After the chance discovery of Lexos' The Key on the Ministry Of Sound's most recent compilation, it turns out that this reworking of Theme For Great Cities had already been released as a single back in May.

Lexos: The Key
1. Radio Edit (2.37)
2. Adam Dived Vox Remix (8.22)
3. Original Mix (8.22)
Incentive CENT27CDS

All three tracks feature Theme For Great Cities as the main melody.

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The Best Is Yet To Come	In Italia	All Kings Are White	Absolulely Live	Art Appeal
Fools Day	Parisienne Nights	Presence Of Mind	Selfluminous	Smiling In Tonight

Attention bootleg collectors!
The vinyl bootlegs above are all for sale. Some are very limited and are offered very rarely - such as the limited edition Presence Of Mind of which only 150 were pressed, or the picture disc of Smiling In Tonight. Also offered is Selfluminous, which is often cited as one of their best bootlegs.

The majority of these bootlegs haven't appeared on CD.

Please contact Paul Lees on (07761) 001245 (UK number - after 6PM) if interested.

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Christian Sinn has updated his auction list. This can be found here.

Two remixes of Theme For Great Cities appear on The Ministry Of Sound's Clubbers Guide To... Ibiza. Summer 2001 (Ministry Of Sound MOSCD 18). Joining the well documented sampe from Raven Maize is a newly discovered remix called The Key by Lexos.

This compilation is being heavily advertised on TV which opens with the Raven Maize track.

Raven Maize: The Real Life
Club Mix
Burchill/Kerr/MacNeil/McGee/Forbes/Mercury
Produced and arranged by David Lee
Features a sample of Theme For Great Cities performed by Simple Minds

Lexos: The Key
Burchill/Kerr/MacNeil/McGee/Forbes/N Cook
Produced by Lexos
Contains elements of Theme For Great Cities by Simple Minds

24th May 2001	Antwerp	Night Of The Proms (Private gig)	Don't You (Forget About Me) Belfast Child Alive and Kicking
26th May 2001	Nice	Grand Prix Night Of The Proms	Don't You (Forget About Me) Belfast Child Alive and Kicking

Simple Minds Are Expected To Tour In 2002

If anyone can get audio or video recordings of Simple Minds at the proms gigs then can they get in touch. Thanks.

In addition to their Grand Prix Night Of The Proms appearance, Jim and Charlie will also be playing the previous night in Antwerp. However, this Proms gig is a private performance and tickets are not publically available.

The dates are:

24th May 2001	Antwerp	Night Of The Proms (Private gig)
26th May 2001	Nice	Grand Prix Night Of The Proms

Other artists confirmed for the 24^th are: John Miles, Michel Fugain, Natalie Choquette and Roger Hodgson.

Associated web sites:

Grand Prix Night Of The Proms web site.

Night Of The Proms web site.

www.ticketnet.fr.

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"I'm writting to let you know that it is not likely there will be a Simple Minds Marathon this summer. It was a difficult decision, but with no new material (officially) available, and no tour planned for this year - I felt as if I was begining to repeat myself. After three years in-a-row of "Some Sweet Day" I felt I needed to produce a different program, and recharge my batteries.

Rest assured, I LOVE Simple Minds. I'm still on Ebay everyweek trying to chase down every last b-side and remix. The passion of the fans of the band continues to amaze me. Speaking with Mr. Kerr the past two shows has been a hightight of my radio career. With this in mind I hope it is not long before we are "alive and kicking" again. Perhaps the rumored box set/25th anniversary tour would be a perfect event..... I thank you all who have taken the time to help in my projects in the past, and will feel welcome to do so in the future, should Some Sweet Day come again.

For those of you interested in the rest of the marathon season, I encourage you to stop by the WBWC homepage for a soon-to-be-completed line-up. www.radiolink.net/wbwc.

Still dreaming in new gold,
Todd Richards.

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"I saw an extraordinary show by Jane's Addiction in Los Angeles in 1990. It was really for the sences, a carnival. And I saw The Clash in 1977 at Trinity College, Dublin, and that kinda set the course for me. I saw Bruce Springsteen's show at London Wembly Arena on the River tour which had me in tears - I didn't think that could happen at a rock show. Then there was a mesmerising Simple Minds show around 1984 where, really, everyone was in a trance. It was absolutely, certifiably the beginning of the rave scene - a hypnotic, dance-rock thing. And The Pixies in 1989, that was amazing. Frank Black's combination of inspirations - stamp-collecting, astronomy, The Bible, Dada - were completely thrilling. What an extraordinary spirit he has and they had..." Bono U2 Elevation Tour Book Interviewed by Danny Eccleston (editor Q4music.com)

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Rave reports have returned from Germany with Band For The Tribes. Apparently they've already eclipsed their performance at the 1999 Simple Minds convention.

A gig is muted for the UK in September/October.

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This is somewhat silly, but quite clever:
http://www.flipflopflyin.com/minipops/minipopss.html.

(You'll find Simple Minds listed in the right hand margin.)

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Another hit - and Jim doesn't Mind "Scots supergroup Simple Minds are set to have a surprise hit thanks to the dance act Raven Maize. On their new single, Real Life, the hip DJ collective have reworked the Minds' epic instrumental, Theme For Great Cities. Jim Kerr said "They've put a drum and bass track on our song then added the lyric "Is this the real life?" - which is the first line of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. We don't mind at all that they've nicked our song. It sounds great and looks like being a huge club hit". Billy Sloan Scottish Sunday Mail 29/04/01 Joey Negro Whilst Simple Minds have no problem with the sample, it seems that a certain record company has. Read the full scoop here. It seems that EMI have taken exception to the use of the Queen sample and have blocked the release. The whole project looks doomed unless Joey Negro (the man behind Raven Maize and Jakatta) can get clearance. Sadly the single was expected to do very well, possibly doing better than Negro's previous top ten hit with American Dream. (Which itself ran in to trouble. Originally called American Booty, there was a years wait between the white labels and the commercial release.) You can hear a sample of the track at DotVinyl.. Scroll down to the 3rd March. Napster is also your friend here. The original white label features a club mix, dub mix, DJ tool mix and "Fazapella" mix.

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Glasgow Barrowlands now has its own website. Reopened for the Simple Minds Waterfront video shoot, the Glasgow venue's on-line site can be found at www.glasgow-barrowland.com/ballroom.htm.

Keep an eye on the 'Glasgow Greats' in the history section. Simple Minds should be featured soon.

Good luck to Band For The Tribes who are playing a second Hamm gig in Germany tonight.

For up-to-date news and information about the band, check out their new Flash-based website at www.bftt.net. Regular announcements about the band's activities are also posted on the Simple Minds mailing list.

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Franco Battiato has recently released a new album in Italy. This includes the song Running Against The Grain, which has been released as the first single, and also features Jim on vocals.

It's an interesting collaboration, with Franco taking on the verses in Italian and Jim singing the chorus in English.

You can check out a sample of the track on Franco's website at www.franco-battiato.com.

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Several new 12" white label releases have recently turned up on eBay. Supposedly by Simply Minds, these 1-track records feature Belfast Trance 2001. Clocking in at over six minutes, this dance remix features an atmospheric Simple Minds opening, followed by three minutes of dance music, a brief interlude of Jim singing the opening of Belfast Child followed by another three-or-so minutes of dance.

It's not unlike the Chrysalis remixes commissioned for the Néapolis releases. Those expecting an extended or classic-80s remix of the track will be dissapointed. But if you liked Jam And Spoon and Fila Brazillia's interpretation of Simple Minds then you will like this.

A Nebula mix is also doing the rounds on eBay - this is the same as the Trance Mix.

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Raven Maize's remix of Corporation Of One's The Real Life will be released in early May in the UK. Corporation Of One first released their remix of Theme For Great Cities in 1988.

The Raven Maize version is strongly influenced by the Simple Minds original and is highly recommended.

Simple Minds Are Too Busy To Tour This Year.

Please read between the lines of the statement above. Despite the lack of the tour, expect a good year. There's good news coming. When I can reveal more, I will. So please keep an eye on this web site.

(I'm sorry for being so cryptic. But things are happening!)

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Jim and Charlie have been confirmed for the Grand Prix Night Of The Proms. This will follow the same format as the 1997 shows: Jim and Charlie backed by a whole orchestra, and part of a line-up with a varied range of artists. Check the web site for the full list.

Tickets are available from www.ticketnet.fr.

They're also considering some other Proms dates. Possibly some dates in Antwerp or a night in Paris; so they may actually play three gigs in total. These extra dates are not confirmed. Keep an eye on the general Night Of The Proms web site for announcements.

A full Simple Minds tour may be on the cards for next year.

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No progress has been made between EMI and Simple Minds. Our Secrets Are The Same still remains in limbo.

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Virgin are still enthusiastic about the proposed compilation album. Jim will be speaking to them soon but it's expected to feature some of their eighties classics, and then cover their nineties singles - effectively carrying on from Glittering Prize (81/92). If it goes ahead, it will be in the shops for September/October.

Whilst another compilation album doesn't sound very exciting, there may be one or two surprises on this one. Again, I'll let you know the details when I can.

Almost Famous: The Sloan Years ...By 1978, I was the rock columnist for Clyde Guide, launched by Radio Clyde. I covered a seminal punk gig at Satellite City disco, above the legendary Apollo Theatre, the former Green's Playhouse. Headliners were reggae stars Steel Pulse. The support was superb, too. First on were The Nu Sonics. Their blond vocalist was Edwyn Collins and the band evolved into Orange Juice. Next up were a rather arty-looking bunch, whose charismatic frontman had a pudding bowl haircut and wore a long priest's frock coat. He performed a song called Pablo Picasso, with lyrics which went: "Pablo Picasso/All the girls think you're an asshole." There was something about him. He looked like a star. After their set, I knocked on the band's dressing room door to ask his name for my review. He was called Jim Kerr - and his band Simple Minds would go on to become Scotland's most successful rock act. I've had some great times with the Minds over the years. In 1988, I travelled to Brazil with the group to watch them play in Rio and Sao Paulo. We hung out with Ronnie Biggs in his Rio nightclub, and keyboard player Mick MacNeil gifted the Great Train Robber a bottle of HP Sauce. Biggsy hadn't tasted it since he'd escaped from Wandsworth Prison in 1965. The band's performance in Rio won them thousands of new fans. I don't know why, but for the encore, Jim invited me on stage to sing with them. Some of the crowd are still receiving counselling. It was impossible not to get swept along by football fever. So a game was arranged with a local Brazilian side. We turned up for what we thought was a casual kick-around, to be met by Brazil's answer to Archie Macpherson. He quizzed the group about their team tactics. We should have realised just how seriously they take their football. In a stifling 95 degrees, we held the score at 2-2. Then, all hell broke loose. The Brazilians played barefoot, but they knew how to mix it. After a few heavy tackles, guitarist Charlie Burchill let one of their players have it. In seconds, World War III erupted. The referee was forced to abandon the match for fighting. The incident made the TV news and headlines in the papers. "Our tour is sponsored by Amnesty International and last night we performed in front of their banner of the white dove of peace," sighed Jim Kerr. "What are the punters gonna think about us scrapping over a game of fitba'?" In Brazil, I rubbed shoulders with Duran Duran, The Pretenders, Simply Red, Supertramp, UB40 and Robert Palmer, who were also on the festival bill. We all got on like a house on fire, except for Mick Hucknall, of Simply Red. He was downright unfriendly and didn't like to mix with any other musicians. In the hotel at Sao Paulo, we organised a pool tournament. Mick arrived with a leggy blonde model in tow and challenged me to a game. "You'll have to be good," I said jokingly, "I've won five in a row." The singer fixed me with a steely look and replied: "I'll f****** beat you!" That was it. All the Duranies, the UB40 lads and Supertramp boys, who'd been sunbathing, crowded around the table. "If you don't whip gingernut's a*** you're on the next flight back to Heathrow," whispered the Minds' manager, Bruce Findlay. Mick was a bit of a hustler but I beat him. When the final black dropped, you could have heard the cheers back in London. Mick lost face in front of his girlfriend, and was simply red, all right. He was furious. I interviewed him last year in London, before Simply Red played at the SECC and he hadn't changed a bit. He still looked down his nose at me. Billy Sloan Daily Record 25/02/01 (Billy Sloan was namechecked on the sleeve of Sons And Fascination and wrote the sleeve notes for The Early Years 1977-78)

"Many thanks for your interest in Jim's jacket which we auctioned at the Arbroath Football Club dinner. We had a few bids in from your members and it came down to three people on the night. One of our Club members is a Simple Minds fanatic and bid £310 for the jacket - which we thought was fantastic for the Club. Can I ask you to thank those who e-mailed bids to me and so sorry that one of them did not get the jacket. Once again many thanks, George Cant Radio One DJ Seb Fontaine has recently being playing a remix of Theme For Great Cities on his Saturday night show. The song appears to be a reworking of Corporation Of One's The Real Life which appeared in the late 1980s. This version, called The Real Life by Raven Maize is available on white label. Billy Idol is going to release a new greatest hits compilation. As an exclusive for this package, he'll be recording a new version of Don't You (Forget About Me), written by his producer Keith Forsey (and first released by Simple Minds in 1985.) It isn't known if Idol will be recording the song as Forsey originally wrote it, or as Simple Minds rearranged and added to it. Those watching BBC2's nostalgic series I Love The 1980s will have noticed a distinct lack of Simple Minds. This is despite their inclusion on the accompanying CD which includes Don't You (Forget About Me). I Love 1985 featured some of Alive And Kicking as backing music, but that's been the only exposure so far. They may receive a mention in I Love 1988 for the Mandela show, but it looks unlikely.

"I write to you on behalf of Arbroath Football Club. We are holding our annual sportsman's dinner on Friday 16th February, and I have received from Jim, the leather bomber jacket he wore on the Real Life tour. It is, I believe, one of only two made, and we have decided to auction it to raise funds for the development of the club.

This item is available for bidding now and up to the dinner which is, as I have stated, next Friday 16.2.01.

Bids can be e-mailed to my business address: printing@theheraldpress.fsnet.co.uk"

George Cant
Commercial Department
Arbroath Football Club
Gayfield Park
Arbroath

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Jim Kerr made an appearance on BBC Scotland's weekly arts TV programme Ex-s last Tuesday evening. This week's programme was a documentary about 70's music legend and complete eccentric Alex Harvey who hailed from Glasgow.

Jim looked every inch the business man, dressed in a smart suit and red tie and seemed very knowledgeable of Harvey's musical output.

Jim relayed a story told to him by Bruce Findlay when Bruce was running his record shop in Glasgow in the 70's... Two guys in balaclavas came into the shop and demanded the takings from the till, as they were leaving the shop, one of them stopped returned to the counter and said 'plus two copies of the new Alex Harvey album'. Bruce Findlay suspected that one of the assailants was Harvey himself!

Alistair

The negotiations between Simple Minds and EMI are still ongoing. It was hoped that the matter would be resolved by now, but Jim, Charlie and the other parties won't be getting together until later this month. (Looks like everyone took lengthy Christmas holidays: Jim's in Sicilly and Charlie's in India.)

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The organsisers of Grand Prix Night Of The Proms have been a little generous with their description of the line-up. Simple Minds have been approached with an offer to do the show, but no decision has been made. A decision is expected when everyone gets together again later this month.

For those who are planning the trip, then be cautious. Simple Minds may not even be playing!

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When the band get together later this month, one of the items on the table is a 25^th anniversary tour. IF the band decided to do this, the organisation will probably take several months, with the proposed tour starting in September/October. It would then run through to include festival dates in 2002.

This is not, by any means, definite!.

IF the band do tour, then Virgin may release a second 'greatest-hits' compilation to coincide with the dates. This would bring the Simple Minds story up-to-date: from Real Life to Néapolis. Unfortunately, there's no news about the 25^th anniversary box set.

(Again this is all dependant on what the band decide!)

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A Glasgow based web-design company are currently working on the new Simple Minds official web site. This is expected to go live in May/June but with so much undecided at the moment, a definite launch date is uncertain. It would be expected to launch with an album/compilation/tour announcement or whatever else the band decide.

If anyone from the official web site wants to get in touch then it would be great to hear from you.

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There's definitely things happening for Simple Minds at the moment. This update gives an idea of some of the projects the band could consider - not all of them will happen, but it's good to know that Simple Minds are planning for the future.

Due to the success of our last gig in Hamm, Germany; we have been approached to play a festival there on Saturday 14th April 2001. The venue is twice the size we played last time (500cap), and is more or less guaranteed to be sold out. Last year they had a Bon Jovi tribute band. The festival is spread over several venues in Hamm, and climaxes with a major artist at the Hoppegarden. As I said we have been approached but no contracts have been signed yet, but if anybody is interested please get in touch and once everything is finalised we can give out ticket info. It will be good to have familiar faces in the crowd. Dave Kelly Posted to the Simple Minds mailing list

It seems that 'Simple Minds' will be playing the Grand Prix Night Of The Proms but it'll only be Jim - Charlie will not be there. Given the Proms format, it's likely that Jim will only be on stage for three songs. It isn't known if he'll be singing any Simple Minds numbers, or perhaps duetting with other artists. Ticket prices range from 343FF to 293FF (which is roughly £34 or £29 pounds sterling). Tickets will be available on-line at www.fnac.com in around two weeks time. I'm often asked about collecting and the best places to pick up Simple Minds items. The best second-hand mail-order record shop has been Esprit. I've bought uncountable Simple Minds items from them over the years, ranging from deleted old 7" records to obsure test pressings and unique memorabilia. Click the animated graphic to check out their current Simple Minds stock. I also recommend eBay. Although some are put off by having to bid in an auction, I've purchased many extremely rare Simple Minds items over the web. (It's also a good place to pick up CD bootlegs! You can always crossreference items to the Bootleg Disocography to get the real low-down and extra information about items advertised.) The tabs for Alive And Kicking have been updated. Originally based on the original sheet music, Renaud Ziegler has corrected and updated them.

This is the last week of the Simple Minds auction. The final bidding date is Saturday.

See the auction page for the full catalogue and bidding rules.

Right:
Lot SMM-24
Rare Italian tour poster from Sparkle In The Rain tour. From Reggio Emilia, 11/4/84 with China Crisis as support. Mounted on thick cardboard. 100x68cm. Mint

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An interview with Jim Kerr recently turned up on the BBC web site. This event was almost missed by everyone but can still be viewed at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/av_music.shtml (Realplayer required.)

The interview is concerned with emerging Internet technologies and the future of music. Jim gives his views on Napster and bootlegging whilst recounting some of the earliest experiences with the band.

I believe that the interview is quite old (by at least a year). Jim doesn't mention the distribution of the Secrets album by MP3. More importantly he mentions Tony Wilson and hints at a forum of participants - thus placing the interview as part of a series of talks in Glasgow about music and the Internet.

For those who can't view the realplayer files, a transcript can be found here.

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Simple Minds have been listed in the line-up for Grand Prix Night Of The Proms in Nice. This orchestral event will be taking place on the 26th May, 2001.

No other information is available at the moment except for the announcement on the Official Night Of The Proms web site.

The Night Of The Proms mixes classical music with rock and pop. Simple Minds appeared during the 1997 season, performing Alive And Kicking, Don't You (Forget About Me) and Belfast Child with full orchestral backing.

I will be confirming this announcement with the band's management.

Promised You A Miracle April 1982 Number 55 (The Top 100 Singles That Changed Your Life) "More poised and tentative than their more blustery contemporaries U2, Simple Minds went through a number of mutations, from post-punk to euro-tinged technodance, before arriving at this career height. A record that owed as much to the silvery surfaces of Abba's 'Dancing Queen' as it did to Bowie's 'Heroes' or the Pistols, '...Miracle' is an exercise in rock Romanticism, all giddy peaks and doors of perception cleansed. With it's feline rhythms and glittering interplay of keyboards and guitars, it's the moment when Simple Minds ideally should have been frozen - graceful, pregnant with untold promise; 'Everything is possible.' Unfortunately, the only way from here was down, into crashing stadium rock bores." Uncut Magazine The Top 100 Singles That Changed Your Life

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Another Simple Minds fanzine has wound up. Le Menti, which launched in 1996, has ceased publication.

It quickly positioned itself as the heavyweight of the fanzine scene, sometimes including more than 100 pages per issue. Largely penned by Cristina Canciani, it was a vital source of information as the Minds concentrated their touring in Italy.

The Italian web-site continues and the Italian fan-club has launched a new venture called SushiBar. They're concidering a fanzine but there are no concrete plans yet.

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Native Spanish speakers can now participate in a new Spanish-language mailing list about the band:

"We have created a mailing-list "Simple-Mente" in Spanish, that will serve as complement to this wonderful list created by Simon." - Marc.

For more information, e-mail marcperezf@hotmail.com or check out http://www.egroups.com/group/Simple-Mente.

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There is a tribue to Kirsty MacColl, Saturday, 20^th January on BBC Radio Two at 8:00 GMT. The singer, who provided backing vocals for Sparkle In The Rain, was tragically killed late last year.

The Simple Minds auction is currently running and bids are being taken.

An extra lot has been added:

SMM-305

Passport Photos

Exactly the same as item SMM-128 except doesn't include Mick MacNeil. Mint.

£9

For the full catalogue, and information about how to bid, then check out the auction page

Right:
Lot SMM-250
Rare Sparkle In The Rain album cover poster that has been done in a shiny foil. Possibly used as part of a shop display as there are two drawing pin holes in the top left and right hand corners of the poster. Again mounted on thick cardboard. 61x61cm. A couple of spots on poster where a top colour has been removed to reveal silver underneath otherwise mint.

Robert De Niro, one of my Hollywood heroes, is usually a man of very few words. It was he who left me speechless, however, when I was introduced to him. I was silenced, not because I was overawed or starstruck, but simply because this acting icon started quizzing me on the Jacobite rebellion, and in the greatest detail. I pondered and spluttered as I battled to pluck historical facts from my recollection of school history lessons, then quickly conceded defeat. Floored by de Niro. I am never likely to be a Mastermind candidate for Scottish history, but I score highly in my passion and commitment to a nation that is in the dawn of an exciting new era: economically, thanks to the emergence and development of new technology; politically, with the creation of our Scottish parliament. So when the First Minister, Henry McLeish, asked me to take on the role of ambassador for the confident, competitive and compassionate Scotland he and his team are building, I accepted with enthusiasm. As a father-of-three, I am also honoured to be given the key task of boosting the confidence of young Scots to take on the world. I am due to meet the First Minister early this year to hammer out the details of just what my role will involve. Until then I can only look back on my own childhood as well as reflecting on how I am raising my own children to see what lessons I can take from those two experiences. As someone who was brought up in Toryglen, on the south side of Glasgow, and who found success in the music industry with the Simple Minds I believe it is vitally important that Scotland's young people are given the confidence to succeed. Yes, talent is important but I estimate that having that "grit" - a determined confidence to attempt any challenge - is the factor in which talent becomes magnified, multiplied and raised to a level previously unimagined. There were times growing up in Toryglen that I could have done with an extra dose of confidence myself. I had a stutter which at times would be manageable and not something I was overly conscious of. At other times it was humiliating and definitely led to mickey-taking, especially when I was required to read out loud. I would die a thousand deaths as the surrounding sniggers inevitably grew to a crescendo, praying that my teachers would excuse me and end my ordeal. They never did. My parents, however, were very supportive. My dad was a builders' labourer and mum worked part-time as a sewing machinist in an industrial clothing factory workshop in Albion Street. They worked hard, played hard and fought hard to instil positive qualities in their children in the hope that a solid working class psyche was firmly stamped on our characters. Their only words of wisdom were along the lines of "do your best at all times and you will be sure to succeed" and "treat others as you would like to be treated". I repeat the same mantra to my own children, James, Yasmin and my step-daughter Natalie. I am sure I will have cause to repeat them many times in my ambassador's role. With our lives woven with the vagaries of showbusiness and, at times, an intense focus on our personal backgrounds, giving my children what I hope is the best start in life is a different and perhaps taller order than my parents faced. I've never pushed the children in any direction except to encourage them to study and get the best grades possible from their education. They have been brought up surrounded by artists, musicians, actors, fashion designers, journalists, politicians and film and TV personalities. Not surprisingly, it is these professions which interest them and it is not hard for me to imagine that they could end up in any of these fields. In have told them that being able to work and make a living doing something you are passionate about - in my case music - is a great reward in itself. Likewise, I encourage them to have a dream and to do all they can to make them come true. Hopefully, I will be able to inspire a lot more young people to do the same. Only last week I was thrilled for Natalie, who first came into my life when she was one. The reason for my delight was she had been signed up by one of the world's major modelling agencies. When quizzed, she was very cool about it, embarrassed when I congratulated her. I asked her why she had never told me of her ambition. She insisted that it wasn't such a big deal that I shouldn't be so over the top, and that she was wisely intending to continue with her first love - studying photography and films. She might have been cool but I was excited that with encouragement, she, like most other young people, will quickly develop the right amount of self-esteem to get whatever they want out of life. Which 18-year-old does not need reassurance and confidence in their transformation from child in awe to insecure teenager and then, hopefully, to determined young adult? I am forever grateful to my parents for the support and best start in life they gave me. My stutter would make me sink into my shell sometimes but nothing too drastic. I certainly didn't feel sorry for myself. In fact I was always relatively popular, especially as a teenager, although never quite popular enough with the girls. As though such a thing could ever be possible! From the earliest days of my music career, my family not only shared my enthusiasm to succeed, but wholeheartedly backed me. Let us endeavour to offer the same support to Scottish youngsters. When I told them in 1977 I wanted to turn my back on the three years I had already served as an apprentice plumber to join the music industry, they were in turmoil. Especially as only one more year and I would be a full-time served City and Guilds tradesman. They were worried, as were my grandparents, that I was walking away from the opportunity to call myself a tradesman, to instead join a shadowy world where I would probably be confronted with all the temptations of drugs and decadence. I think they imagined me succumbing to them all and ending up a sad and delirious down and out. Amazingly though, despite their concerns, they stunned me by stumping up the £150 I had begged for to buy equipment and pay the studio fees to record our first demo tapes. To say this was a generous act is a massive understatement. Twenty five years ago, £150 was a considerable amount of dough. My dad only made decent money when the weather permitted and mum's job never brought in much. They were giving me just about every penny they had, forfeiting any extra luxuries that year that they might have been able to afford. However, I feel their generosity worked both ways in that this encouragement spurred me on to greater determination to succeed and gave me a real sense of moral responsibility. I really wanted to do all I could to repay their faith in me and my musical dreams. The parents of my ex-classmate and songwriting partner Charlie Burchill also showed great faith as did some parents of the boys in the original Simple Minds line-up. We must have seemed deluded in telling them that we were aiming not just to get a record deal or a spot on Billy Sloan's midnight Radio Clyde show, but to appear on Top of the Pops, play Wembley Stadium and Madison Square Gardens. We must have been unbearable to our parents, obnoxious maybe. Grinding them down with our enthusiasm, telling them we planned to sell a million records and have umpteen number one albums. But despite the odds being a zillion to one against us, they still backed us wholeheartedly. Thankfully, we pretty much pulled it off, always aware of the support for us at every step. My music career has taken me all round the world. Put me in a roomful of people when I am on my travels and they will know all about my Scottish roots well before we part company. Thankfully this situation comes about usually in response to anexisting, overwhelming curiosity about the country I call home. If by chance the global success of Simple Minds, and my flying the flag, can boost Scotland's profile, then no one would be more delighted than me. It is time we Scots got together to proudly and loudly shout about the new developments happening in our country and underline the fact that we are a can-do, confident nation. Whether it is boasting about our achievements to Robert de Niro, or bolstering the confidence of young people, I am happy to help. Jim Kerr Sunday Times 07/01/01 http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/ (Scottish section)