New Album, Bootlegs
Speculation is high at the moment that the new album will be released sometime in April. At the moment, there's no concrete information, definitive release date or album title as yet.
The next round of bootlegs have been uploaded. This finishes the bootlegs covering the Once Upon A Time tour (including the triple LP box set Silver And Gold), the first London Mandela show, and the only vinyl bootleg covering the entire Street Fighting Years tour: the rare Steve And Nelson Day!.
They can be found listed in the bootleg section.
Mick Webcam And Interview, New Gold Dream Mailing List
The interview with Billy Sloan and Mick MacNeil went well, although the PC transmitting to the Internet kept crashing. This was the reason why people watching the set-up, including myself, lost the connection. However, the PC was rebooted and reconnected; plus I've received mails from people who saw the whole interview taking place and also saw Mick playing the piano.
The whole interview has been recorded on a camcorder for later Internet broadcasting.
The interview will be aired on Scotland Today, STV and is scheduled for Friday 3rd March, and/or Saturday 4th March, repeated on the same daily news program.
Assumed lost, I've recently discovered 117 digests from the original Simple Minds mailing list, which was called New Gold Dream. It ran from 1993 to May 1998, and the digests I've found date from late 1996 to 1997.I've begun to archive them, and they're available on the mailing list page.
Mick Webcam, Kawala
Mick's broadcast started earlier than advertised, with the webcam operating at around 12:45 PM. Those who tuned in were treated to Mick and Richard Wong setting things up, and then what looked like Mick and Billy Sloan talking about the forthcoming interview.
Then, as the major activity started with the TV crews setting up lights and cameras, the webcam seemed to die at 1:30PM. So, we got to see the preparation but not the actual interview.
The interview will be broadcast on Scottish TV later this week, and then repeated over the Internet at a later time.
Bad news for those hoping for chart success for Kawala, the latest single that's sampled New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84). It didn't repeat the success of the Ursura remixes, and only reached a lowly 68 in the UK singles chart. I don't expect it to climb any higher.
TV Interview With Mick, Thank You
Only video will be broadcast over the web. Legal and technical reasons prevent the tranmission of the audio until the television broadcast has aired. As many won't be able to watch Scottish TV when the show goes out, the interview will also be broadcast over the Internet again at a later date; this time with the audio.
"I would just like to take a moment here to thank everyone who has bought my CD and responded with such kind and complimentary comments about the contents. I am truly overwhelmed by your views on my music, thank you very much. Thank you also for your continued support of Mix Records through MIXMUZIK, making future releases of new/established artists, material and projects more possible."Yours Sincerely,
Mick MacNeil
Kawala, Unknown Song Identified
Controversy reigns! Unknown Song #2, posted on 4th December 1999, wasn't as clear-cut as Hell. Mick wrote: "The other wav was just something that I had programmed on my Kurzwiel keyboard for an intro tape to start the gig."
After relating the story to the Simple Minds Mailing List, David Johnson mentioned that the song was actually Time from Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon.
"I have just been looking at the Simple Minds messaging page and see that there seems to be some dispute over that Kurzwiel tape intro. Well as I remember now the music was not of my own. The roadie that I had at that time (the wonderful Vince) had actually programmed this for me, all I did was to change the sounds of the various instruments, so as David Johnson say's, this may well be a Pink Floyd song indeed."
Listening to both the songs, there is a similarity in the arrangements: Sparse percussion overlayed with a majestic chord progression. But the melodies appear different. As far as I'm concerned, the jury remains out on this one.
(Another odd coincidence: Simple Minds' earliest shows started with a montage of clocks and chimes - much like the intro to Time.)
Many thanks to Mick for providing the background to this song.
A week later than expected, Kawala's Humanistic has finally been released. A CD and 12" are in the shops, but only one track includes the New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) riff, and a reproduction of Derek's driving bassline throughout the song. The Souled Out! Radio Edit is the one to look out for, is available on the CD, and is the mix getting the radio play.
Hopefully, this means that Simple Minds will be in the chart again on Sunday.
Note to Virgin Records: this is the third time New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) will enter the UK charts as a remix by another artist. If a double compilation is planned at the end of this year, perhaps New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) would make a good single? Rant over.
Recommended.
- Kawala Humanistic Pepper Records 9230022
- Humanistic Souled Out! Radio Edit [3.37]
- Humanistic Album Version [2.43]
- Humanistic Future Breeze Remix [6.41]
- Humanistic Nylon Filtered Mix [6.38]
- CD in slimline jewel case with colour insert. Track #1 is based on New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84)
Mick MacNeil, Unknown Song Identified, Jim Radio Interview, Discography Update
Once the broadcast and publication dates are known for sure, then they will be posted here.
Mick has also identified both of the unknown songs that were posted here back on the 4th December 1999.Unknown Song #1, which appeared at the start of a bootlegged Simple Minds 1979 concert, is a previously undocumented song called Hell. It was written especially for the band's first BBC radio session, which was recorded at the BBC's Manchester Studio's on the 2nd April 1979 for DJ Kid Jensen.
(This means that both Rosemary's Baby and Sweet Things remain unbootlegged, and unheard by the majority of fans who weren't lucky enough to catch the band in 1978 and 1979.)
The second song, the original intro tape from the Once Upon A Time shows, is also turning out to have an interesting history. I just need to check some other facts before posting.
Jim appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live this Saturday morning, discussing the current situation at Celtic. Unfortunately, the show had been prerecorded, so flooding the presenter's mailbox with questions about the new album didn't quite work. The only news about the album was: "it's finished".
The listing of Simple Minds' album releases has changed: you can now instantly view most of the album's details (such as release date, UK chart position, producer as so on.) This will make it easier to see the all the albums' main details, without having to load each page, and provides a 'quick' discography at a glance.The bootlegs and singles listings will also changed to use this format in the near future.
People, Places And Things, Discography Update
After hearing nothing for ten years, except for small number of collaborations with other artists, Mick MacNeil triumphantly returns with a double CD set of 27 songs, called People, Places And Things.
This compilation gives a glimpse of his work over the last decade, separated into two sets called Night and Day. The Night Disc reveals a previously unheard mellow and reflective side of Mick MacNeil working mostly with just piano and accordion, whilst the Day Disc reaffirms the Mick MacNeil of old, with strong, driving melodies that you just can't get out of your head.
Those expectiving a package of revamped Simple Minds standards will be disappointed. Except for The Accordion Song which slyly uses Soundtrack For Every Heaven as a base, Mick has moved on, and this set represents a body of unreleased work. Echoes of the past are apparent, with the high synth work in Festival reminiscent of Soul Crying Out, or the arrangement of In The Footsteps Of Our Ancestors reflecting Belfast Child, but these are the exceptions.
Another surprise is the high quality of the packaging. The CDs arrived in a Mix round tin, with a circular insert which flips through from the Night artwork, round to the Day artwork, and so on. Whilst both the covers for Night and Day have already appeared on Mick's site, the rest of the artwork includes illustrations of the People, Places And Things that inspired the album: pictures including his family, Triumph and Shuggy.
The CDs can only be ordered from Mick's website at: http://www.mixmuzik.com.
A full list of the songs can be found on the album's entry in the discography.
A great start to the year.
The latest update to the discography features exclusive Simple Minds tracks that have never been released as part of their main discography. These include an instrumental version of King Is White And In The Crowd, a BBC session of New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) which dates back to 1983 and an exclusive performance of She Moved Through The Fair.
Check out the Other Items area of the discography for details of these releases.
(At the moment, there's one CD missing: the 1997 Proms CD which features two orchestral tracks. Once I've got hold of a copy, I'll update the discography.)
People, Places And Things
Warner/EMI
Simple Minds' record company has merged with Time Warner to become the biggest music company in the world. There is expected to be some artist sackings, and staff redundancies, when the two companies combine.How this could affect Simple Minds is open to conjecture. There's alreay been discussion on the mailing list about this subject.
New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) sampled, Mick MacNeil Discography
The distinctive riff from New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) has been sampled in the forthcoming single release by Koala. The single, called Humanistic, will be released in the UK on February 7th. Further news when I get it, but the song, which features the couplet "He's my mystic, Go ballistic" sounds great, and may displace Usura's Open Your Minds as my favourite song featuring a Simple Minds sample.
Mick MacNeil's discography, which was featured in Who's Doing The Dreaming Now #7, has now been uploaded onto the web site. This includes System 7 by System 7 and Orgasmaphobia by Then Jerico. Obviously People, Places And Things will be added as soon as I get it. Surf over to the discography section for Mick's own page.
Lyrics, where appropiate, have been added to the lyrics section.
simple-minds Mailing List, Mick MacNeil's Album, Travelling Man #3, Simple Minds' Album, Double Compilation Album
The new simple-minds mailing list is up and running. It doesn't look like the bulk resubscription of the members of the Néapolis worked, so you'll have to subscribe to the new list yourselves.To subscribe, follow the instructions below:
There's also a tongue-in-cheek poll: when will the new album be released? Follow the link to the archive and cast your vote. Once I've rescued the archives for the Néapolis mailing list, they'll be restored on this website. I also thought that all the archives for the New Gold Dream mailing list had been lost - but I've since discovered 117 digests in my mail box. So I'll be getting them in HTML format and creating an archive for that list.
Firstly I must apologise for the delay in sending the CD's, this is due to the redesigning of the packaging to accomodate the two CD's. We hope to have this corrected as soon as possible and will despatch your order at the end of next week, we still aim to be within the 28 days as first quoted.
Thank you for being patient,
Mick MacNeilThose who've visited Mick's website recently will have realised that the album is a double. This is good news indeed!
The final issue of Travelling Man has arrived. This black and white fanzine features separate interviews with Jim and Charlie (which took place a month after the Kosovo gig) and a fanview feature written by myself.
"Simple Minds wish to thank all who joined this fan club abd all who worked behind the scenes, especially - Rob Ayling and Stuart MacKenzie."
It doesn't look like there will be another official Simple Minds fanzine as the emphasis has been pushed onto the Internet: "Everyone should look out for the new simpleminds.com website which will inform the latest news and plans of Simple Minds"
Whilst the fanzine itself didn't live up to expectations, I'll miss the fanclub-only CDs, which were originally promised with every set of subscriptions. Real Live 91 was the only release offered.
Travelling Man #3 also suggested a January 2000 release date for the album, but this simply shows when it was originally written. The official response from EMI:Chrysalis is "[There's] nothing as yet on our forward release schedule."So, still no release date, and still no title.
"Next year [2000] will kick off with the release of a new Simple Minds studio album, then possibly a double compilation with some new material towards the end of the year." This quote, from Jim, was printed on the last page of Travelling Man #3.Are Virgin dusting down the master-tapes for a retrospective of Simple Minds career? Or will Mindmood be putting together an archival release? It's not known at the moment, but hopefully this exciting project will go ahead.
Néapolis Mailing List
Today is the last day of the Néapolis mailing list.All subscribers to the 'normal' version of the list have been moved to the new simple-minds list; you should receive your welcome mail today. Unfortunately, there's no digest version of the new list, so all those subscribed to the 'digest' version of Néapolis have been invited to join the new list. You will have to subscribe, using instructions given in the mail sent to you.
Everything should be up and running today - I'll post more extensive information and update the mailing list page tomorrow.
Néapolis Mailing List, Bootlegs, Endless River, Esprit
Over the last eighteen months, the Néapolis mailing list has been run from a Linux box in the west coast of the USA. Unfortunately, and due to events beyond anyone's control, the hosting of the mailing list has suddendly had to end. Many thanks to Kevan and Robin Heydon who ran the Majordomo software and made this service available.So, many apologies, but the list will shortly be ending in its current guise. I'm moving it onto a new provider as fast as possible. Please watch this space for announcements of the new list.
The next round of dubious Simple Minds product includes all the Once Upon A Time CD bootlegs. Interestingly the bootleggers have turned their backs on the rich selection of vinyl LPs and have all packaged the Rotterdam 1985 gig, which was recorded and broadcast as a Westwood One show, in a variety of different ways. The quality of all of them is excellent - it's a matter of which CD includes the whole show in the right order, or the number of bonus tracks that are thrown in, which differentiates them.
Westwood One Radio Show, Ghost Dancing, Alive And Kicking and Don't You Forget About Me are all catalogued in the bootleg section.
The final issue of Endless River has arrived. Monique gives the whole story, and reasons for it's demise, in the Editorial and Epilogue. As I stated previously, the loss of Endless River will be felt by many fans: the editorial team managed to get some great interviews with Mick MacNeil and Derek Forbes, and they got their issues out on time, every time. Good luck to Monique and the team for the future.
The contents, and final update to the Endless River page, can be found in the Fanzines section. Please note that the fanzine section now includes current fanzines (Who's Doing The Dreaming Now?, Mission In Motion and Le Menti) plus a new section detailing fanzines out of print. This will provide a historical bibliography of ex-fanzines.
Esprit Records have created a special Simple Minds page so you can view their list of Simple Minds items directly. I have been an Esprit customer for years, and recommmend them extremely highly. To access the special page, hit the logo below:
Mel Gaynor, Bootlegs
Fans of Mel Gaynor in the UK will be pleased to know that the Robert Palmer tour is coming to these shores on the following dates:
As many fans know, Mel is providing the drums during this tour. For further Palmer dates, check out the various websites on the Internet.
- Jan 26, Royal Concert Hall, Nothingham
- Jan 27, London Dominion Theatre, London (Sold out)
- Jan 28, London Dominion Theatre, London (Sold out)
- Jan 29, The Apollo, Manchester (New Date)
- Jan 30, The Playhouse, Edinburgh (New Date)
As mentioned on the 5th, it's now fifteen years since those Glasgow gigs that spawned the bootleg Summertime In Glasgow. I've now covered the three CD versions of this concert in the bootleg discography:
Plus, corrections to date information, have been made to Life In A Day, Live In Glasgow 82 and Dutch Daze. Thanks to Cristina Canciani, Stefan Schmidt and Dave Kelly for the updated information.
- Summertime In Glasgow Single CD version
- Summertime In Glasgow Double CD version
- Scotland 85
Apologies to Christian Sinn, whose e-mail address wasn't correctly formated on his set-sale page - this has been fixed.
For Sale
There's a great list of items for sale. Fancy a promo video of Glitterball or War Babies. Or concert posters? Or shop displays? Check out Christian Sinn's set sale of Simple Minds items in the Marketplace.
Endless River, Summertime In Glasgow, Don't You (Forget About Me)
Endless River, the Simple Minds fanzine published in the Netherlands, has now wound-up.
The magazine's editor, Monique Tonino, explains that a lack of time has mainly lead to the fanzine ceasing. Their web site will also be closing, although it's still currently on-line. Additionally, she warns that any future use of the name Endless River should be viewed as misuse.
Endless River was one of several fanzines that started publication in 1996. After an initial free issue, it grew to become a dependable, frequent, clean publication, published in two languages (English and Dutch) and featured many exclusive interviews and scoops. Their most recent 'firsts' were to interview Mick MacNeil and Alfred Bos. I shall miss it.
Apparently, a final issue is on it's way. As for those with subscriptions, or additional concerns, then please contact Monique.
It's the fifteenth anniversary of January gigs in Glasgow, imortalised by the LP bootlegs Summertime In Glasgow and Live In Glasgow and by the CD reissues of Summertime In Glasgow (cow sleeve or cross sleeve) and Scotland 85.
These concerts were recorded for a possible live album after the success of the Sparkle In The Rain tour. The band put in a great performance, and unveiled unique versions of I Travel, The American and belted out a huge version of New Gold Dream 81,82,83,84 with Jim and 'special-guest' Bono sharing vocal duties.
Unfortunately, the majority of the show remains unreleased except in bootleg form. If you ever get the chance, check it out.
(Thanks to Moisés for reminding me of this!)
Wall Of Sound have placed Don't You (Forget About Me) at number 52 in the 100 singles of the century. Simple Minds don't normally do well, or get included in these polls, so it's nice to see its inclusion.
Apparently it's popular at high-school proms.
(Thanks to Kevin Baggett)
Simple Minds 2000, Mick MacNeil, Mail Problems, Previous Updates
Happy New Year!. And this year will see the release of Simple Minds new studio album and hopefully a tour. So watch this space! Current estimations for the release of the still untitled album range from February to April.Considering that Simple Minds weren't particularly active during 1999, I updated the news section on the web site more frequently than any other year - expect more of the same this year!
Hello,
I hope you all have had a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I know that I said the album would be ready by the end of last year, and really it was but I had a little delay with the artwork for the sleeve and with all the holiday stuff in the middle it has held me back a little. But not to worry we are ready to go now.
As I have already said that we will put a PO Box number in place for anyone who feels a little apprehensive about leaving personal credit card details on the secure server which is perfectly understandable, even though I believe more and more people are using such services. Or please feel free to contact me directly if you have any quarries on anything.
This just leaves me to say thank you to all of you who with your kind comments have encouraged me to complete this collection of ideas. I do hope that you find some enjoyment from these pieces of music.
Fondest Regards,
Mick MacNeil
One of my mail boxes reached critical mass during the Christmas holidays. If you mailed me between 10th December - 24th December and have yet to receive a reply or acknowledgement then can you please resend your mail. I know I've lost mails from Cristina, Stefan, Moises and some questions about the film version of Don't You (Forget About Me). Apologies.
And for those who took an early Christmas break, you may have missed the last updates on this site from Mick MacNeil and Derek Forbes. The news from the previous months can be found here.