some bootleg LPs, a signed copy of Live In The City Of Light and an ultra-rare cromalin of The Amsterdam EP.

Clive has no Internet access so the auction is postal. Good luck.

The graphic, to the right, is the promotional sleeve for the Glitterball CD Promo. Another promo for the single has also turned up. Called Simple Minds Remixes is four track CD features the four remixes from the single.

Simple Minds are VH1 Artist Of The Month in March. As part of a series of programmes with the band, Simple Minds played to around 75 people at a "secret gig" at MTV/VH1's London offices.

The set list was as follows (guess who 'removed' Charlie's set list at the end of the gig!):

War Babies

Glitterball

Tears Of A Guy

She's A River

Big Sleep

Hypnotised

Someone Somewhere (In Summertime)

Waterfront

Alive And Kicking

See The Lights

I'm not going to review the concert now, since many people still haven't heard Glitterball or War Babies. I'm just going to say that it was absolutely brilliant and leave it at that for now. A full review of the gig will be included in Who's Doing The Dreaming Now #6.

I also exclusively interviewed Jim after the show. I talked to Jim for around 15 minutes in a dressing room (only interupted by Stan Tippins!) about a range of subjects including the recording of the album, the meaning behind the songs (in particular Killing Andy Warhol), the forthcoming tour and the future plans of the band. This interview will appear in Who's Doing The Dreaming Now #5 which is now complete, and ready to be printed

More will be posted about Who's Doing The Dreaming Now #5 here soon...

Those who read the New Gold Dream mailing list will know why this site has not been updated over the last week.

Briefly, I'd been given information which was not for the Internet, and was asked to stop posting. So I stopped the teaser campaign.

Anyway, it's back to business...

Brussels, 10 February 1998
Press release: Simple Minds World Wide New Album Launch, live at CyberTheatre, Brussels.

On Wednesday, February 25th 1998 9:00pm CET, the Simple Minds will present their new album Néapolis with a live set of 45 minutes at CyberTheatre in Brussels.

The official Simple Minds website (http://www.simpleminds.com) will be presented to the international press at CyberTheatre at 9:00pm.

At 9:15pm, the Simple Minds will present their new album live on stage, cybercasted in Real Audio/Video on Nirvanet (http://www.nirvanet.com). This is the first Simple Minds concert that will be broadcasted on the Internet.

Between 11:00pm and 12:00pm, a chat will take place with the members of the band on irc.nirvanet.net.

An exclusive live interview with Jim Kerr will be broadcasted in Real Audio/Video during the evening (hour to be confirmed).

The interview and the live concert will be archived on www.nirvanet.com so people who missed the live gig can view the concert afterwards.

I've decided to run my own teaser campaign over the next week. Every day I'll update this web site with exclusive news about the forthcoming single release, album release and the promotional items already circulating. I'll also be including some great new shots of the band, plus the latest press releases.

I'm also working hard on the next issue of Who's Doing The Dreaming Now. This issue will feature full reviews of the new album and single, including the four new remixes, some background information on Fila Brazilia and why they chose Theme For Great Cities and more!

The new album is excellent. I've been playing it virtually non-stop since last week. Also the single version of Glitterball and the four remixes are well worth the wait. Those samples on the official site give little, or no, indication of what's to come!

The new single, Glitterball, will be released on March 2nd. The formats are:

Glitterball Cassette Single

Glitterball [Edit] (4.25)

Don't You (Forget About Me) (Jam & Spoon Remix) (7.55)

Glitterball CD One

Glitterball [Edit] (4.25)

Don't You (Forget About Me) (Jam & Spoon Remix) (7.55)

Theme For Great Cities (Fila Brazilia Remix) (5.35)

Glitterball CD Two

Glitterball (4.55)

Waterfront (Union Jack Remix) (7.17)

Love Song (Shredded Beatz Mix - Philadelphia Bluntz Remix) (6.35)

Collectors will be interested in the following promotional releases:

Glitterball Promo CD Chrysalis CDCHSDJ 5078

Glitterball (Single Version) (4.25)

5" CD issued in thin jewelcase with promotional picture sleeve.

Promotional Club 12" Chrysalis 12SIMDJ001

Waterfront (Union Jack Remix) (7.17)

Don't You (Forget About Me) (Jam & Spoon Remix) (7.55)

12" issued in plain white sleeve with silver labels.

Promotional Club 12" Chrysalis 12SIMDJS001

Love Song (Shredded Beatz Mix - Philadelphia Bluntz Remix) (6.35)

Theme For Great Cities (Fila Brazilia Remix) (5.35)

12" issued in plain white sleeve with silver labels.

I'll upload pictures of these releases later in the week.

Tomorrow: New Simple Minds biography featuring more about Néapolis...

Simple Minds return on a new label with a new album, Néapolis on March 16th, preceded by the single Glitterball on March 2nd. With Peter Walsh - producer of New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) - back at the controls with Charlie Burchill and original bassist Derek Forbes back in the line-up, the new songs mark something of a return to their origins. The early Simple Minds albums broke new ground in synthesizer-based music, with their roots in Can, Cabaret Voltaire and Kraftwerk, and Néapolis has the intimacy and the layered, trancey feel of the Krautrock sound.

Glitterball is representative of the album. Burchill wrote it on an Omnichord, the most basic of keyboards, to create a particular effect: "I thought it’d be great to give Jim something really basic, the old standard three chords and a bit of rhythm. It’s quite naive in a way, but it sums up for me the general sound of the album." The single will feature unique remixes of classic early Simple Minds tracks, such as Love Song, Themes For Great Cities, Waterfront and Don’t You (Forget About Me). The band have never previously allowed anyone to remix or even sample any of the early hits, though they have been repeatedly approached for permission over the years, since the tracks are regarded as landmarks in early British synth/electronic music. The remixers involved include Fila Brazilia, Jam And Spoon, Union Jack and Philadelphia Bluntz.

The band will be playing live around Europe from mid-May (obviously with a break in June for a few weeks, depending on how far Scotland progress in the World Cup), a tour which will include playing the major European Festivals. "Our attitude to playing live has been very pure and almost competitive," says Kerr. "To us, the audience have to go back and say to their mates ‘You should have been there.’ I think that goes back to Charlie and I seeing so many gigs when we were kids. We always knew who delivered."

Tomorrow: Glitterball release information, track listings and promos. Watch this space...

Simple Minds On-Line posted new dates for the album last Monday.

Exclusive: I can now reveal that they've changed. Unfortunately, the releases have been pushed into March.

Glitterball will be released on March 2nd, 1998.

Néapolis will be released on March 16th, 1998.

---

I've had several mails from people experiencing problems with the official site. You need to turn all your Internet security off before trying to download the title page. This is due to a random number generator running on your machine before your browser selects one of three title pages to download.

So if you keep reloading the title screen, you'll see different remix information and hear different samples. There are only three. (Although they programmed four, but for some reason they left Fila Brazilia out. I don't know why, since the Shockwave file for Fila is there).

Since the order of these title screens is entirely random, you cannot control which ones you'll see (!)

---

Q Magazine has just published a rather dubious interview with Jim and Charlie. Check out the March issue which is on sale now.

Tomorrow: Glitterball and Néapolis press release. Watch this space...

The forthcoming single Glitterball will be packed with remixes. Spread across the two CDs due for release on the 23rd February 1998 are :

Love Song remixed by the Philadelphia Blondes
Waterfront remixed by Union Jack
Theme For Great Cities remixed by Fila Brazillia
Don't You (Forget About Me) remixed by Jam And Spoon.

All these remix artists were selected because they wanted to remix Simple Minds.

War Babies is going to be the second single, scheduled for release on the 20th April 1998. Coupled with the album cut, plus a new mix of the title track, will be the I Travel remix by the Utah Saints.

Goodbye Helium. It's been nice knowing you.

And welcome to Simple Minds Online. Launching on Monday 26th January, the new introduction page looks much cleaner and smarter than it's predecessor.

Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of Simple Minds first gig, supporting Steel Pulse at Glagow's Satellite City. Congratulations to Jim and Charlie.

And here's to the next 20 years ;-)

Yesterday, Glitterball was played on Radio Donna, a radio station based in Belgium. The station had just received their promotional copy and it was aired around 3:30PM in the afternoon.

[Sources : Wouter Desmet, Gerd Van Poucke]

Practical Photography (February 1998) has featured an interview with Andy Earl about the shoot for the forthcoming album's artwork. Included are some great pictures of Jim, Charlie, Derek and Mel hanging around Naples' railway station.

Check out pages 10 and 11.

I found out that the Mayor of Naples was a huge Simple Minds fan. He granted me the freedom of the city. I had no more trouble from then on. - Andy Earl.

[Source : Mick Kellman]

I will soon be moving part of this web site to a different ISP. Only the discography section, and links to it, will be affected. The rest of the site, and in particular this news section, will remain fully functioning.

The title of the new Simple Minds album is Neapolis, the ancient name of Naples, meaning New City. (The Minneapolis title was obviously a case of chinese whispers!).

Endless River fanzine have also published the following track listing for the album. But this listing is still not finalised, since the record company have the option of adding two other songs.

1.	Song For The Tribes	(5.34)
2.	Glitterball	(4.53)
3.	War Babies	(5.01)
4.	Tears Of A Guy	(4.48)
5.	Superman/Supersoul	(4.50)
6.	Killing Andy Warhol	(5.16)
7.	If I Had Wings	(4.42)
8.	Lightning	(5.35)
9.	Androgeny	(4.48)

The song If I Had Wings was contributed to the Sawdust Tales soundtrack (as mentioned in December).

[Source : Endless River Fanzine]