• New single: 29th August 2005
• New album: 5th September 2005
• Tour: Starts March-April 2006

The first date has appeared for the new album: 12^th September

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It was reported in one Dutch newspaper that Simple Minds would be appearing at The Breakfast Club Reunion at this years MTV Awards. Not true. Whilst the cast of the film will be appearing (Emilio Estevez still unconfirmed), Don't You (Forget About Me) is to be performed by Yellowcard.

Not one to set your videos for.

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Simple Minds are included on The Tube DVD: Volume One playing a live version of New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84). However, the release has already suffered one delay, with the release date now currently set at the 31st July.

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An extremely rare 12" of DJ T's Gold Dreamer has recently turned up. Issued on the Italian Rise label back in 2002, it features two familiar remixes of the title track, and an exclusive mix which includes the bass-line of Sleeping Girl.

More information has been added to the Redux site.

It's now twenty years since Don't You (Forget About Me) reached the top of the US charts.


"Don't know the actual date and I think it stayed there for two weeks, but not sure... ONE week was enough for me... we were SO chuffed !!" - Bruce Findlay

Some Sweet Day 2005 will be held on the 4th August. This annual event, a marathon 18 hours of Simple Minds music back-to-back, along with exclusive interviews (ususally from Jim) is a must-listen for any fan.

As always, Todd Richards and Aaron Burke will be compiling a show of well-known singles, album tracks, obscure B-sides, remixes and bootlegs. Our Secrets Are The Same and tracks from Silver Box will also be aired, and hopefully, material from the new DVD-Audio releases.

For further information, and how to listen, check out www.wbwc.com.

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"Just wanted to point out that the tribute album, "Swimming Towards the Sun", is FINALLY available for download from iTunes Music Store. So tracks can now be purchased for about $1 each, while the whole album is $10 (differs in different countries)."

"You can get free 30 second full quality clips of all of the songs on iTunes."

"For those who don't already have it, iTunes can be downloaded from www.itunes.com and is free. Versions exist for Mac OS X, Windows XP, and Windows 2000."

Mike Simpson

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I found some quotes from Simon Heyworth about the remasters CDs:

"Yes I think New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) does sound good, and I am pleased with the result. It's their biggest selling album apparently. It's quite scary when you listen to the 'original' master of that as the bass drum is so prominent and there is this resonance to it which becomes a little annoying after a while. So how to calm it down without losing the bass, that was the trick. A-Ds? Well I used the Meitner on that one (DSD)."
""Once Upon A Time": I struggled with this to be honest. It had to be a Copy Master. The Original was a bit shot due to 'sticky shed' syndrome. The Copy was good as I saw it being done. But you know 'it's a copy' and things do change. The snare is harsher perhaps. Maybe I should have had another go using the originals and persevered. It's just that some of this catalogue is so damaged by 'sticky shed' no fault of anybody except Ampex of course, that it is a real pain to work with and I get tired of cleaning the heads, listening for HF drop outs, editing all the bits back together again. It gets incredibly time consuming and I've done that a lot. Nevertheless the band really like this Remaster and feel it has a lot of detail, excitement. It may not be as HiFi as New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84). I think the reverbs are quite harsh too. Perhaps I told it like it is more."

I've been asked some extra questions about the DVD-Audios:

• The artwork is based on the remasters series; so all the album credits and lyrics are too small to read.
• DVD-Audios will only play in DVD players. However, there's nothing stopping you ripping the contents to MP3 and cutting a CD - for your own personal use of course!

To find out more about Roland Prent and the work he does, you can always visit the studio website.

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"I thought you and your readers might be interested in my new book "Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-84." Based on over 125 interviews, it’s a panoramic survey of the seven year period following punk, taking in everything from PIL to ABC to ZTT, from industrial and 2-Tone to synthpop and goth.

Of particular interest will be the chapter deailng with Simple Minds.

"Rip It Up and Start Again" was published by Faber & Faber on April 21. It’s 576 pages ong and fully illustrated, and is available at amazon.co.uk and other UK online booksellers. (The American edition will be out on Viking Penguin in February 2006)

For more information check the Rip It Up and Start Again site at www.simonreynolds.net which will soon feature extensive footnotes to the chapters, transcripts, links, etc.

Simon Reynolds

A definitive work that will not be bettered for the span of its coverage, and the generosity of its analysis…. Rarely does one wish a 550-page book were longer, but in this case Reynolds leaves the reader wanting more... A fantastic tribute to an amazingly creative musical period. It is an instant pop classic, worthy of a place on your shelves beside the handful of music books that really matter” - The Scotsman on Sunday

"***** Q Classic... This remarkable and perfectly timed cultural history is required reading" - Q

Reynolds has shed dazzling light on a neglected era of music, and it’s difficult to imagine "Rip It Up and Start Again" being displaced as the definitive word on the subject... a brilliant job of reigniting the sense of seething potential that hung in the air like the whiff of cordite once the stereotyped attitudes of punk had finally been exorcised” - The Sunday Times

Once Upon A Time
EMI DVDAV2364 7243 813016 92

Whilst New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) was a surprise from start to finish, the DVD-Audio of Once Upon A Time followed the original album more closely. Entirely remixed in 5:1 surround sound, the only surprises were extended remixes of the title track (with an extended outro) and Come A Long Way (with extended intro and outro). Again, it sounds like Ronald Prent was slower on the fader than Bob Clearmountain and Jimmy Iovine was.

1. Once Upon A Time [5:1 Extended Mix] (6:19)
   With extended outro.

2. All The Things She Said [5:1 Mix] (4:21)

3. Ghostdancing [5:1 Mix] (4:46)

4. Alive And Kicking [5:1 Mix] (5:14)

5. Oh Jungleland [5:1 Mix] (5:25)

6. I Wish You Were Here [5:1 Mix] (4:45)

7. Sanctify Yourself [5:1 Mix] (5.00)

8. Come A Long Way [5:1 Extended Mix] (5.25)
   With extended intro and outro.

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On the subject of Bob Clearmountain, the new Simple Minds album is finished. Thus a release in September is definitely on the cards. In the meantime, the band are working on more new material.

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I incorrectly timed Hunter And The Hunted from the DVD-Audio: it's 6:06 not 8:06. Still, you do get more Herbie Hancock.

So to you want to hear what all the fuss is about? Here's New Gold Dream from the DVD-Audio. It's lost quality, being encoded from the stereo at 192kbps, but the clarity of Jim's voice in the mix, as well as the extended intro, should be immediately noticable.

The DVD is available from the usual suspects including Esprit and Amazon.

More information about EMI's DTS Signature Series (of which New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) and Once Upon A Time are members) can be found here.

At the moment, only New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) and Once Upon A Time are available as newly remastered and remixed DVD-Audios.

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When asked about future projects, Mick MacNeil stated that he hopes be working on something with Derek Forbes and Brian McGee. So, nothing definite at the moment, but very interesting that they might be working on something together.

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A couple of weeks ago, David Guetta's The World Is Mine which was based on a sample from Someone Somewhere In Summertime was the second highest new entry in the French chart. He rose slightly in subsequent weeks, but always remained in the bottom half of the Top 20 (some chart results can be found here.)

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"I was a huge Simple Minds fan as a teenager - I loved their trad-rock years at first. But then I heard their early work, records like "Empires & Dance" and I was astonished by their freshness."

Gordon Moakes
Bloc Party

New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84)
EMI DVDAV2230 7243 813171 98

I owe Virgin/EMI an apology. On paper, this release looked like another reissue of an reissue; a token release on yet another new format which would be of limited interest, only being playable on expensive equipment. My viewpoint was further jaundiced by listening to the SACD releases and wondering what all the fuss was about. I’d heard it all before.

This DVD-Audio is a revelation. And my new hero is Ronald Prent.

Taking the original 24-track analogue masters, he crafted a true 5:1 surround sound version of most of the album, so New Gold Dream now surrounds and envelopes, and you can be truly immersed in its lush textures and melodies. That alone would gain it a high recommendation.

But Prent was also loath to touch the volume control, leaving it high whilst Pete Walsh, with one eye on the limited space on vinyl and tape, was forced to fade. Thus Someone Somewhere (In Summertime), Big Sleep and Glittering Prize appear as new psuedo-extended forms with extended epilogs.

And, unfettered from the original sanctioned Walsh master from which all other releases were cast, Prent had a set of analogue masters which featured the entire recording sessions themselves. New, extended versions of Somebody Up There Likes You and Hunter And The Hunted appear, the former overlaid with more of Charlie’s haunting guitar lines, the latter featuring more of Herbie Hancock.

And Prent wasn’t shy of clipping studio banter. Pete Walsh, throat dry after sucking on innumerable cigarettes croaked “Rolling” as a marathon extended version of King Is White And In The Crowd kicks in. After a signal from the drums, the band abruptly stop, and Walsh congratulates “That’s the one.” Except it wasn’t and this is the first time it’s ever surfaced.

The icing on the cake, the beautiful bonus, was In Every Heaven. Again Prent has come up trumps, finding the vocals, with Jim hesitantly singing a sparse vocal over the choppy choruses. It has an unfinished feel, perhaps the reason for stripping it of words, and renaming it soundtrack, and downgrading it to B-side (it appeared on the flip of Someone Somewhere (In Summertime)).

The news gets better. Whilst DVD-Audio is a new(Ish) format, the sleeve now covered with symbols proclaiming formats and systems, the disc played in my bog standard PC-DVD (using PCM 2.0 stereo) and blasted with authority from my DTS enabled DVD (DTS Surround Sound 5:1). It will also play on DVD- Audio machines. And the disc itself is regionless.

Other bonuses included the videos for Promised You A Miracle and Glittering Prize but, at this stage, who cares? The music itself was enough.

So to Virgin/EMI: I’m sorry. What on paper looked like being yet another remaster of a remaster on a new format that little could play, turned out to be an alternative version of the album, a refreshing new view, and a must-have for every fan.

1. Someone Somewhere (In Summertime) [5:1 Extended Mix] (5:22)
   Slow fade at end revealing extra vocals and different inflections.

2. Colours Fly And Catherine Wheel (3:48)
   Same as the remaster. Not 5.1.

3. Promised You A Miracle (4:25)
   Same as the remaster. Not 5.1.

4. Big Sleep [5:1 Extended Mix] (5:20)
   Slow fade. Some extra vocals.

5. Somebody Up There Likes You [5:1 Extended Mix] (5:45)
   Extended version with extra guitar and effects.

6. New Gold Dream [5:1 Extended Mix] (6:07)
   The well known German-12" mix, but with extended intro. Unfortunately it fades before the end.

7. Glittering Prize [5:1 Extended Mix] (4.39)
   Slow fade at the end, although there isn't much different.

8. Hunter And The Hunted [5:1 Extended Mix] (6.06)
   Marathon version featuring far more Herbie Hancock.

9. King Is White And In The Crowd [5:1 Extended Mix] (7.28)
   Extended version with Pete Walsh cues, count-in, band abruptly ending and final comments.

10. In Every Heaven [5:1 Mix] (4:55)
    Soundtrack For Every Heaven now gets vocals.

The new album is proceeding according to plan, and Bob Clearmountain (along with Jim and Charlie) is currently mixing it.

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Bob has a studio webcam, so the mixing can be viewed online (and simply consists of Bob and Charlie staring at a flatscreen monitor with Jim sitting in the corner). Alas, no sound, but for those interested, the cam can be found at www.mixthis.com. (Only ten connections allowed at a time).

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Whilst it's mostly an advert for Jim's hotel in Sicily, these double-page spread which recently turned up in The Mail On Sunday is interesting for the background and how the whole venture came together.

Sicily's Hard Rock Hotel Simple Minds star Jim Kerr tells how the island home of The Godfathers made him an offer he couldn't refuse In 1982 I played a gig on Sicily that was, although I didn't know it at the time, to change my life. The concert promoter promised to take me somewhere special to celebrate my 23rd birthday - and so it was that I came to visit the chic medieval town of Taormina on the island's north-east coast. I fell for the place head-over-heels - and began a love affair with it that was to have a surprising result in later years. Taormina, famously home to Mount Etna (Europe's most active volcano) and a key location for The Godfather movies, is an impossibly romantic town with views and scenery that stop you dead in your tracks. Its effect on me all those years ago was instant and, in the following decade, I returned many times to holiday there, growing ever more fond of the area. In 1995, however, fate stepped in to strengthen my bond still further. I'd been playing a Simple Minds concert in northern Italy and spotted a group of people in the crowd who were holding up a banner saying Taormina. It grabbed my attention and I shouted 'Ciao' to them, mentioning my passion for the town over the microphone. By coincidence, one of the group, Antionio Chemi, whose family runs a restaurant in Taormina, was staying at the same hotel as me and we got chatting in the bar later that night. With wild Sicilian gesticulation he reprimanded me for visting Taormina all those times yet never dining at his family resturarant. Before we parted, I promised to call him next time I was in Sicily. But he got to Scotland first and we met up in Edinburgh. I'm afraid I wasn't a terribly good host and succumbed immediately when he offered to cook for my firends and me at my house, suspecting that he must be a dab hand in the kitchen. I was right. Over the next few years I continued to visit Taormina. But instead of staying in hotels, I accepted the hospitality of Antonio and his family instead. Within days of first meeting Antonio's family, I found myself playing football with a bunch of local guys and being invited to eat in people's houses. It further strengthened my affection for the town but, over the next few years, I didn't have as many opportunities to visit and it wasn't until I finally went back in 2000 that I realised how much I'd missed it. When I returned I was at a low point in my life. But, within a couple of weeks, Taormina - with its magnificent views and Sicilian hospitality - had worked its magic and I felt totally rejuvenated. I knew then that I had to do something that would permanently link me to the town and suggested to Antonio that we should build a little hotel there. I dreamed of somewhere that would provide guests with a totally authentic feel of Taormina and allow them to share my love of the place. We initially wanted to renovate an old building and looked at a few dilapidated guesthouses but none was a viable business proposition. Then a plot of land next to Antonio's house came up for sale and we snapped it up. It's near the old church of Madonna Della Rocca at the top end of Taormina and affords magnificent views of Mount Etna and the Mediterranean. The building work took two years, though more time was taken on the decor, the finer detail and cutting through Sicilian red tape. We built the hotel, called Villa Angela, so that all 21 bedrooms - seven on each of three floors - look out over Mount Etna. Antonio and I were involved in every part of its development and used local suppliers and materials wherever possible to ensure we ended up with the genuine article of our dreams. An interior designer from Taormina helped us to create an atmosphere that felt like a luxurous Sicilian house with lots of warm Mediterranean colours, wrought iron, ceramics and solid chestnut furniture. Even though it's a hotel, Villa Angela genuinely feels like a home. The last thing I wanted was to build some glitzy rock-star hotel that frankly could have been anywhere in the world once you were inside. Each floor has a different colour scheme and we have a couple of suites as well as the most stunning breakfast room I've ever come across. I have a house not far from the hotel where I spend four or five months of hte year but I still eat breakfast at Villa Angela most days after my morning walk to the little mountain top town of Catelmola above Taormina. The breakfast room has spectacular views of Mount Etna, Giardini Naxos, Bay Castelmola and Taormina itself, which never fail to intoxicate my senses and calm my soul. When it comes to other mealtimes, we're very flexible at Villa Angela. Taormina has more tha 100 resturants and is such a beautiful place to wander around at night with its little piazzas and winding, candle-lit alleyways that hotel resturants are a bit of a waste. As a result, we've decided not to offer a formal dinner service, though if a guest fancies a plate of pasta mid-afternoon or a piece of cake and a cappuccino, we'll organise it, no problem. It is, after all, part of our philosophy to run Villa Angela like a Sicilian home where there's hospitality on tap all day long. At lunchtimes we offer an extensive menu at the pool bar, set amid beautiful gardens whcih are home to more than 50 species of plants and flowers. Michael Douglas, Antionio Banderas, Judi Dench and Maggie Smith were among our first lunch guests when Hotel Villa Angela opened last summer, which is a pretty amazing cast list. The Chemi family resutrant is called La Botte and is on Piazza Santa Domenica just off the main Corso Umberto in Taormina. It was set up by Antonio's parents and grandmother 33 years ago. It's hard to believe but at the time there was apparently a shortage of restaurants in Taormina and his family decided to open a place that would allow tourists to taste proper Sicilian food. Today, the resturant is run by Antonio and his borther and attracts as many celebrities as it does tourists and locals, all of whom adore the opportunity to dine outdoors benath La Botte's beautiful orange trees. La Botte is the Italian word for barrel, which is certainly how you'd end up looking if you ate there regularly thanks to wonderful house specialities such as mussels al gratin, spaghetti with fresh clams and amazing pizzas. Antonio also offeres everything from bottles of vintage wine to 'go-down-well' reds and whites from origianl Sicilian barrels. Having spent so much time in Taormina over the years and now being able to claim it as one of my homes, I've discovered lots of places to go and things to do. The past permeates Taormina every which way you turn and it's impossible to walk more than a few yards without being aware of the incredible hisotry that has occurred within the city walls. The open-air amphitheatre, Teatro Greco, is a must-see and I'd recommend going there either at dawn or sunset to experience it at its most amazing. It especially comes to life during The Taormina Flim Festival every June, whcih is when we had our famous guest lunches at Villa Angela last year. Imagine sitting under the starriest of Mediterranean skies in the ancient amphitheatre with Mount Etna in the distance, watching the cream of new cinema releases. The festival lasts around ten days and Taormina positively thrives on the excitement of having Hollywood greats, Italy's beautiful people and the paparazzi in town. I often enjoy a morning swim ten minutes from the centre of Taormina at teh bays of Mazzaro, Letojanni or Spisone and, if I'm in need of some tranquillity, I take a boat to the enchanting islet of Isola Bella, a World Wide Fund for Nature-proected site. The countryside all around Taormina is beautiful and anyone who enjoys hiking and treeking, as I do, will love it. Early spring and late autumn are great times to go walking in the mountains and valleys when the climate isn't too host and nature is often at its most stunning. October is the month of La Vendemmia, the grape harvest, a subline time of the year to be in Taormina. Grape picking is very much a social activity and Sicilian families welcome extra pairs of hands to help. The hard work is always rewarded in the late afternoon when everyone, young and old sits together in the field and indulges in a huge Sicilian picnic. The food and wine at these gatherings are to die for. I couldn't talk about Taormina and not mention two other great Italian pastimes - shopping and football. The Corso Umberto is the romantic and glamorous pedestrianised street that runs through the centre of Taormina. Here you'll find the best cappuccino, ice cream and lemon cake in the world, plus stylish designer shops and jewellery stores. It's a shopper's, poseur's and dreamer's paradise in equal measure and a great place for people watching. As for football, for the first time in decades Sicily has two teams in the world-famous Italian Serie A. I often go to watch nearby Messina play at home and occasionally head to Sicily's capital, Palermo, to see the local boys take on some of football's biggest stars, including Juventus, Milan and Roma. You never know, perhaps we'll even have some of football's great and good stay at Villa Angela this year. We allowed Villa Angela to open quietly last summer beause we wanted to make sure we'd got it exactly right but now I think we are ready to start shouting to the world about it. We've had an unusually pleasant winter in Sicily with mild temperatures and blue skies and the promise of summer is already in the air. Villa Angela oepned last month and we'll be welcoming guests right through until the end of October when the climate is still good. Although I divide my time between London (where my children are), Glasgow, Nice and Taormina, it's Taormina that feels most like home these days. And it seems that a growing number of beach-loveers and culture vultures alike a discovering its charm. Official figures show that 35,000 British people visited the town last year, an increase of 20 per cent on 2003, and it's definitely starting to enjoy popularity as a year-round destination, not just a summer hotspot. I'd defy anyone to come here and not tumble head-over-heels in love with the place as I did. Sadie Nicholas The Mail On Sunday April 10th 2005 Web: www.taormina-hotels.hotelvillaangela.com E-mail: hotel@hotelvillaangela.com Tel: 0039 0942 27038

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Planet Funk are due to release a new album, a rockier recording than the debut Non Zero Sumness. The new single Stop Me feels a little like Simple Minds in the chorus, so it's one to look out for and give a listen.

If anyone is still after the Simple Minds reissues in the limited edition "mini-vinyl" format, Amazon.com in the US still have plenty of copies. They're reasonably priced and, if shipped as pairs, UK buyers can avoid paying import duty (as value must be over £18 to pay duty).

A video of the recording of the single has turned up on Jimmy Johnstone's site. It features Jim, Charlie and Jimmy.

BBC Radio Scotland recently gave New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) the classic album treatment in a half hour show. Oddly for a classic album show, some of the content was given over to discussing whether the album deserved this status and where it all went wrong for Simple Minds.

But the BBC did their homework when it came to the stuff that maters i.e. the music, and assembled the best people to talk about it. The programme features Jim, Bruce Findlay, Paul Morley, Lindsay Hutton and The Utah Saints.

You can listen to the show online here.

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The DVD-Audios of New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) and Once Upon A Time have been further delayed, the release date being pushed back to the 4th April. Amazingly, from the company that doesn't seem to understand the phrase "bonus material", In Every Heaven has now been added to New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) as an extra track. (Probably Soundtrack For Every Heaven, which first appeared on the Someone Somewhere (In Summertime) 12", and has suffered an identity crisis ever since).

Simple Minds have just signed a worldwide licensing and distribution deal with Sanctuary Records - home to Morrissey, The Strokes and The Libertines. The Scots rockers signed the contract in between recording new material for their album in Holland. A spokesman for the band said: 'Over the last few years Sanctuary has acquired a great reputation as being a true artist's label that can also deliver commercially. We look forward with great enthusiasm to working with them on the next new phase of Simple Minds music.' The Simple Minds album - produced by Jez Coad and Simple Minds with Bob Clearmountain mixing - is due out in September. Beverley Lyons And Cath Bennett The Razz March 4th 2005

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The DVD-Audios of New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) and Once Upon A Time will now be released on the 21st March.

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More information about RM's Speed Your Love To Me has been added to the discography.

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Those in France should listen to Francis Zegut's Rock Station radio show hosted on RTL2 (9 PM through to midnight, every weekday). The DJ sounds like a Simple Minds promotion machine, interviewing Jim for Cry and Our Secrets Are The Same and even playing New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) from Silver Box.

So, he may be worth listening to around August if the new album is to be released in September.

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A french review of the album is published here.

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Whilst working on the new album, Jim and Charlie have been working on a parallel project. What will come of The Devil Came Down To Moscow remains to be seen, but it's certainly one of their most intreguing projects to date.

David Guetta's The World Is Mine was finally issued in the UK on the 21st February. The three formats featured the same mixes as the promos.

Details of the 12" releases have been added to the discography.

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RM's Speed Your Love To Me is now available from americandisco.net.

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Brian McGee's drum stand has now appeared on eBay.

• Festivalbar, Italy footage from 2002 of Simple Minds playing Cry
• The World Is Mine. Scroll down to the Behind The Scenes video. I think David Guetta is actually in it amongst all the naked flesh and poledancing, but I'll watch again to make sure.

Some more info on yesterday's post: Derek demoed a couple of tunes for the new album, but his involvement stopped there. Therefore he won't be on the album - the bass is played by Eddie Duffy.

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David Guetta's The World Is Mine will be released as a five track CD in the UK on Monday. HMV are taking pre-orders at £2.99.

Derek Forbes has been involved with the new album. It isn't known if this was writing, demoing, or recording, but he worked on four songs with the band.

However, he's currently working with Spear Of Destiny, so it's unlikely that he'll be further involved.

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Meanwhile Mick MacNeil's been busy getting back to his roots and collaborating on the Back To Barra album.

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For those scared of vinyl, CD promos of David Guetta's The World Is Mine have started to circulate.

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The tribute album, Swimming Towards The Sun can now be downloaded at http://www.mp3tunes.com/artist_details.php?artist_id=31482. " If you purchase the album there, please be sure to return to that page and leave a positive review. At less than $9, I think this is the cheapest place to get the tribute album." - Mike Simpson.

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After hearing 12"/80s, it turns out that Simple Minds are represented by the longer, more reworked, US Remix of Promised You A Miracle.

Keep an eye on eBay and other auction websites. Whilst having a studio clearout, Brian McGee has found the last snare drum stand he used whilst recording with Simple Minds. So that's going up as a lot along with a signed photo of Brian playing the kit, a letter of authentication and a Simple Minds 'red-eye' badge.

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Simple Minds get two mentions in the Top Ten List compiled on the Manic Street Preachers official website. Found under the "Lists" section, Nicky Wire cites Derek Forbes as the top bass player of all time, whilst Empires And Dance makes its way onto James Bradfield's cover art top ten.

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Already making "Compilation Album Of The Month" in several publications, 12"/80s a 3CD set, features 12" mixes from the key players of the 1980s. Simple Minds are represented by the slightly lengthened Promised You A Miracle remix from 1982.

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Various homebrew remixes of early material (usually forged from the album, instrumental and Razormaid remixes) can be found on the Dreamtime blog page. The quality's high, and other remixes for Roxy Music and David Bowie are well worth a listen as well.

The other promotional 12" of David Guetta's The World Is Mine features three remixes; although the Black Strobe Remix doesn't feature the Someone Somewhere (In Summertime) sample.

For further information, see Dream Giver Redux.

The paper is on a Simple Minds roll at the moment. Not only did they select I Travel for last weeks Best Scottish Bands CD, they put Cry on the freebie CD for the previous week. A good bit of promotional work for one of the band's most overlooked albums.

I am surprised: the Best Scottish Bands CD (issued with Scotland On Sunday) included I Travel! Perhaps the compilers read the comments in Q's The Story Of Electropop special:

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One feature in the magazine was the Essential Songs. And here's the list:

• I Feel Love Donna Summer
• Being Boiled The Human League (and covered by The Minds)
• Left To My Own Devices The Pet Shop Boys
• Enjoy The Silence Depeche Mode
• We Don't Need This Fascist Groove Thang Heaven 17
• Ghosts Japan
• Fade To Grey Visage
• I Travel Simple Minds
• I Want More Can
• Autobahn Kraftwerk (partial inspiration for New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84)
• Sound And Vision David Bowie
• Tainted Love Soft Cell
• Once In A Lifetime Talking Heads
• Are 'Friends' Electric Gary Numan
• O, Superman Laurie Anderson
• Warm Leatherette The Normal
• Messages OMD
• Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) Eurythmics
• Pop Muzik M
• Blue Monday New Order

And the prose for I Travel states:

"European travelogue set to a speedy electronic beat
Taken from their dance-tinged, Euro-centric Empires And Dance album in 1980, I Travel was the breakthrough single that never happened. The electronic rhytm sounds like an amphetamine-spiked Moroder beat as singer Jim Kerr rushes through images of "decadence and pleasure towns" with a vague but manic intensity. The blend of impressionistic lyrics and aggresive, synthesized backing make it one of the highlights from that era of British pop, containing both the potent, angular urgency of post-punk and electro's more experimental sounds".

Simple Minds also got the three page retrospective treatment, which was written by John Aizlewood. Whilst supplying more fantastic metaphors for the band's lexicon, the article ultimately fell flat on its face when it came to the 1990s, simply writing the band off, and reducing them to Italian hotel builders releasing cover albums. However his history of the first decade of the band is definitely worth a read, and he pushes the boundary of 'good' Simple Minds up to Belfast Child which is oddly described as "career-killing".

Aizlewood gains partial redemption for his killing soundbites and a gushing full page review of New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) which follows the biography. The following are some quotes from the article (and I could've picked out many more):

"...which begins mysteriously "Ruby says she does not dream." Before 60 seconds have passed there is time for a chorus which begins, as all choruses should "Whopopopopopopopop..." Fabulous. It wasn't quite the '80s, but Simple Minds were already ahead of their time." - John Aizlewood

"Simple Minds' Faustian penance is to be forever doomed to play it" - John Aizlewood on Don't You (Forget About Me).

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The Fuck Me I'm Famous and Clamaran Dub remixes of The World Is Mine both strongly feature the sample of Someone Somewhere (In Summertime), so if you like the song, this promo 12" is definitely worth searching out.

For more details, see the page for The World Is Mine.

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During the awards ceremony of Scotland's current list of great band (before being replaced by the next one), Idlewild covered Don't You (Forget About Me) to the surprise of the audience. "Stripped of its usual stadium bombast, [the song] proved surprisingly touching when delivered in Woomble's gritty voice."

The cover can be heard here.

After a three month poll of the Top 50 Scottish Bands Of All Time (Ever, Ever, Ever... Until The Next One), The List magazine's collated all the results and published the final ranking.

Indie band Belle & Sebastian made the top place, with Simple Minds at number six, beaten by Travis, Idlewild, Wet Wet Wet and the Sensational Alex Harvey Band.

Those slightly upset at these results (shouldn't Primal Scream be higher?) can take condolence in the fact that Simple Minds are still the most successful Scottish band.

The full list can be found at here.

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As part of the tie-in with the list, Simple Minds will feature on a free ten track CD given away with Scotland on Sunday this weekend (16th January). The song selected isn't known, but I'd be surprised if it wasn't Don't You (Forget About Me), Alive And Kicking or Belfast Child.

RM have 'remixed' Speed Your Love To Me, and it's available on a white-label 12 from Italian label d:vision. A sample MP3 of the song doesn't do it justice, but it's in the style of recent remixes of Call On Me by Eric Prydz and Out Of Touch by United Nations i.e. a couple of lines of the song ("Just my imagination" and "You go to my head") are repeated and faded in and out.

It's got a page on Redux: more information as, and when, I get it.

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The Glasgow Evening Times featured The Rock Legends Of Glagow in their suppliment this last Sunday (11th Jan 2005). Simple Minds were featured on two pages: the first being a black and white of the band from the 1980s, whilst the second picture brought it all up-to-date with a picture of Jim at the Gampel open air festival from 2003.

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After feedback, I've updated the top ten rarities to include several releases which only just missed the list.

The World Is Mine, a Depeche Mode style song featuring a sample from Someone Somewhere (In Summertime) looks set for release on the 14th January.

Two 12" promos were issued in December and are now circulating, each featuring different mixes of the title track. Sent to select DJs, each is limited to 100 copies.

For further information, see the new section on Dream Giver Redux.

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Some small additions have been made to Redux, both to the Real To Real Cacophony section:

• A flyer for the German 1980 gigs when Simple Minds supported Gary Numan (see image right).
• A promo poster for Changeling.

A special Q Magazine will be published on January 14th. Telling the Story Of Electropop, Depeche Mode are the cover stars, but Simple Minds get a mention as well (and the blurb will probably cover Real To Real Cacophony through to New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84)).. Should be worth a quick flick through in the newsagents.

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Uncovered Simple Minds Neon Lights (promo CD, Eagle 194P, 2001) As comedy albums go, you can't get better than this. Of course, in 2001, when Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill decided that Simple Minds would start the new millennium with a covers album, comedy was the last thing on their minds. They wanted to pay their respects to artists who had either influenced or jumped fences with them during their 80s heyday. This promo was no doubt perceived as a canny act of marketing to whet the appetites of music journalists and fans alike. On the disc, Jim Kerr waxes lyrical about each track covered before a brief sample of the Minds' stellar version is played. Kerr sounds deliciously pompous about the whole affair (" There have been so many great songs, so many different sounds, so may artists and acts that have influenced our band") which makes the butchering of the likes of Van Morrison's Gloria, The Doors' Hello, I Love You, Pete Shelly's Homosapien and The Velvet Underground's All Tomorrow's Parties all the more hilarious. Simply put, this is the Metal Machine Music of cover albums - horrific as that sounds - and contains music which even makes Paul Young's dissection of Love Will Tear Us Apart bearable. Diabolical liberties are taken with Neon Lights, The Needle And The Damage Done and Bring On The Dancing Horses (which is given a dance beat!) I wouldn't part with my copy for £50 by imagine that you could get one on eBay for £15 if you're unlucky. The actual Neon Lights album is worth about £7 but without the Kerr commentary is only fit for employment as psychological torture or piped music in Siberian supermarkets. And, before the complaining letters flood in, I actually like Simple Minds. Ian Shirley Record Collector Jan 2005

A little harsh I think.

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The World Is Mine which features a sample of Someone Somewhere (In Summertime) is available on David Guetta's Guetta Blaster album. A sample of the song can be heard here.

The album, which was released in 2004, can be purchased from David Guetta's own site.

Remixes has just been released on 12" (which is probably why it's been getting play on Danish radio.) It isn't known if the Simple Minds sample is on all the mixes yet:

• The world is mine [radio edit]
• The world is mine [extended version]
• The world is mine [Deep Dish remix]
• The world is mine [Antoine Clamaran dub remix]
• The world is mine [Fuck me i'm famous remix]
• The world is mine [Blackstrobe remix]

Be sure to check out David Guetta's The World Is Mine. The song, which has been getting airplay in Denmark, samples Someone Somewhere (In Summertime) in the chorus.

New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) Virgin DVDAV2230 January 17th 2005 Includes: 9 audio tracks Promised You A Miracle and New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84)* videos. Lyrics Weblinks Discography

Once Upon A Time Virgin DVDAV2364 January 17th 2005 Includes: 8 audio tracks Alive And Kicking and All The Things She Said videos. Lyrics Weblinks Discography

(* The fact that there is no video for New Gold Dream bodes well for the accuracy and contents of both these releases. For the record, I assume it's the Glittering Prize video as these CDs have been issued by Virgin's "Give Them Nothing New" department.)