Four Good Men and Sample Minds will be putting on a gig at Rotherham United on the August 26th.

Full details of the event, plus ticket booking information, can be found on Rotherham United's web site.

Sample Minds Press Release

SIMPLE MINDS – 30 YEARS – CELEBRATE

Sample Minds – the Simple Minds tribute band, will be appearing with none other than Four Good Men – who feature Simple Minds' legendary founder members Mick McNeil and Derek Forbes.

"This is pretty amazing," commented frontman Steve Hempton. "Mick and Derek's contribution to the classic Simple Minds sound was incredible. It’s a real honour to be able to share the stage with them."

The event will be held at Rotherham United Football Club and will be a game of two halves. In the afternoon there is a ticket only function for fans to get together and celebrate 30 years of Simple Minds music. There will be memorabilia exchanges, quizzes, auction and an opportunity to meet Mick and Derek – and Sample Minds too! If you’re a Simple Minds fan – you’ll want to be there.

The evening event will kick off with Sample Minds. “We’re aware of the Simple Minds songs that Four Good Men will be performing and do not want to double up,” said keyboard player Simon Hayward. “This gives us an opportunity to drop in a few songs we wouldn’t normally get to play. There are sure to be some sonic treats in store from both bands.”

Tickets are available from:

Promotions Office Rotherham UTD 01709 512760
commercial@rotherhamunited.net

For further details:

www.themillers.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10360~1034248,00.html
www.fourgoodmen.com
www.sampleminds.co.uk

Event Press Release

Tickets for the Celebrate gig will go on sale at 9:30am (GMT) on Monday morning, June 25th 2007.

Tickets can be obtained from the ticket office at Rotherham United where Credit / Debit card facilities are available. The number is + 44 (0) 870 443 1884.

Tickets for the gig are priced a £20.

Anyone wishing to attend the Pre-Gig Meet up / mini-convention will need to buy a Hospitality / Meet & Greet Pass. This event will start at 2:30pm.

This will be a Private Event and will be held in the Hospitality Suite in the Main Stand. Mick & Derek will be taking part and will do a "Meet & Greet", a signing session, they will be bringing some of their personal SM memorabilia (Mick apparently will be bringing some of his video footage of life on the road), and I believe a few special guests may well be on the cards!

There will be a range of other activities taking place and a number of surprises! And of course, the usual fan meet up will require a bar!

There will be food (as it's a long day) which will be included in the price of the ticket. Please ask for a Hospitality / Meet and Greet ticket whilst purchasing your concert ticket should you wish to attend.

Access can only be gained to the Hospitality Suite with a ticket. These are priced at £10 (which essentially is covering food costs).

Tgere is a "Special Rate" at the local Holiday Inn, which is a five minute drive away (there is a taxi company / rank directly opposite Rotherham United). The rate is £65 per room (whether single or double occupancy) and includes breakfast. The usual rate is £89.

If you want to reserve a room, call +44 (0) 1709 830630. You will need to quote `Rotherham United' to take advantage of the deal.

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Some pictures of the Lisbon Lions concert can now be seen on Celtic FC's website. The event has also been broadcast on their Channel 67, which I believe is their own subscription channel.

Jim also appeared on Gabby Logan's new BBC Radio 2 on May 26th. They talked mostly about football (Lisbon Lions especially). Gabby did wish Jim "good luck with the summer tour" but I think this is a slip-up on her part - I don't think anything's planned for the summer.

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Another megamix has been put together by JohnnyBgood (who produced the earlier Crashing Beats And Fantasy and Different World megamixes). Sounds For Every Heaven fuses a large number of different Simple Minds tracks (including the most recent Different World remixes) into one large megamix namely:

Cry Phunk Investigation Dubmix, Enjoy The Silence, Kick It In Unauthorised Mix, Alive And Kicking Dance Mix, Alive And Kicking Partenope club Mix, Alive And Kicking Electrosoccer Mix, Someone, Somewhere (In Summertime) DJ Sofus Remix, Spaceface DJ Tomcraft Remix, Different World Phunk Investigation Odissey Remix, Just Can't Get Enough DJ Murilo Mix, Theme For Great Cities Fluke Remix, One Step Closer Phunk Investigation Inda Mix, Cry Charlie Fath's 80s Remix, Enjoy The Silence, Kick It In Unauthorised Mix, Photographic Skinflutes Regenerated Remix, Lithium DJ Lithium Different World So Phat! Club Mix, Different World So Phat!s Sonicblast Merged Mix, Innerworld Gaudi Interpretation Mix, Different World The Beatthiefs Remix, Different World So Phat! Club Mix, Different World Scumfrog Remix, Different World So Phat!s Sonicblast Merged Mix, Alive And Kicking Electrosoccer Mix

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Andy Murison is selling his Simple Minds vinyl collection. So if you're after an original Arista album, or are missing a Virgin single or two then e-mail him and ask for his list.

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Since 1996, this website has been hosted by Demon. However, due to changes with their website hosting, I've just had to delete half the site to add this latest update! (Due to some daft new admin files effectively halving my quota). You will notice that the images in parts of the discography have gone, all the images of old news pages have gone, and the 'Biography' section is no more. Therefore I'll be moving the site over to Dream Giver Redux faster than I originally hoped. Because of that some portions of the site might 'disappear' for a while. But the 'News' section is always the top priority and will remain online. Simon Cornwell

The winner of the competition is: Joonas Välimäki from Finland.

Congratulations Joonas and I'll get the CDs in the post to you.

Many thanks to all the hundreds who entered the competition. It proved to be very popular. I shall be holding further competitions for various Simple Minds goodies in the near future.

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The set list for the Lisbon Lions concert was:

Waterfront
Don't You (Forget About Me)
Dirty Old Town
Sanctify Yourself
Alive And Kicking

And that's it for now. I don't know of any other concerts in the pipeline. After a break, I expect everyone will start thinking about future plans.

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John Milarky is a familar name if you've delved into the early, murky history of Simple Minds. His involvement in Johnny And The Self Abusers, and front-man of The Cuban Heels, is well documented.

And then he disappeared. That is, until now.

Milarky has returned, winning an international screenwriting prize for The Strangest Thing. It's likely the screenplay will now be made into a film.

For the full story, check out this feature in The Herald.

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Don't You (Forget About Me) has been used as the soundtrack for a Coca Cola advertisement in Spain. I'm not quite sure what it's all about, but the full video can be seen here.

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The Manic Street Preachers have returned to a cyrillic style font for the artwork of their latest album Send Away The Tigers. This was first used for The Holy Bible, directly inspired by the typography of Simple Minds' Empires And Dance.

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Absolutely was a comedy show which appeared on Channel 4 in the UK from 1989 through to 1993. The cast and crew were mainly Scottish, and were perfectly happy to send-up everything north of the border. Which includes this video (parts of which are unfortunately rather familar).

Madeleine McCann disappered from her parent's holiday vila in Portuagal on the 3rd May 2007.

Since then, there has been massive media coverage, determined to raise public awareness of the case all over the world and to find Madeleine.

As part of the campaign, a video's been produced of Madeleine, which is backed by Don't You (Forget About Me). It has been played during news programmes all over the world and at high profile sporting events (including the FA Cup Final at the new Wembley Stadium).

Click on the banner below to find out more:

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The second Different World 12" has now been released.

Whilst it was expected the single would include the four remixes originally offered as downloads, the new 12" features two new remixes by So Phat!. (These were originally commissioned one year ago).

The Different World remix story still isn't over: there's an Emil Croff in the works.

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If you enjoyed the Different World Megamix, then you'll definintely enjoy Crashing Beats And Fantasy. By the same remixer, it features several Simple Minds tracks all entwined around varous remixes of New Gold Dream.

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Competition

I have the two live CDs from the recent Sunday Express promotion up for grabs.

Rather than run a competition, I thought I'd simply give them away to someone.

Therefore, if you'd like to be in the draw, simply send me an e-mail. In a weeks' time (Monday 28th May), I'll pick a winner from all the entries at random.

Good luck!

It's now clarified. The whole band will be playing at the Lisbon Lions 40th Tribute. Check out celticfc.net for the full story.

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More details about New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) have been added to Dream Giver Redux. All the trivia about the album has been added to its page, along with all the collectable formats which have been released around the world.

For more information click here.

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If you like dance remixes, then this is a real treat. Put together by a Simple Minds fan, this one hour megamix features loads of Simple Minds remixes, tracks by other artists, all knitted together with different versions of Different World [TAORMINA.ME]. Definintely recommended!

It can be downloaded from rapidshare.com. (It's an 87MB 192kpbs MP3 file so you'll need to be on broadband).

The tracks included are: Different World [TAORMINA ME] [Tali Freaks Remix], Don't You (Forget About Me) [Perky Park's Radio Remix], Love Song [Utah Saints Remix], Different World [TAORMINA ME] [Tali Freaks' Remix], Different World [TAORMINA ME] [Phunk Investigation Odissey Remix], Alan Braxe And Friends, Enola Gay OMD [Dancefloor Killa Remix], Enjoy the silence Depeche Mode [Vsadnik Drop Beatbreak Remix], Different World [TAORMINA ME] [DJ Moussa Clark Remix], Cry [Charlie Fath 80's Remix], Theme For Great Cities [Fluke's Remix], Walking Away [Tocadisco Remix], Love Song [Fookmeister NY Remix], Night Falls Artist Unknown, Different World [TAORMINA ME] [Tali Freaks Remix], Alive And Kicking [Dance Remix], Different World [TAORMINA ME] [Phunk Investigation Odissey Remix], Behind The Wheel Depeche Mode [Julian Creance Remix], Don't You (Forget About Me) [Stefano Sorrentino Remix], Spaceface [DJ Tomcraft Remix], Where The Streets Have No Name U2 [Techno Remix], Monstermental Liquid People vs Simple Minds [Original Remix], The American [Interference Remix], Waterfront [Union Jack Remix], Cry [Charlie Fath 80's Remix], Spaceface [DJ Tomcraft Remix], Different World [TAORMINA ME] [Scumfrog Remix], Octave One Black water

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Those in the UK would've seen the recent Simple Minds Sunday Express giveaway promoted by a couple of TV advertisements. These can now be viewed on www.visit4info.com.

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The Canadian promotional-only album Sparkle Through The Years has now been fully documented on Dream Giver Redux. Included for the first time is the extremely rare cassette version.

Full details can be found on Dream Giver Redux.

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I've now updated the bundle section to point to the new download location for the live bundles (they were rereleased on the 13th April 2007). All the live bundles can be downloaded from www.simpleminds.com

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Following on from sample MINDS' recent landmark gig in Hamm, Germany, the band are thrilled to be returning to Holland again this summer, once again performing a showcase gig with the fantastic U2/NL.

Saturday 9th June 2007

Cafe Spoorzicht
Loenenseweg 1
6961CL Eerbeek
Holland

info@spoorzichteerbeek.nl
Tel: 0313 652548

This will be new guitarist Martin Sommer's first full gig with the band. The as yet to be decided set will consist of approximately 16 songs.

Further tour dates are expected to be announced soon.

www.sampleminds.co.uk

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And yet another update for the collectors. Between 1993 and 1995, the Simple Minds Information Service issued four copies of the glossy, colour Shadowlands fanzine.

Now very rare, and eagerly snapped up on eBay, these official fanzines charted the slow emergence of Good News From The Next World, along with Q&A sessions with Jim and Charlie, competitions and more.

The full set of fanzines have now been documented and reviewed on Dream Giver Redux.

Sample Minds – Next Gig

Citifest, Towncentre, Hamm, Germany – Saturday 5th May 2007

Admission Free

Preparations are well underway Sample Minds next gig in Germany. With 25 songs split into two sets, this will truly be a Simple Minds marathon! From the opening bars of Theme For Great Cities to the "uber" arrangement of New Gold Dream, this promises to be a special event that the band are all really looking forward to.

This will be founder member Dave Kelly’s final performance and also new guitarist Martin Sommer’s live debut. Martin will tackle a few songs from the second set as a warm up for the forthcoming Holland gig in June. Despite having impaled his hand with a screwdriver and having surgery, reports from the German camp are that Martin sounds simply awesome.

"It's sure to be a really emotional experience," commented Sample Minds' frontman Steve Hempton. "It will be a real thrill to experience Dave in action one last time. Equally we’re excited about working with our new guitarist Martin."

Keyboard player Simon Hayward continued, "It's a big set – maybe our largest to date, including several songs we’ve not played in a long time."

Also Sample Minds were recently astonished to discover that the band had been featured in UK tabloid newspaper The Sun (seen on the right)!

Simon's also send a rehearsal recording of New Gold Dream (the 1986 live version).

As promised, Simple Minds Live Volume Two was given away free with the Sunday Express this last Sunday. The collection of two separate CDs is now complete.

The Express also sorted out the mistakes from last week by printing Jim's comments for both the CDs.

Both the CDs, comments, and pictures from the papers have been added to the discography:
Simple Minds Live Volume One
Simple Minds Live Volume Two

The album has started appearing on eBay, but copies can also be ordered directly from The Sunday Express via their back-issue ordering service.

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A version of Simple Minds Don't You (Forget About Me) was elegently fused with Coldplay's Clocks for an MTV Mash-Up show from a couple of years ago. Despite this unauthorized remix sounding great, neither Simple Minds nor Coldplay gave permission for a commerical release.

Now a fan has fused both the videos of Don't You (Forget About Me) and Clocks together as a visual backdrop for the music and uploaded to YouTube. Well worth playing if you've never heard this mix before.

Simple Minds Live Volume One was released today as a free CD with the UK's Sunday Express newspaper. The CD features eight newly released live tracks and three bonus recordings.

The live recordings appear to be taken from a variety of different gigs recorded during the band's Black And White tour of 2006. Whilst Jim mentions that it's the last night of the tour during Let There Be Love, many of the songs featured on the disc weren't played at Edinburgh so their date remains a mystery.

Additionally the three bonus tracks, which are long ten minute ambient instrumentals, are credited to Austin Stuart Hanlin, and don't appear to be by Simple Minds. Again, clarification is needed on these.

This CD is a definate must for any Simple Minds fan

Furthermore, this trumps previous offerings as firstly the songs are live and secondly it includes many of the band's more recent works (such as Different World [TAORMINA.ME] and Dolphins).

A second CD will be released with the paper next week, and will complete the collection.

For those who are not in the UK, I'm sure the CDs will appear on eBay and other online sellers. Additionally, the band's official site are starting to offer the live bundles again, and hopefully will make these new recordings available to a wider audience as downloads.

Simple Minds Live Volume One
1.	Alive And Kicking	[Live]	(4:56)
2.	New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84)	[Live]	(3:54)
3.	Mandela Day	[Live]	(6:52)
4.	Up On The Catwalk	[Live]	(4:37)
5.	Different World [TAORMINA.ME]	[Live]	(4:12)
6.	Let There Be Love	[Live]	(4:38)
7.	Hypnotised	[Live]	(5:00)
8.	A Life Shot In Black And White	[Live]	(3:35)
9.	Move On One Minute Departure		(10:33)
10.	Waves Of Glass		(10:58)
11.	Moroccan Pipes		(11:40)
National Newspapers - NN-10344 ncluded free with the Sunday Express (15th April 2007)

Unfortunately the paper managed to mix up the track listings and Jim's description of the tracks, so his thoughts on disc #2 appeared this week. But never mind. Here's his thoughts on next week's offerings:


Jim Kerr, the lead singer of Simple Minds, has kindly reviewed the CD for us:

1. Waterfront
Feeling we needed to begin each and every show with an bang, Waterfront was designed and calculated to do just that.

2. Glittering Prize
In the summer of '82, the UK pop charts were seemingly awash with very new and innovative pop songs all written by young artists, many of whom were destined for bigger things. Glittering prize is among that collection.

3. Sanctify Yourself
Producer Jimmy Iovine always felt that, apart from being a rock band, Simple Minds also posessed a soulfulness that demanded to be heard. Through this desire to explore aanother side of our creativity, Sanctify Yourself was written.

4. Don't You (Forget About Me)
Prior to the release of Dont You (Forget About Me), Simple Minds had achieved a fair amount of critical success. However, there is little point denying that this is the song that kicked the door to "the big league" wide open for us.

5. All The Things She Said
Another example of "the big pop style" that we had embraced. The style of the song suited us perectly for the time and ensured that our sound could travel globally.

6. Ghost Dancing
The live debut of this song was at the now legendary Live Aid concert that took place in Philadelphia's JFK stadium. Our hearts were in ouor mouths on that day and each and every time we play that song, all those emotions return.

7. See The Lights
In some ways I feel that this is one of our best ever songs. It has a great mixture of deep darkness yet ultimatly compelling light within its words and melody.

8. Dolphins
A dream, a metaphor, an illusion. It all takes place against Charlie Burchill's siren call. In my view, Dolphins is a fine example of the cinema sound that Simple Minds has always been able to conjure up.

The Australian tour is now over. Many thanks to all those who e-mailed in set-lists, photographs and gig reviews. Everything is now on-line. And additional thanks to those who posted gig reviews to the Simple Minds mailing list. (Which is now almost up to 1200 members - and you don't have to subscribe to read it).

Tour promoter Andrew McManus must be pleased: Simple Minds (admittedly as INXS's support) gained rave review after rave review. He must be thinking of booking them again. And with rumours of a big tour next year, the band may soon be back in Australia/New Zealand.

The best night (in terms of the set-list) was Hunter Valley where Sanctify Yourself reappeared, and New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) made a triumphal appearance.

Great stuff!

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So what now? The Lisbon Lions event appears to be the final public event in the tour diary (and that might just be Jim with Charlie so don't expect a full Simple Minds show).

In typical Simple Minds manner, I'll expect the band to go very quiet and secretive, as they start recording the new studio album. The Australian Tour will have moved the timescales forward, so I don't expect anything to be released until early 2008.

I suspect this has worked out well for them. 2008 is being muted as the 30th anniversary of Simple Minds, and there is talk of a worldwide tour. A new studio album would be the icing on the cake, as I suspect Jim would be far happier promoting and talking about a new studio album for the band's 30th year, rather than a retrospective collecion.

Watch this space.

In the meantime, I'm going to be busy fleshing out the ever-ongoing "new" site, starting with New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) next week. Dream Giver will be regularly updated, as it has been over the past 14 years.

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Holyrood School have recently celebrated famous and successful ex-pupils. The Glasgow Evening Times reported on the event which included the unveiling of signed and framed photos of former pupils Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill of Simple Minds, and Fran Heeley of Travis.

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I was saddened to read recently that the Sparkle! fan club and mailing list is due to shut down. Fan clubs come and go, but the Sparkle club made a significant impact: supporting the band and attending gigs, and organising their own events and club days, and having a vibrant and well-designed website to coordinate everything.

Their departure from the fanbase of Simple Minds will be felt by many fans: I wish the members of the club, and their hard working organisers, well for the future (and no-doubt will see many at the gigs next year).

The set-list for the last few gigs (Melbourne, Canerra and Wollongong) has remained the same, namely:

Love Song
Book Of Brilliant Things
See The Lights
All The Things She Said
Ghostdancing - Gloria
Glittering Prize
Dont You (Forget About Me)
Waterfront
Alive And Kicking

Jim and Charlie at Canberra (27 March 2007)
© Steve A

Just came home from Simple Minds/INXS and Arrested Development at AIS Arena Canberra. Let me just say that Jim and the boys were of course great. Their list was the same as Adelaide, which was way too short for them - only 1 hour. Everyone I talked to at the beer stand after them (and before INXS) said that they should have played longer "they were well and truly warmed up". In fairness to INXS, they were pretty good. JD Fortune good singer, but made a few people cringe with a few of his in-between song comments. There is a lot of people in Australia who love Simple Minds and wished that they had toured more over the years. Can't wait for the next album and tour. Steve A

Courier Mail recently published an interview with Jim.

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Early Gold was released late last year by Caroline Records in the USA. Promotional copies have only just started to surface: there's a specially pressed promotional CD with typed backing sleeve and a gold stamped version of the commercial copy. All the variations appear equally rare.

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I been sent the prices of the various ticket options for the Lisbon Lions 40th anniversary dinner. It's pretty pricey!

• Platinum £300 + VAT per person: Champagne and canapés in the Number 7 restaurant, exclusive fine wines with meal, 3 course meal, post meal liquors, complimentary bar throughout the meal, table in prime viewing location, signed programme and exclusive commemorative gift

• Gold £196.70 + VAT per person: Drinks reception for 1 hour in the Kerrydale Suite, fine wines with meal, 3 course meal, post meal liquors, complimentary bar throughout the meal, mid room location for seating, programme and exclusive commemorative gift

• Silver £125 + VAT per person: Cash drinks reception in the North Stand Lounges, house wine with meal, 3 course meal, outer seating, programme and exclusive commemorative gift

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By adding the details of the collectable Black And White 050505 Japanese Promo to the site, I've finally finished uploading everything currently known about the album and the various collectables. Unless you know different, or anything else turns up.

The set-list for Adelaide was the same as Perth's, except Sanctify Yourself wasn't played:

Love Song
Book Of Brilliant Things
See The Lights
All The Things She Said
Ghostdancing - Gloria
Glittering Prize
Dont You (Forget About Me)
Waterfront
Alive And Kicking

Adelaide Now also posted a review of the gig, but it hardly mentions Simple Minds.

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Don't you forget now He's the kind of son every parent wishes to have. Simple Minds frontman Jim Kerr, has been scoring points with his parents of late - and all because of his love of Australia. Currently on tour with that great Aussie band INXS, Scots rocker Jim is sadly away from home when his parents celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. However, recognising that the golden anniversary is a pretty big deal, he hasn't let it pass by. As his gift to his parents, Jim has put mum and dad on the first plane to Australia for a well-deserved holiday. After all, bringing up a rock star can't be light work. "I genuinely love visiting Australia and New Zealand," Jim says. "I have a bond with those countries that goes back to our early days when I instantly liked the cities, the climate and the natural landscape here." "But even more so, I identified with the energetic characteristics of the people and made a lot of friends as a result." Now he's sharing the love with his family - what a guy. Adelaide Now 20th March 2007

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And this is one for the real hardcore collectors: there are two versions of The Early Years 1977-78 CD. The only difference, as far as well can tell, is one features the Mindmood logo and the other doesn't. So, one of the rarest and mysterious Simple Minds CDs has just got slightly weirder!

(Thanks to Clif for the scan).

"With a fresh break behind them, INXS are ready to embark once again on the celebrity circuit. They wanted to play bigger venues this time (including three big outdoor shows in Perth, Melbourne and the Hunter Valley), which means they're sharing it with two other bands: Arrested Development and Simple Minds. INXS met Simple Minds while partying at US promoter Bill Graham's house and later toured the US together. Meeting Simple Minds was an unusual coincidence for JD, who holds a particularly special place in his heart for the band. "The second concert I ever went to was a Simple Minds show and the couple standing next to me started having sex. It was pretty cool seeing that band again. I was like, 'Hey guys, I got stoned when I was 14 and watched people have sex at your show. Now I'm going on tour with you!'"

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INXS, Simple Minds & Arrested Development: Past Masters Still Well In The Groove It would be all too easy to write this triple bill off as a bit of nostalgia. Truth is, they're all still on top of their game which made for a thoroughly enjoyable show. Peace totems Arrested Development hit the stage as the sun was starting to set, creating groovy vibes and a perfect opener with their mix of hip-hop, cool grooves and reggae. The fact that people remember the hits Mr Wendel and People Everyday is testament to the pop mind going further back than most people will want to give credit for. Simple Minds came out firing and like last year's Perth show, never let up for their hour-long set. It was wall-to-wall hits from the opener Love Song and moving through All The Things She Said, See The Lights, Glittering Prize and a frenzied cover of Gloria. Fronting a cracking band, Jim Kerr delivered a blistering version of Don't You (Forget About Me), the song immortalised in the classic 80s movie The Breakfast Club, and the crowd yelled out the words. Then came Waterfront, a very sexy Alive And Kicking and the uplifting Sanctify Yourself to close the set screaming. They were going to be a hard act to follow. By comparison, INXS took a few numbers to warm up before any of the magic really showed itself. But once the furnace was stoked, they were off. Singer J.D. Fortune looks like he still can't quite get a handle on his luck but it wasn't going to stop him from doing the songs he inherited proud and putting his firm stamp on the new ones. He's got sex appeal (though let's get rid of the beard) and fronts INXS like a rock star rather than a mysterious envoy. Once you put aside any preconceptions and roll with Fortune, he's a frontman who delivers, making the crowd sing and dance along. You'd expect nothing less than perfection from the veteran band and they dug out every note from the heart, from the classics to the new chart-toppers. The set list was a bit of everything you could want, opening with Suicide Blonde and including Mystify, By My Side, Afterglow, Original Sin, What You Need, Devil Inside plus a rockin' Pretty Vegas. They went down in a thundering riot of an encore as a lighting storm threatened in the distance. A tortured Never Tear Us Apart flowed into a rousing New Sensation and charging Don't Change. While the past may not be forgotten, INXS are walking bravely - and confidently - into the future. If this crowd was anything to go by there will be plenty of fans happy to join them there too. Ara Jansen The West Australian 19th March 2007

Simple Minds: WACA, 18th March, 2007 It was a bloody fab show albeit just a quick seven songs down memory lane BUT the venue was open air and had a old time Minds feel to it - Jim rose to the occasion by dancing like he used to - even to the point of admitting he was a bad dancer! Best joke of the night was Jim during Dont You (Forget About Me): the crowd was 'la la la la-ing' and Jim said 'Wow - I should be paying all of you - But I'm a Scotsman!' Had to laugh at that... Love Song Book Of Brilliant Things See The Lights All The Things She Said Ghostdancing - with Gloria dedicated to Michael Hutchence Glittering Prize Dont You (Forget About Me) Waterfront Alive And Kicking Sanctify Yourself And a great time was had by all - especially me who went nutso! Jim and Charlie were bloody excellent and it was great to see Charlie and Eddie working well off each other. The crowd was ready to party and got right into it singing along - apparently up to the third tier of the grandstand! I wanna buy Jim's shirt he had on - or one like it (a bit bigger) but for any Aussies who are going to the shows - the whole show is brilliant. I loved Arrested Development - they did Redemption Song - great vocal by lead singer Speech and the two girls backing were unreal - great movers and singers too - They did some great stuff including Mr Wendal and Everyday People. Warmed the crowd up beautifully for Simple Minds. INXS were excellent also - very impressive sound and show and the new guy - despite smoking and drinking on stage - Can rightfully step in as the new INXS front man. He sang the old Michael Hutchence stuff with feeling, respect and strength - very cool guy... Jeff 18th March 2007

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One of the rarest items in the whole Black And White discography is the EPK. Available as either a video or DVD, the EPK consists of an interview with Jim. The DVD features a 25 minute uncut studio interview whilst the video features a 10 minute edit - with inserts of Jim walking through a park or browsing records.

Full details and a transcription can be found here.

(Thanks to Clif for extra DVD information).

More news about the Lion's Tribute concert in May.

Party on pitch to honour Lions The Lisbon Lions today returned to Celtic Park to help launch their 40th anniversary dinner. Around 2000 fans are expected to pay tribute to the side that lifted the European Cup back in 1967 with a 2-1 victory over Inter Milan. The star-studded event will take place in a huge marquee on the pitch on 25th May, exactly 40 years since Jock Stein's side became the first British team to ever win the competition. A four course meal, top comedy and music acts, unique video compilations as well as other tributes to the Lions from the world of sport. Simple Minds star Jim Kerr will also perform live. Anyone interested in booking a place should contact with organisers on 0871 226 1888. Evening Times 1st March

Interestinly it only mentions Jim being there. So it may not be a Simple Minds event. More news when I get it.

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Please take time to read this months newsletter, by clicking the image above.

Highlights include:
A Few Good Men takes on Simple Minds
Our new website (www.mixrecords.com) launched.
Subscribe free to our mailing list. (see website)
MIX launches new download store
MIX set to enter the world of ringtones

Thank you for your continued support,
The Mix Records Team
www.mixrecords.com

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Japanese trains mount oddly 'familiar' poster campaign.

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The tour in Australia starts on Saturday. So, concert reviews, pictures, set-lists, photos and anything else would be most welcome for the website.
And I hope all those going to the gigs have a blast!

The famous Celtic Park pitch is to play host to one of the most spectacular events ever held at the stadium.

It is expected that around 2,000 fans will pay tribute to the Lisbon Lions to mark the 40th anniversary of the Club's greatest ever achievement.

The glittering, star-studded event will take place on May 25, 2007, exactly 40 years after the Lions' famous European Cup victory against Inter Milan.

In a huge, specially constructed marquee on the hallowed turf at Celtic Park, the event will feature a sumptuous four course dinner, top comedy and music acts, unique video compilations, as well as special tributes to the Lions from guests from the world of sport and entertainment.

It is with great pleasure that the Club can also confirm that Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill from Simple Minds will be performing live on the evening.

Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill were delighted at their invitation to perform and commented: "As lifelong fans we are delighted that the club is recognising the Lisbon Lions, the greatest ever Celtic team, on the 40th anniversary of their magnificent achievement."

"We, along with our families, friends and undoubtedly many other Celtic fans look forward to spending the evening of the 25th of May with our Lisbon heroes, and once again thank them deservedly for giving us the most glorious day in our clubs on going great history."

Celtic Chief Executive Peter Lawwell said: "The memories of Lisbon still remain very strong for all Celtic fans and it is the Lions' achievement in 1967 which is a major part of what makes Celtic the Club it is today."

"To become the first British Club to lift the famous European Cup is an honour which is Celtic's forever and one which we are rightly very proud of. We are sure that the event in May will be a most fitting tribute to the Lions’ magnificent achievement."

See also: www.celticfc.net.

"Promoter Andrew McManus Presents regrets to announce that the INXS / Simple Minds / Arrested Development concert scheduled for the Derwent Entertainment Centre on Thursday March 22 has been cancelled.

Andrew McManus Presents has tried to support music fans in the State by regularly including Tasmania in the national touring schedules of international artists (most recently Carole King), however the cost of bringing three major bands to Hobart for this concert requires a ticket sales result which has not been achieved.

Full refunds are available from the point or purchase.

Andrew McManus Presents regrets any inconvenience caused."

Please see www.ampresents.com for further information.

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"EMI / Virgin present the very best of their 80's catalogue spread across multiple discs on this fantastic, value for money 5CD set. Many 80's artists had more than one big hit, and therefore many have more than one of their hits featured, ensuring that this really is the ultimate '80s collection. Featured acts include Blondie, Culture Club, David Bowie, Duran Duran, Go West, Heaven 17, Hot Chocolate, Kajagoogoo, Kim Wilde, OMD, Simple Minds, The Specials, Talk Talk and many more..."

Released on the 26th February, and priced at around £13, this 5CD set looks pretty good on paper. Simple Minds are featured twice: Don't You (Forget About Me) and Alive And Kicking appear in the compilation.

Check out musicnonstop.co.uk for a full track listing.

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If you've got a spare few minutes, and if you're on broadband, then you should check out the Sebastian Leger Remix of Justin Timberlake's new single What Goes Around... Comes Around.

It's a little bit New Gold Dreamish in my opinion.

If you're interested, go to the Radio One website, click on Choose a show and listen, select Pete Tong, and click on the 15 minutes fast forward button. You'll get a couple of minutes of a tedious Tainted Love remix before the Justin Timberlake track starts (at about 17 minutes into the show).

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I have been asked repeatedly about the filming of the T On The Fringe gig at Edinburgh last year. Many want to know when the DVD will be out. Unfortunately, although there were initial plans to film the gig, they never reached fruition. However, a small camera crew did shoot some footage for The Breakfast Club documentary, due to be screened this year.

"As most of you know, from time to time over the last few years I have worked on a number of projects with a wide range of musicians. Fish, Dead Men Walking, The Casbah Club and 4GM to name four. I enjoyed every minute of it all but have come to realise that none of these will ever eclipse my days with Big Country. So, I have decided to step back from all other activities for the time being and just spend my time working on Big Country projects. This is our 25th anniversary year and with Tony, Mark and our manager Ian Grant, we are going to be celebrating the achievement in as many ways as possible. Whether it be doing promotional work on CD/DVD releases or possibly even working live, all my attention will be given to Big Country. Tony, Mark and I will be getting together in a studio real soon to play together. We have not done this since 2000. I thank all the musicians I have worked with over the past six years for enabling me to share some magical moments with them." Bruce Watson Friday, 2 February 2007

DJ Fubar has recently remixed Belfast Child and the track turned up on Dave Pearce's dance anthems show last Sunday (28th Jan). You can hear the track by going to the BBC Radio One website, click on "Listen Live" and scroll down to "Radio One's Dance Anthems". The song can be heard an hour into the show (and you can skip parts by pressing the "5 mins" and "15 mins" buttons).

Warning: will only be liked by those who like hardcore trance.

"The main reason I decided to do this particular song is 'cos when George Best died last year it affected me more than I realised, and after hearing Fergie play Belfast Child at the beginning of his last show on Radio 1 I knew I had to do it now." - DJ Fubar

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There are lots of goodies to be found on YouTube but this find is very interesting: an MTV broadcast of a live version of When Two Worlds Collide, filmed at Bonnie Wee Studios in 1991.

Simple Minds will be touring Australia in March, along with INXS and Arrested Development.

17th March : West Australia Cricket Ground, Perth, Australia
20th March : Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide, Australia
22nd March : Derwent Entertainment Centre, Hobart, Australia
24th March : Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne, Australia
27th March : AIS Arena, Canberra, Australia
28th March : WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong, Australia
30th March : Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney, Australia
31st March : Tempus II, Newcastle, Australia
1st April : Brisbane Entertainment Centre,Brisbane, Australia
4th April : Westpac Trust Arena, Christchurch, New Zealand The venues are bigger than those they played at last year.

For further information and booking details see Preferred Seating.

It goes without saying, but concert reviews, pictures and set-lists for Dream Giver will be most welcome!

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Absolutely will be pressing up a second Different World single; this is expected to include all the exclusive new tracks first available as downloads. (See the news from the 8th January).

The new single should be available next week.

(Many had problems with the downloads from dancerecords.com, being told that there was a minimum order value. I've been told that this problem has now been fixed).

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If you read Jim's journals, then you'll have read how his former home in Toryglen, Glasgow (the high rise Queen's Court development) was used for Sony's high-definition Bravia LCD television advertisement. (This was the advert with the exploding paint).

This was where Jim grew up, writing the lyrics of his earliest songs by candlelight in the kitchen, as he didn't want to wake the rest of the family by switching the main lights on.

This Glasgow landmark is no more. Destroyed by controlled explosion last Sunday, a piece of Scottish history was reduced to rubble. More can be found on the BBC's website.

All the Different World remixes are now released as digital downloads (formats include 192kbps MP3, 320kbps MP3 and WAV):

• Different World [TAORMINA.ME] (The Scumfrog Remix)
• Different World [TAORMINA.ME] (Benny & P. Ursin DJs vs Phunk Investigation Remix)
• Different World [TAORMINA.ME] (DJ Moussa Clarke Remix)
• Different World [TAORMINA.ME] (Phunk Investigation Magma Remix)

In addition, there are some exclusive new ones:

• Different World [TAORMINA.ME] (Tali Freaks Remix)
• Different World [TAORMINA.ME] (Beat Thiefs Remix)
• Different World [TAORMINA.ME] (Matteo Esse & Sant Remix)
• Different World [TAORMINA.ME] (Phunk Investigation Odissey Remix)

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The Times recently featured an article called Your Songs in which readers were invited to say thank you for the music that soundtracked their lives.

Jane Housham wrote in about listening to New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) whilst teaching english in Italy. Excellent to see a Minds album making the list.

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Unfortunately Jim wasn't included in the David Bowie documentary broadcast on BBC Radio Two yesterday. But it's definintely worth listening to.

Fourgoodmen's first CD, the Heart Of Winter 2006 Tour Sampler is now available for purchase from cdbaby.com and iTunes (you must have iTunes installed to access this link, it will open your iTunes software and direct you the the album in the iTunes store for previewing and purchase).

The tracks have also been delivered to 22 digital distribution companies - so if you're already signed up for one of the following then check them:

MusicIsHere, GroupieTunes, Apple iTunes, Sony Connect, Puretracks, Napster, Rhapsody, BuyMusic, PassAlong, Bitmunk, PayPlay, MusicNet, Destra, Intent Media Works, Daiki, Inprodicon, MP3-Extension, MP3tunes, RuleRadio, USEN, MusicNow, Tradebit, Zune
(It could take 2-4 weeks or more for the CD to be listed on any of the above sites, please keep checking for availablility).

The Fourgoodmen online store is now open for business. Go to www.fourgoodmen.com and click on the Shop@Fourgoodmen graphic link. Now being offered are a very limited number of signed copies of the CD along with unsigned copies and a selection of tour apparel: 3 short sleeve T-shirts, a long sleeve T-shirt, embroidered women's tank tops, etc.

In the Audio-Video Lounge at www.fourgoodmen.com there are now three video links posted. One is a promo video for Kiss Cool and the others are live videos of Falling and Heart Of Wonder from the band's performance on the 29th November with The Pretenders at The Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ. You're also able to listen directly on the page to a number of radio interviews with Derek Forbes and Bruce Watson done prior to and during the U.S. Tour.

At www.fourgoodmen.com there is also now a tour diary and a slideshow of live, backstage, and candid photos from the tour.

www.fourgoodmen.com
www.myspace.com/4GM

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Christophe Avril, who used to be in a band who featured several Simple Minds songs, sent me a version of Someone Somewhere (In Summertime) he'd put together. I was impressed and asked if I could feature it on the site. So you can listen to it here.

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On the subject of covers, Pete Simcoe and Simon Hayward have been working on See The Lights. You can hear the track on Simple Minded. He's still keen to get a band together, and he's looking for a singer, keyboard player and bass guitarist. You can reach Pete through his site.

Full details of the new single can be found here.

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Sample Minds (the Simple Minds tribute band) will perform their final UK shows of 2006 in Cleckheaton and Crewe.

"We have a lot of songs to play," commented keyboard player Simon. "We anticipate performing two sets at the more 'intimate' Cleckheaton venue and then really going out with a bang the following night in Crewe. With The Kick Inside of Me, Oh Jungleland and Room in our sonic arsenal, there's sure to be many audio treats for fans!"

Further details can be found at: www.sampleminds.co.uk

Four Good Men are currently touring the USA. There have been one or two surprises already.

"The opening intro was to the bagpipes (by Yvonne McHugh who's Mick's niece). The pipes were a segue to the opening baseline of "Waterfront". The crowd immediately recognized the rif and most started to bounce. The eighty minute set was sprinkled with Simple Minds and Big Country tunes. The Simple Minds tunes comprised "Waterfront", "Someone Somewhere (In Summertime)", "Love Song", "Alive And Kicking" and "Don't You (Forget About Me)". Speaking to Mick after the gig, he disclosed that "Belfast Child" was supposed to be in the line-up, but "the squeezebox" (aka accordian) broke in transit. Hence the abbreviated encore, minus "Belfast Child"."

"The tour sampler CD did not make it to Toronto. Evidently, some production and shipping delays in New York City (thanks to the US Thanksgiving holiday) caused some issues. Those at the Toronto gig were advised to buy the CD from the FourGoodMen website in the next few days."

"All in all, a good gig. Good to see Derek in his kilt and Mick as his usual exuberant self." - Mike, Toronto

Robin Clark was going to be a speical guest at the New York gig, adding her vocal support to Alive And Kicking. Unfortunately, she was unable to attend (as she had to travel to Germany). However, another name from the past, Mike Ogletree attended the show (and you can check out his website at www.isound.com/blaxcot)

The set-list at New York City was:
Waterfront
Look Away
Falling
Someone Somewhere (In Summertime)
Chance
Kiss Cool
Dream To Sleep
Boys Keep Swinging
Love Song
Stars
Alive And Kicking
Heart of Wonder
In a Big Country
-----------------
Belfast Child
Fields Of Fire
Don't You (Forget About Me)

See www.fourgoodmen.com for tour pictures and further news.

www.fourgoodmen.com
www.myspace.com/4GM

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The Different World single is now available.

Released as a 12" through Absolutely Records, this 4-track single is available from www.dancerecords.com (USA) and other retailers. (I purchased mine from juno.co.uk, and they're now not listing it, so copies must be limited. Keep checking on-line stores and DJ outlets - I'm sure americandisco.net should be getting stock in. If all else fails, there's eBay).

Simple Minds - Different World (TAORMINA.ME)
Absolutely Records ABR 102
A1. Different World [Scumfrog Remix] (8:00)
A2. Different World [Benny & P.Ursin DJs vs Phunk Investigation Remix] (6:47)
B1. Different World [DJ Moussa Clarke] (6:54)
B2. Different World [Phunk Investigation Magma Remix] (7:44)

Scumfrog's remix is also available on his own album (Mega Scum! 01, Effin Records FNR 10202).

Check out FourGoodMen's website which has undergone a complete design. An online shop is also expected soon, which will stock all the tour merchandise and the forthcoming Heart Of Winter CD.

The first release by FourGoodMen will be available at the gigs and through their on-line shop. It's a mixture of covers and new material.

Heart Of Winter - FourGoodMen

Someone Somewhere (In Summertime) [Live] (5:03)

Chance [Live] (4:58)

Dream To Sleep [Live] (3:50)

Starman [Live] (5:41)

Heart Of Wonder [Studio Demo] (4:23)

Kiss Cool [Alternative Studio Demo] (3:05)

Stars Will Fall [Studio Demo] (4:30)

Falling [Studio Demo] (3:20)

There will also be some "special guests" appearing at some of the gigs!

November 25: Opera House, Toronto, Canada
November 26: Club Soda, Montreal, Canada
November 27: Knitting Factory, New York, NYC, USA
November 28: Jammin' Java, Vienna, VA, USA
November 29: Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, USA (Special Guests of The Pretenders)
November 30: Paradise, Boston, MA, USA
December 2: Theodore's, Springfield, MA, USA
December 4: Knitting Factory, Hollywood, CA, USA
December 5: Belly Up, Solana Beach, CA, USA
December 6: Brookdale Lodge, Brookdale (Santa Cruz), CA, USA
December 7: 12 Galaxies, San Fransico, CA, USA

December 28: The Arches, Glasgow, UK

www.fourgoodmen.com
www.myspace.com/4GM

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Keep an eye out for the Q Interactive DVD game.

The Q: The Essential Music Quiz Interactive DVD Game is coming out on 27 November. It features Simple Minds amongst other all-time favourite artists with more than 800 questions over 8 sections.

Definintely worth a look if you're a music fan.

Also see Noble PR for more information.

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Sample Minds - Event Centre, Uden, Holland
(Friday 24th November 2006)

Sample Minds - the Simple Minds tribute band make their first Netherlands appearance this week at the Events Centre, Uden.

The night is an 80's showcase also featuring the amazing U2NL tribute - complete with multimedia show!!!

Sample Minds will be playing a full 90 minute set featuring all the hits and maybe a couple of 'Rockets from the Closet!!!'

Further details can be found at:
www.sampleminds.co.uk
www.udenevents.nl

The new Simple Minds album is expected late 2007. We already know some of the potential songs which could be appearing on it. The full story (at the moment and subject to change) is here.

Virgin should also be releasing something to coincide with the band's 30th anniverary. What form that takes isn't known, but let's hope it'll be more interesting than the The Platinum Collection (hint to Virgin and the band's management: the early singles still desparately need sorting out!)

Drum roll for special guest

Simple Minds star gives pupils music masterclass

"The drummer from Simple Minds visited St Bede’s School, Ormskirk, to host a music masterclass.

Mel Gaynor, who was one of the founding members(sic) of the Scottish group, was asked along to the school by head of music Phil Taylor.

Simple Minds topped the charts in the 1990s(sic) with "Don’t You (Forget About Me)" from the teen movie The Breakfast Club.

Mr Taylor said he had been trying to set up the visit for two years through drum teacher Mark Howard, a personal friend of Mel’s.

He said: “We organised it as part of us getting arts college status.”

Also attending the masterclass were students from Our Lady Queen of Peace, Skelmersdale, Lathom High School, Glenburn Sports College, Skelmersdale and St Anne’s Primary School, Ormskirk."

Sarah Gaffney
Ormskirk Advertiser
9th November 2006

Recent newscuttings and fanzine excerpts (courtesy of www.detour-records.co.uk) have forced a reappraisal of Johnny And The Self Abusers and their tour dates.

It would seem the Abusers played their first gig on Easter Monday, 1977, and not February 1977 as official biographer Alfred Bos stated.

Furthermore the line-up included such characters as Alan Neetsheke, Charlie Argue, Johnnie Plague, Sid Syphilis, Tony Donald, Pripton Weird and Brian McGee. And whilst it's fairly easy to match some of the names up, we're still left with seven members, and not the six which I previously documented. Answers on a postcard please!.

As I was concentrating on The Abusers it made sense to bring their discography up-to-date. Despite splitting up on the day their single was released, the band have managed to attract the attention of two bootleggers, and have had their posthumerous album withdrawn. Check out the releases below:

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I'm often asked about various parts of the discography which have yet to be fully documented. Rather than send personal replies by e-mail, it makes sense to fully document releases on the website, and then publically announce them. Which is why I've updated the website to include:

• Street Fighting Years promo 7", cassette and CD box-sets.
• Street Fighting Years fan-club only box-set.
• Real Life fan-club only box-set.
• Real Live 91 fan-club only CD.

The finalized tour dates for FourGoodMen's US tour are:

November 25: Opera House, Toronto, Canada
November 26: Club Soda, Montreal, Canada
November 27: Knitting Factory, New York, NYC, USA
November 28: Jammin' Java, Vienna, VA, USA
November 29: Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, USA (Special Guests of The Pretenders)
November 30: Paradise, Boston, MA, USA
December 2: Theodore's, Springfield, MA, USA
December 4: Knitting Factory, Hollywood, CA, USA
December 5: Belly Up, Solana Beach, CA, USA
December 6: Brookdale Lodge, Brookdale (Santa Cruz), CA, USA
December 7: 12 Galaxies, San Fransico, CA, USA

www.fourgoodmen.com
www.myspace.com/4GM

(Picture of Derek: © Ash Corr)

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Supergroup swagger on stage

I'm thoroughly enjoying the ultra cool chic rock sounds of FourGoodMen at the moment. They are musical buried treasure as they are as yet unsigned but are proving to be a hot ticket in the States with a series of live dates, including opening slots for Chrissie Hynde's Pretenders.

Now here's the deal, this is no ordinary band. This is a Scottish supergroup of epic proportions finely sculpted from the remnants of three classic bands who between them notched up almost 60 top 40 hits. The four good men in question are Derek Forbes and Michael McNeil who used to be in Simple Minds, Ian Donaldson (H20) and Bruce Watson of Big Country fame. Oh yes, we're talking quality here!

The band, pictured, have written some excellent new material and their current download Kiss Cool is a stonking rock 'n' roll affair with a relentless groove and a confident swagger that sounds like a cross between modern T Rex and Marylin Manson in a good mood. Another track, Falling, is a sparkling electro pop song that The Killers would kill for and has radio hit written all over it.

The quality of the musicianship is apparent straight away but the thing that strikes me most about htis band is the fact that although they've been around the block many times, they still have immense hunger and enthusiasm when it comes to creating cutting edge comptempory rock.

The bonus of course is that the band treat their audiences to some welcome renditions of some fabulous classic songs from the respective back catalogues. An example being Someone Somewhere (In Summertime) which in my opinion was Simple Minds' best song.

As the band don't have a record deal don't expect to see them plastered all over billboards and music magazines but the goalposts have shifted when it comes to releasing music and building up a fan base. The net challenged the major label stranglehold on musical taste long ago and now credible acts like FourGoodMen can proceed at their own pace and under their own terms. Seek out and enjoy!

John Kearns
The Irish News
6th October 2006

"We have a new gig coming up soon. It would be great if a few of you could make it.

Saturday 11th November 2006
Breightmet Club, Bolton, UK

The band will perform a full two hour set and we are rehearsing some new additions to the set, including "Oh Jungleland" and "The Kick Inside Of Me". Expect a few 'fan favourites'!

Also added to our website are a couple of new videos of us in action. I really like the New Gold Dreamers video. See www.sampleminds.co.uk for more details."

Simon Hayward

Night Of The Proms are releasing a Best Of DVD. Included are Simple Minds performing Belfast Child.

They also get a picture and second billing on the front cover.

The DVD is currently available from proxis.be.

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Inspirational Bowie is currently being made by BBC Radio Two for broadcast on the 6th January 2007 at 9:00 PM.

Planned to tie in with David Bowie's 60th birthday, the show will include contributions from artists who've been influenced by him including New Order, Annie Lennox, Moby and ... Simple Minds.

Another teen movie? Another version of Don't You (Forget About Me)?

Yup!

Accepted, which is showing in cinemas in the UK now, features Don't You (Forget About Me) by David Schommer and Lucy Woodward. Apparenty the film isn't that good, so you might want to skip this version.

Music's Secret Weapons

Everyone has their special album: the one nobody else has heard of, the one to bring out when you want to amaze people. We asked 49 musicians, producers and writers to tell us about their records to be reckoned with.

The Guardian
6th October 2006

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Click here for an archival interview on Border Radio with Derek Forbes and Ian Donaldson of FourGoodMen (first broadcast 19th May, 2006).

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An updated and expanded discography for Don't You (Forget About Me) has been added to Dream Giver Redux. From the earliest acetates through various promotional items to the commerical releases, all the formats have been covered. There's also a full breakdown of the extremely rare Breakfast Club box set.

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Back in 1998, Jim e-mailed me some explanations and thoughts behind the songs on the newly released Neapolis. These were published in Who's Doing The Dreaming Now? #6, but with all the lyrics now moved to Dream Giver Redux, I thought it would be a good time to publish them on the Internet.

(Jim never sent any background on Tears Of A Guy, and I was too shy back in those days to ask him about them in reply!)

• Jim's introduction
• Song For The Tribes
• Glitterball
• War Babies
• Superman v Supersoul
• Lightning
• If I Had Wings
• Killing Andy Warhol
• Androgyny

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Here's one for the hardcore collectors: detals of two Sanctuary Studios CDs for the Home single.

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Faithless' new single Bombs has a hint of the live version of Book Of Brilliant Things about it. It's not a sample, nor a direct copy of the melody, but's certainly worth checking out. But don't take my word for it: the radio edit version can be heard on Columbia Records' site.

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There's been a big update to Dream Giver Redux: all the lyrics have been moved onto the new site, including transcriptions of the songs from Our Secrets Are The Same and Cry. A full list of the band's lyrics ordered alphabetically, by album and by single can be found here.

Hiya Friends on Dream Giver,

FourGoodMen (featuring former members of Simple Minds and Big Country) are running an exclusive contest for our MySpace Friends to be our Special Guests at our shows in North Amercia in November and December, and our Glasgow show at The Arches on Dec. 28!

To enter "Be On Our Guest List", send us an e-mail to fourgoodmen.contest@hotmail.com.

On the subject line of your e-mail please enter the "CITY" you are entering for (see our tour dates below or the dates at www.myspace.com/4GM). More dates to be added soon!.

You only need to send us one e-mail to enter the contest. Include in the text your name, address and e-mail address.

One winner will be choosen per city!

All winners receive 2 free tickets, backstage passes and a signed T-shirt from us! (Air fare is not included).

Contest ends October 31st.

We look forward to meeting you all and seeing you at our shows!
FourGoodMen

FOURGOODMEN North American Tour Dates (as of 10/03/06)
Nov. 25 Toronto - Opera House
Nov. 26 Montreal - Club Soda
Nov. 27 NYC - Knitting Factory
Nov. 28 Wash. DC - Venue TBA
Nov. 29 Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom (special guests with The Pretenders)
Nov. 30 Boston, MA - Paradise Lounge
Dec. 01 City TBA
Dec. 03 City TBA
Dec. 04 Los Angeles - Knitting Factory
Dec. 05 Solana Beach (San Diego) - Belly Up
Dec. 06 City TBA
Dec. 07 San Francisco, CA - 12 Galaxies
Dec. 28 Glasgow - The Arches

Given the sheer number of remixes of this track that Absolutely have commissioned, it looks like the Different World single will now be released as two 12" singles and a CD single.

(The remixes are the Moussa Clarke Remix, Matteo Esse & Sant Remix, Phunk Investigation Odissey Remix, Phunk Investigation Magma Mix, Scumfrog Remix, The BeatThiefs Remix and The Benny & Paulo Ursin DJ Remix).

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SIMPLE MINDED, a new Simple Minds tribute band, is already starting to take shape. Along with a bass player called Martin Charles Burchill Valentine, Pete Simcoe and friends have already started to put demos together.

You can follow the progress of the band, and listen to the demos, via Pete's site at fascinations.wordpress.com.

If you're interested in joining, or helping out, then let Pete know.

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I've finally finished transcribing the Black And White Generic Interview. The last few questions concern the background behind The Jeweller (Part Two), I Kiss The Ground, the album's title, and the plans the band had for the live shows.

If I ever find out what the questions were, then I'll put them up on the page.

Italian Radio 2 will broadcast a Simple Minds gig tonight (Monday 25th) at 21:30 local time.

Apparently it'll be the Milan concert from March 30th.

You can listen by going to their website and clicking Ascolta Live.

Apparently Early Gold will be available as a download today via EMI's website.

The album is also going to receive a US release shortly, as promos have been turning up on New York based Caroline Records.

"Due to huge demand in the States, we will have to postpone the football tournament and curry night till next year. We all want it to happen as soon as possible, but things are looking up for the band in America. We have just sent out new demos to our manager in New York, and he has had a magnificent response to the songs. Our tour finishes on the 8th of December, but we need to be ready for any business that arises there.

We will keep everyone posted through our new look website on www.fourgoodmen.com... Hope to see more of you at the Arches, Glasgow on the 28th of December. It promises to be a cracker... no pun intended."

Derek Dan yer Man Forbes

© Mark McKay 2006

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Don't You (Forget About Me) is currently being used as the soundtrack for the new Fiat Punto advert on French television.

You can see the clip on their website (just click the play button on the top left button).

"We are having a Xmas football, Curry and intimate, unplugged gig around the 15th December, where we will hold a five a side tournament, with the winners picking up the trophy, made especially for the event. Afterwards, we will go to a venue , yet to be decided, have a curry and await the performance of fourgoodmen. We will play old favourites and more from our extensive catalogues of Minds, Propaganda, H20 and Big Country songs, not forgeting the brand new fourgoodmen songs. We will have just returned from our tour of America and Canada the week before, so we are fighting fit for the tourney. Mr Watson say's he will be in goal, as this is the only place he can have a fag...scary stuff. Anyone interested can register on the fourgoodmen.com forum. At the moment, we are working on the £30 a head idea, which includes the football, curry and entertainment. We will be featuring the twin acoustic guitars 'Sheryl and Beryl', which are the pet names for my and Bruce's guitars, and know doubt the dexterous fingers of Mr MacNeil on the squeeze box...all to be accompanied by our three lovely ladies, and last but not least, the golden voice of Mr. Donaldson. Two weeks later we are playing our Xmas gig at the Arches in Midland Street, Glasgow, with the full band. This promises to be another wonderful night. Check fourgoodmen.com for updates on a regular basis."

Derek Forbes

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Simple Minds may have stopped touring for now, but sample MINDS have a number of dates lined up:

• HEIZGASKONZERT & MUSIKERFLOHMARKT 2006
  Kulturrevier Radbod, Hamm, Germany 23-Sep-06
  "We'll be headlining the festival and will be onstage about 22:00. There is an indoor venue, which we played as Band For The Tribes in 2001, if the weather is bad."

• Tennis/Events Centre Uden, Holland 18-11-06
  "This is a showcase gig for us and Dutch tribute band U2NL, with the possibility of further collaborations throughout Europe next year. It's the first time we'll play Holland, which I've wanted to do for a long time. Also I'm looking forward to this project with a U2 tribute band."

Plus there are two gigs in England, with a possibly of a third gig to come in November and December.

Check www.sampleminds.co.uk for further details.

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Sparkle* Through The Years

is proud to announce you yet another Sparkle* Fanclub Day!

This Fanclub day will take place on Saturday, November 18th in Zaal Bart in Merksem (Antwerp), near the Sportpaleis. You are most welcome from 17.00 CET on!

Another chance to meetup with other Sparkle* members and other fellowminds!!!

Exclusive DVD footage will be shown......

LIVE Music by GIN TIME , an excellent pop &rock coverband from Geel (B) bringing a smashing 3 hours set with the best of the eighties (and seventies) - of course including Simple Minds!!

A warm up DJ set - before GIN TIME will head to the stage - by DJ MOON and introducing DJ KLAUSTROFOBIE(!)

And then... a smashing '80's PARTY !!
With: DJ DRAMATIS (D) who will play a set full of fantastisc EIGHTIES MUSIC, including some famous Belgian Club Hits by the likes of Luna Twist, Siglo XX, 2Belgen, etc..., , NEWWAVE, DARKWAVE, INDUSTRIAL..... AND.... of course..... SIMPLE MINDS !!!!!

Schedule:
17.00: DOORS
18.00 - 19.00: DVD footag
19.00 - 21.00: WarmUp by DJ MOON* & DJ KLAUSTROFOBIE*
21.00 - 23.00: GIN TIME (B) - Pop & Rock Covers
23.00 onwards: DJ DRAMATIS (D) - Minds, Eighties, New Wave, industrial, ...

Sparkle* members pay the small entrance fee of € 2,50
Non-members: € 5,00

Please DO bring some friends! :-)

Sparkle* is looking forward in seeing you!

For more information check out www.sparkle.be

The Review: Don't You Forget About Them

In the usual scheme of things, any band that could be described as a nostalgia act will find itself subject to the laws of diminishing returns. Where once they stayed in the best hotels and hit arena stages running, heroes of bygone may find themselves booked into a last-minute B&B on the edge of town and shuffling into small-scale venues to face dozens of fans whose interest in popular music died many years ago.

By this admittedly narrow definition, Simple Minds cannot be discounted as a nostalgia act. While their recording career was put on hold towards the end of the 1990s, to take time out of a changed musical landscape and to concentrate on family, the band’s broad and memorable back catalogue ensures that, as a live act, they remain much in demand. Add to that the success of two recent albums — Cry from 2002 and Black And White 050505 in 2005 — and you get large and appreciative crowds still turning out to see them.

While recent dates around America and Europe have attracted healthy ticket sales, it is surely in Scotland that the Glasgow outfit find their most emphatically dedicated crowds. Jim Kerr, the lead singer, realises this and made a point of noting it here. This is the last night of our tour, he told us breathlessly. What a place to end it. What a crowd to end it with.

Further comments about Scottish audiences being the best in the world somehow didn’t seem like empty platitudes and there’s no denying there was something suitably epic about the surroundings.

On the last day of the fringe and in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle, a set by one of Scotland’s most successful bands reverberating over the packed-out crowd and around Princes Street felt like both a noisy send-off to the Edinburgh festival and a welcome back to normality for the city’s natives.

The years haven’t diminished Simple Minds as a live act. Kerr was never the most glamorous frontman, eschewing the leather-jacketed rock-star posturing of their contemporaries U2 in favour of a far more endearing blokey casualness.

In jeans and a T-shirt, he looks as if he has just stepped out of the bookies round the corner. But there’s still something rabble-rousing about the way he struts across the stage and pumps his fist in the air at all the best bits.

While the rest of the band are even less attention-seeking than Kerr, they also approach their music-making with a zestful immediacy. Charlie Burchill, guitarist and the other fulcrum in the Simple Minds songwriting axis, has a flair for guitar riffs that are almost as memorable as choruses in their own right, while Eddie Duffy, a recent addition on bass, steals a few minutes in the limelight with the hammering, nerve-tingling bassline of Waterfront.

At a show like this, it is always a pleasure to recall just how many great songs a band you haven’t listened to for a while have produced. Kerr turns and points his mike stand out over the crowd as the familiar intro to Don’t You (Forget About Me) kicks in, but this song was only one of the lesser highlights of a show played with energy and excitement.

Waterfront was another, as was the medley of Ghost Dancing and Gloria, but Sanctify Yourself sounded the most fresh and energising.

Amid the traditional anthems (Alive And Kicking, Glittering Prize), the Giorgio Moroder-like synthesizer stab of New Gold Dream also reminded one of Simple Minds’s beginnings as part of the new wave movement. Given the style’s rediscovery in modern music today, there are far worse candidates than the Minds for a full-scale revival.

David PollocK
Sunday Times
3rd September 2006

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Simple Minds may have taken a break from recording for the best part of a decade byt they still have a huge Scots fanbase.

Fans old and new went wild for the first few notes of the biggest songs - none of which sounded dated. Best moments were Sanctify Yourself, Waterfront and Alive And Kicking.

David PollocK
Sunday Mail
3rd September 2006

"IS everybody doin' all right?" bellowed Simple Minds frontman Jim Kerr as the Glaswegian stadium supremos reached the conclusion of yet another enormously proportioned pomp-rock epic. He needn't have asked.

Few bands do widescreen with as much verve, panache and enthusiasm as the Minds and their T on the Fringe curtain closer in Princes Street Gardens last night was an object lesson in giving the public exactly what they wanted.

Central to this effort was Kerr himself - the singer drawing deep from his box of crowd-pleasing tricks to keep the faithful hanging on his every word long after the sun had disappeared behind the Castle.

Never the greatest mover in the world, Kerr compensated for his shoddy dancing skills by mugging the life out of everything he did.

Pirouettes were pirouetted, messianic poses struck, mass-audience singalongs conducted, Kerr even found time (on several occasions) to display his middle-aged athleticism, or lack thereof, by doing a vaguely arthritic take on the splits.

All completely ridiculous of course, and drawn straight from the pages of the rock-god cliche handbook, but when you have paid 20-odd quid to see a show, you last thing you want to go and see is a plank of wood.

There's no point in putting yourself out on a limb, however, if the music can't back you up. Thankfully, a craftily-chosen set that mixed new material with a liberal smattering of well-loved oldies ensured that Kerr's posturing was imbued with plenty of substance.

Although they started out in the early Eighties as arty music press darlings, it is hard to imagine the band as anything other than died-in-the wool purveyors of arms-aloft anthems - it's what they have been doing for years, so why change the record?

Accordingly, a conveyor belt of impossibly gigantic-sounding tunes were trundled out to the mass appreciation of an audience that ran the gamut from diehard fans who mouthed every last syllable to young kids, who at least had Kerr's antics to marvel at when the music got a bit too much.

Classics such as All The Things She Said, Glittering Prize and Speed Your Love To Me - each one powered by the glacial riffs of guitarist Charlie Burchill and powerhouse drumming of Mel Gaynor - were all rapturously received by the crowd.

However, the biggest cheer of the night came as the distinctive driving bassline of Waterfront kicked-in, prompting more gymnastics from Kerr and a mass of punched-air salutes in the audience.

It wasn't all quite so successful. The group have never been awfully big on sonic variety and there were moments of samey tedium away from the thrill of the better known numbers.

Lyrical subtlety fared little better, many of Kerr's clunkier couplets would shame a sixth-form poet.

The minor gripes were quickly drowned in a wall of sound however, as the band launched into a closing salvo that took in Don't You (Forget About Me) and Sanctify Yourself.

Kerr was having far too good a time to leave it at that however, and a four-song encore that took in two more Minds' classics in the shape of Alive and Kicking and Someone, Somewhere (In Summertime) took the gig over the two hour mark and proved conclusively that if it's a band that gives good stadium you are after, then the Minds are your men.

****
Duncan Forgan
living.scotsman.com
29th August 2006

You can also post your feedback about the gig on the article's page. There's been some negative comments, so it'd be good to bury them under positive responses.

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A review of Santander (18th August 2006) can be found here (Spanish).

Stay Visible
Home
Different World (TAORMINA.ME)
See The Lights
Book Of Brilliant Things
Speed Your Love To Me
All The Things She Said
Ghostdancing - Gloria
Waterfront
Let There Be Love
The Jeweller (Part Two)
Glittering Prize
Don't You (Forget About Me)
Sanctify Yourself
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New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84)
Someone Somewhere (In Summertime)
Stranger
Alive And Kicking

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He’s no longer the firebrand he once was, but Simple Minds’ front man Jim Kerr has left his comfortable house in Sicily to hit the road
- and it’s feeling good, he tells Leon McDermott.

Back in the 1980s, when such things were in vogue, there were two bands who defined politicised, commercial rock music.

One was U2 – you can still picture Bono, waving that white flag, or saying “fuck the revolution” during the live renditions of Sunday Bloody Sunday, the righteous young man come to speak truth to power.

(Today, of course, Bono is the self-styled saviour of the developing world, who’s moving from Ireland to avoid paying tax.)

The other band was Simple Minds. Jim Kerr – the Scottish Bono, as he was inevitably dubbed – was every bit the firebrand that Bono was, singing about apartheid and the Troubles, glorying in the celtic bond across the Irish Sea.

These days, though, Kerr allows politics to take a back seat. There are no meetings with George Bush or the Pope for him; no joint press conferences with Geldof calling the masses to make poverty history, but it’s for the better. You can only play the iconoclast rock star here to save the world for so long, before you descend into self parody. Which Kerr was guilty of when Belfast Child became Simple Minds’ first number one in 1989.

“We were so drenched in Labour, because of my dad, we were soaked in that working class industrial culture of Scotland,” he explains now.

The 1990s were quiet times for Simple Minds, the last half-decade less so. The band – Kerr, his schoolfriend and cofounder Charlie Burchill, long-time drummer Mel Gaynor and bass player Eddie Duffy – released a new album last year, Black And White 050505. It was more of a success than its dismally-selling predecessor, 2002’s Cry. So, with a massive gig at Edinburgh’s Princes Street Gardens approaching, is this a comeback?

“To an extent I suppose it is,” says Kerr. “It’s always a bit of a double-edged thing, the comeback: if you’re making a comeback it implies you’re coming back from somewhere. You might be coming back from making material which didn’t work so well, or won’t hold up.” He admits that for most of the 1990s, music took a backseat for the members but adds that “by the time we get to Edinburgh, we’ll have done a year of solid touring, which is something we’ve not done in quite a while, and it feels good.”

These days – when he’s not touring – Kerr lives in Sicily, far removed from the kind of tabloid circus which defined his life in the 1980s. He was married, first, to The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde, and then to Patsy Kensit.

Kerr speaks in long, clause-filled sentences, full of asides and qualifications – it’s as if he wants to make sure he’s always understood. But he’s a realist about the past 30 years, which have seen him go from a kid in Toryglen, on Glasgow’s south side, to a restaurant-owning expat, fluent in Italian and happily settled. “It’s a fringe place, it’s still the badlands, it’s parched and it’s dry and it isn’t manicured,” Kerr says of Sicily. “It’s between Africa and Europe, it’s where the trade winds come together, and those places are always the most interesting to me. There are places you can go in Sicily where the diet is Arabic, and then there’s a tiny church at the end of the road I live on, and the back wall of it is the original wall from a temple to Apollo. Now, this might sound like I’m being a wanky pseud, but I can’t take that sort of thing for granted, you know? It’s very enriching.”

Back in the late 1970s, when Simple Minds were finding their way, emerging as a band whose cold, European modernism was gradually being forged into something more heartfelt – not to mention more pop – Kerr wasn’t thinking of longevity, of being a middle-aged rock star.

“I just don’t think we had any conception of what was going to happen,” he says. “I mean back then, words like ‘career’ – they just didn’t even enter into it. You just thought about your next single, or your next album, or the tour you were about to start.

“And we were young, we were 18 or 19- year-old kids and that’s the way you think anyway: you just want to get stuck into it and you don’t necessarily think about where it’s going to take you.”

The years of the band’s initial, moderate, success saw them produce a series of albums that still stand up. They were filled with sleek electronic melodies, enchanted by the driving rhythms of Kraftwerk and full of wild experimentation. In fact their second album, Real To Real Cacophony, was originally rejected by their label as “the most uncommercial record we’ve ever been given”.

They were also far removed from the stadium-filling hits that saw Simple Minds play the Philadelphia leg of Live Aid in 1985. That show came on the back of the success of Don’t You (Forget About Me), the song they recorded (after it had been rejected by both Bryan Ferry and Billy Idol) for the soundtrack to teen movie par excellence The Breakfast Club.

Kerr has recently been interviewed for a documentary about director John Hughes’ teen films, named after the song. Still, in their early albums there were the kernels of the sound which would see them sell 25 million records – not that they knew what was in the offing. “In some senses, we knew we were growing towards it but at the same time, there’s a defining day where you walk in and it dawns on you that your band is not your band anymore, or it’s not just your band. That your band, rather than being part of an industry, has become an industry in itself, and I don’t think there’s any way you can prepare for that.”

At the same time as this explosion – Live Aid, The Breakfast Club, the huge success of 1985’s Once Upon A Time album – Kerr increasingly became a media presence, though he’s sanguine about the gossip columnists’ modus operandi. “I would complain,” he says, “but I’m not going to because first, it’d be pointless, and second, it’s part of the deal.”

As Simple Minds were working to become the biggest band in the world and using their platform to further political causes, a creative rot started to set in; their songs became vehicles for politics. But politics, says Kerr, has changed so much since then, Scottish politics particularly so. “That working class industrial culture in Scotland doesn’t exist anymore. Whatever has replaced it I don’t relate to,” he says. “And I have to say I’ve lost faith with the political process, in the sense that I think what a politician has to do, to even get voted in, negates the endgame. Any sort of idealism has to be beaten out of people.”

Of course, Kerr, a multimillionaire with property all over Glasgow and a nice house in Sicily, can say this without consequence. Until he starts thinking about it. “I was going to say that I can afford to run up to the hills and fucking forget about it, but I don’t know if I can. My family are there. My ma and da are getting old. My kids [two with Hynde, another son with Kensit] are growing up there. You might think that because you’ve got two bob in your pocket, you can escape, but you cannae.”

Politics, which was once “a party thing – you voted and whenever the conversation came up in the pub, you made it clear for whom” is now something bigger. “With globalisation, politics is what you have for your breakfast; if you have this coffee rather than that coffee, it can make a difference. “And if you buy a T-shirt from this place as opposed to that place… that’s something that’s worth far more consideration than some local skirmish.”

Kerr’s Scottishness, though, remains intact. “We’re Glasgow through and through,” he says, with a hint of defiance, “having said that I think it’s interesting that we’re one of that bands that have least played the Scottish card.” The clichéd perception of Glasgow’s past – the No Mean City of ill-repute – meant “journalists assumed that the band was a means of escaping”.

In truth, says Kerr, “we enjoyed every minute of our upbringing in Glasgow. It’s a rock and roll city, and we loved that environment. But right from the early years, we realised there was a bigger world out there, and it wasn’t so much about conquering that world, but experiencing it.”

At 47, happy to plough his own furrow, rather than protest in public about how others should, Kerr seems restful. No longer the youthful idealist, but someone who has been there and done that, and recognises things for what they are.

Leon McDermott
The Big Issue
25th August 2006

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GUITARIST SEEKS SM TRIBUTE BAND

I'm looking to get a Simple Minds tribute band together and need fans who have singing talents, can play bass or keyboard and have a reasonable knowledge of how to play Simple Minds songs. Basically, I learnt to play guitar 17 years ago by playing along to Simple Minds and have a good knowledge of their back catalogue. Whilst I m not as good as Burchill, I'm not a million miles off!

Looking to do some gigs. Obviously this on a 'not-for-profit' basis but if you ve ever seen Simple Minds and want to run around karate kicking your way across a stage - then this might be the perfect opportunity!

Email me: music@simcoe.co.uk with your demos / discussion / ideas.

I have some original demo material [no SM covers] at: www.simcoe.co.uk/soundtrackstwo.htm.

Pete Simcoe

Absolutely have released a new promotional 12" single of The Man Who Sold The World (Absolutely ABR096). Issued under the White Spaces name, it features a new, hardcore remix (The 'Electromaniacs mix') backed with a softer remix (White Spaces Main Mix) which has already turned up on Live And Rare.

These can be heard on Absolutely's website. (Click on discography and scroll to ABR096).

I don't have any information on how or where to purchase it yet.

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The forthcoming T On The Fringe concert is generating lots of press interest. Recent interviews include:

• The Glasgow Evening Times
  
• The Daily Record
• The Scotsman

Those in Scotland should check out the Edinburgh Evening News (which will include an interview with Jim) and the Scottish edition of The Big Issue which will include the band on the front cover.

A snippet of the BeatThiefs remix of Different World (TAORMINA.ME) can be found on their myspace.com. It sounds excellent.

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Side-Line, the electronic music website in Brussels, has also reported on the documentary.

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Jim should be appearing in the Evening Times (Glasgow) and Fringe Festival newspaper (Edinburgh) tomorrow (Tuesday). If anyone can grab a copy and scan it for me, then it would be very much appreciated.

An interview with Jim has just appeared in the Spanish paper Eldiario.

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And more reaction to the documentary:

Billboard
Undercover (Australia)
Daily Record (Scotland)

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And for French fans, here's two reviews of the Binic festival: Binic #1, Binic #2

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And, finally, an interview with Jim about the forthcoming concert in Edinburgh has been published in The Dundee Courier.

Here's some more reactions to the documentary:

Yahoo News (Australia)
contactMusic.com (UK)
Stereogum (USA)
subculture.com (UK)
AlbumVote (UK)
retuers.com (Global)
Muso's Guide (UK)
Sanctuary Records Home Page (UK)
Sanctuary Records Main Page (UK)

Please leave any comments on the documentary's official site - thanks!

For something a little different, check out the review of Kelly.

Simple Minds to appear in “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”
A major new documentary about the rise and fall of teenage movies

Stay the Course Productions www.dontyouforgetaboutmethemovie.com today announced the making of a feature documentary that follows a sociological and psychological tribute to director John Hughes’ coming-of-age teen movies, including 1985's The Breakfast Club.

The 90-minute feature film documentary, named after Simple Minds' best selling single Don’t You (Forget About Me) which topped the US Billboard Singles Chart.

During the eighties John Hughes was Hollywood's quintessential teen movie director and scored a successive number of “Brat-Pack” hit movies aimed at the teen market - The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink!, Ferris Buller’s Day Off, Weird Science and Sixteen Candles.

Out of all of Hughes’s films, The Breakfast Club continues to represent a timeless voice to a new generation of teenagers as well as the original teens who were touched by the message of the movie 20 years ago.

“The films have been handed down to a new generation of inspired teenagers,” says director Matt Austin.

“People who went on their first date or discovered their first kiss, experienced it all when they first saw the movie when it originally came out in cinemas across North America. It was also one of the first movies to score a hit album soundtrack, and like Dirty Dancing and Grease, was also one of the first movies aimed at a teen audience that scored a No.1 best selling single in America.”

“When we were asked to participate in the documentary, at first I was surprised the Breakfast Club had became such a cult since it was originally released twenty years ago,” says Jim Kerr, lead vocalist with Simple Minds. “The song has become our biggest hit in America, and when we heard the rest of the original cast from the movie agreed to be interviewed for the documentary, we felt it was only fitting to participate.”

Simple Minds will be filmed for the documentary when they play their final concert on their current world tour in at the T on the Fringe festival in Edinburgh, Scotland on August 28th. The band’s current studio album, Black And White 050505, is planned for North American release next year to coincide with the band’s 30th Anniversary.

Directed by Matt Austin, Produced by Kari Hollend, Michael Facciolo and Lenny Panzer, Don’t You (Forget About Me) will also include appearances by actors, directors, and others who had their hand in making these films or were touched by them.

Already interviewed is Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, film critic Roger Ebert, Kelly Le Brock (Weird Science), Mia Sara and Alan Ruck (Ferris Buller’s Day Off) along with many more.

Says director Matt Austin, “One of the reasons why we felt compelled to make this documentary 20 years after The Breakfast Club was originally released was because we suddenly came to the realization that the majority of today’s teenagers have enough trouble relating to the world than recognizing themselves on screen. A film from 20 years ago portrayed them more accurately then anything made for them today.”

Continues Austin, “Somewhere, somehow along the way, Hollywood forgot what ‘being a teenager’ is. What a teenager looks like, talks like and feels. This film is for them. Teenagers have a lot to say - this documentary gives them their voice. They need a ‘Hughes’. He hasn’t directed a film in more than a decade. Where did he go? Why? Without him, or someone like him, who is their hero?"

The Breakfast Club was no ordinary “popcorn” teen movie; it had many focal points that reached beyond traditional Hollywood scripts, actors and storyline. Music for example, was an integral part of John Hugh's films. It was always understated but present enough to almost become a character in itself. Songs like the Simple Minds Don't You Forget About Me symbolized the quintessential anthem of teen angst and rebellion. The Don’t You Forget About Me documentary looks at the inter-relationship of character building and music, and asks if it is symbiotic to Hugh's films, or was it simply down to the era and the songs themselves?

Adds Austin,” Making films about teenagers has interestingly enough become its own genre. The film hopes to explore what that means through our discussions with the people attached to it and most importantly teenagers today. The Don’t You Forget About Me feature website has already had over 1,500 hits on it with comments from people all over the world - http://www.dontyouforgetaboutmethemovie.com.

For further info contact Noble PR

Billboard have also covered the news here.

The pictures for this update were all taken at Gothenburg, the concert that almost never was. With Jim stuck at Heathrow due to terrorist threats, it looked unlikely he would be able to get to the gig - until the promoters chartered a private jet for him.

There were 20,000 - 25,000 people at the free show with even the newspaper journalists excited by the spirit and hardwork - and Jim's dash across Europe which saw him arriving at the venue with 45 minutes to go.

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New concert: Simple Minds will be playing a free gig at the Rheinland-Pfalz Open-Air, Mainz, Germany on the 26th August. For further information see www.mainz.de or http://www.rpr1.de

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Jim rolls on with Stones

Rock star Jim Kerr of Simple Minds has been had an injection of inspiration for his band's appearance at T on the Fringe... from Mick Jagger.

The group headline Princes Street Gardens - in front of 6000 fans -on August 28.

They warmed up for the gig by opening for The Rolling Stones in Germany last week.

"That's got to be the toughest gig in the book but we went down a storm," Jim said.

"I watched the Stones and Jagger blew me away.

"It was inspiring watching him lead the group through some of the best songs ever written. It's the best I've seen them in years."

Meanwhile, Stones' guitarist Keith Richards is seeing the funny side of his brain surgery after he fell out of a tree in Fiji in April.

Bandmate Ronnie Wood said: "Keith has not calmed down, it's an act. Now he gets out of trouble by saying 'Well, I've got brain damage, you'll have to excuse me.'"

Keef says the band were happy to take a six week rest from the world tour while he recovered.

He said: "Mick told me it was a blessing in disguise."

Billy Sloan
Sunday Mail
13th August 2006

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Eight days in July with the world’s greatest band

OK so he probably does it every time, but when Jim Kerr changes the ‘she’s my friend’ line in New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) to ‘you’re my friend’ – and makes a very deliberate show of pointing directly at you – then it’s difficult to remember that actually you’re not 36 now, you’re actually 13 again and your hero really did just do that didn’t he? Oh. My. God.!

London ‘Dock Rock’ was the fifth Simple Minds show for me in eight days – taking in Taormina, Palermo, Audley End and Bristol along the way. I warmed up for those with Denmark’s Nibe Festival (amazing setting) and Liverpool Summer Pops (containing for me the definitive rendition of All the Things She Said).

Once the Sicily gigs were announced I had to be there. I stayed at Villa Angela in September 2004 and was very lucky to meet Jim and Charlie and chat to them every day (and hear the demos of Home and Stranger before anyone else outside of the band according to Jim, but that’s another story!)

Couldn’t get into Villa Angela this time (wonder why?) but as Jim says in his tour diary, the Teatro Greco really is an amazing place to witness a gig. To say the band were on it would be something of an understatement – a minute into opener Stay Visible and Kerr has left the stage and made his way half way up the steps into the middle of the crowd. Cue total pandemonium which lasted to the end of an unforgettable night.

(It was at this point that I realised that I should have packed my shorts as well as the three T-shirts, 3 pairs of socks and pants that I did bring. It was hot as hell, even at midnight!)

There were lots of fellow travellers there. People really had come from all over. Disappointly there was no sign of support act Rodrigo And Gabriella (amazing), but we did have a Chinese flute player, who really was as beautiful and wonderful as our temporary surroundings. From my vantage point I could see Mount Etna quietly spewing lava in the distance, as it often does.

I wandered around the most beautiful town of Taormina the day after, wandering if I’d bump into any of the band. That almost happened when I spotted Charlie and his girlfriend across the street, but he was off in the other direction before I had a chance to go over and reintroduce myself.

It took me six of sightseeing in Palermo on Wednesday to notice that I had been bitten to pieces by something nasty on Tuesday night. My left arm came up in giant red blotches which are still visible a week later.

Palermo was interesting – full of really impressive old buildings and metropolitan pride, but basically a working town. The drive across Sicily held some amazing scenery. Nice hotel and the receptionist was a big Minds fan. Decided to drive to the gig, despite all the guidebooks saying don’t even attempt to drive in Palermo. The locals have an interesting approach to lane discipline – the main ring road was nominally two lanes and a bus lane, which of course means four lanes in reality. It’s like a collective madness that once you adjust to it it’s fine.

Got to the Teatro de Verdura really early, so I just wandered in through the backstage area and had a nosey around, including stopping to talk to some of the crew. The venue was outdoors and the stage framed by some very old looking Roman columns. There were also some very nice gardens where I sat down to read the remains of last Saturday’s newspaper. No-one tried to throw me out.

For the gig I was up in the cheap seats, where we were all having a great time, but it must be said the people down the front were way too cool for school. It took all of Kerr’s years of experience to shake them out of their lethargy and get them on their feet and motivated, but he got them by Waterfront when he repeated his trick of two nights earlier and ended up in the middle of the crowd. I also blagged the set list off the front of house sound guy, which made for a nice souvenir.

Before that I had a great meal at the trattoria opposite for not much more than a tenner, which was amazing.

So back to England for three shows in three days. It ended in London – ‘by the waterfront’ as Jim said, where I took up my usual spot at the front where Charlie stands – this time next to a lovely girl from Amsterdam called Francisca, who asked me to send her the set list as I seem to now be in the habit of recording them on my phone for no real reason whatsoever.

Great gig, but not as crazy as Bristol on Sunday, where I met another fellow traveller called John and the crowd of what looked like mainly every teenage hippy in a 50 mile radius really went for it. The band totally screwed up by starting All The Things She Said rather than See The Lights (which involves Charlie and Eddie using instruments in a different tuning) and Jim had to stop them and apologise. Never seen that before and it was genius – maybe they really are human after all!

We started at Audley End House on Saturday. I feared the worst after it had rained all day at home in Nottingham. But it was beautiful weather on the fringes of Essex, and everyone was there with their picnic gear, Pimms and kids, which was uncomfortable because it’s certainly not rock and roll. But once that now familiar intro music came on the crowd were really up for it.

We existed in a little bubble of wondrous weather until seconds after the last bar of Alive and Kicking – when the heavens opened with considerable vengeance. No-one seemed to mind.

So that’s five shows in eight days. That’s almost like being on tour properly, and it was fantastic. I wish I’d booked for Gothenburg last week when the flight tickets were £75, not £211 like they are now. I’ll be going anyway, one way or another, possibly involving Copenhagen and trains. And there’s Edinburgh of course – which will make 12 Simple Minds shows for me in 2006. It’s been a hell of a ride and I feel honoured to have been in the company of the world’s greatest band ever.

The only downside? The absolutely lousy quality of the retro New Gold Dream T-shirts on sale. The collar and bottom of mine frayed within hours of me putting it on, which was irritating. Nothing wrong with the rest of them though – I think I’ve spent the gross national product of several small republics on Simple Minds gear this year!

Keep it up guys – and thanks for all the memories.

Martin Charles Burchill Valentine (yes really)
Nottingham
July 25 2006

The Ambition To Do Something Glorious

The Trooper: Jim Kerr

Widescreen vision, crippling logistics and the rebirth of rock and roll politics - for the Simple Minds flag-waver there was "a level of individualism and imagination that was almost overwhelming."

Simple Minds briefly pulled ahead in their long-running rivalry with U2 when their Live Aid success propelled them on to the stadium circuit, and Don't You (Forget About Me) was used in the John Hughes movie The Breakfast Club and was one of hte first of a new vogue for soundtrack album hits. Their career became characteristed by Kerr's two high profile marriages - first to Chrissie Hynde, then Patsy Kensit - and their involvement in the Free Nelson Mandela concert in 1988. A total of 20 musicians have now served in the ranks of Simple Minds, who are still recording and touring and currently include three original members - the 47-year old Kerr, Charlie Burchill and Mel Gaynor. Kerr has two children (one by Chrissie Hynde and one by Patsy Kensit and lives in Taromina in Sicily.

"The amazing thing about people in the '80s was their ambition. Not so much ambition for riches and fame, that was too far down the road, but ambition to do something glorious. And whether that was our band or the spiky music like The Cure or Magazine or early Spandua Ballet and Duran - I mean, early Spandau wasn't Tony Hadley's chocolate box: from day one they were gonna take over the world! And they did. And all of them were quite maverick. To me, it wasn't so much any movement, it was more like, there weren't two or three bands like The Cure, there was The Cure. There weren't two or three bands like The Human League, like the Birthday Party, like The Smiths, there was one. A lot of real individualism and wonderful imagination to such a lvel that it was almost overwhelming.

It was an incredibly political decade, the Berlin Wall coming down, Mandela being freed, the Miner's Strikes, Poll Tax, Tiananmen Square: it certainly wasn't all shoulder-pads, Rambo and Filofaxes. I remember the Mandela concert, when they were calling out for the end of apartheid (the Free Nelson Mandela Concert at Wembley Stadium, June 11, 1988). I don't know about revolutionary, but I can't think of anything liek that since then - even though if you look at it now you'll see Whitney Houston warbling away and think, "Where's the revolution?" I get cynical as much as anyone, but when Mandela was finally freed and he came to London, he was in the room with a bunch of artists and I'll always remember the thing he said: 'When there was no voice allowed, we always heard the voice of the artist. And it gave us great, great sustenance.' Now, I wouldn't confuse that with 'the artists freed Nelson Mandela, you finished apartheid,' aye, like Billy-o, but they tried. That Nelson Mandela could say, speaking on behalf of the oppressed, a line like that, I thought 'Wow.' I'll never forget that.

The '80s was a great time for dreamers. Whether it was Billy McKenzie, New Order, everything seemed possible and everything seemed up for grabs. Of course video changed everything, your video could travel to places you could never even imagine. But MTV did create a monster. Everyone was trying to be more outrageous than the other and look the part. You had stocky guys like me in eyeliner trying their best.

With Live Aid, apart from the politics of the charity behind it, it was the first time millions of people looked at a so-called stadium rock gig and thought 'I want to go to one of them,' that communal thing. And after Live Aid everyone was in stadiums or trying to be in stadiums. Who would've thought Depeche Mode plink-plonking away would play in stadiums? Things got very big and when they do, there's a moment when you realise your band is no longer your band, that it's an industry itself. There are so many people depending on it. The record company's whole year is waiting on your record coming out at Christmas and you're handing it over knowning deep inside that it isn't finished. You're in Berne in Switzerland and backstage there are long faces because the size of the production means you need 45,000 people to break even and there's only 42,000 htere. What a bummer! You're thinking, 'Is that no good?' And you think, 'Time to take a rest.'

What lessons have I learned from the '80s? [Colossal pause] You don't have to marry them, you can go out with them."

Sylvia Patterson
Word Magazine
September 2006

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Glaswegian Jim thinks Princes Street is magic

There are few bands with the sort of massive sound which does justice to big open-air events.

However Scots supergroup Simple Minds know exactly how to project their anthems to build the maximum amount of atmosphere. So when they take to the special stage in Princes Street Gardens, in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle, for a spectacular T in the Fringe show on August 28, anyone in earshot will be in for a treat. I caught up with frontman and singer Jim Kerr when he made a trip to London for some painful dental work. “I guess it’s the result of years of a bad Glasgow diet,” he laughed.

Jim is feeling inspired at the moment, as he and the band have spent most of the year playing to adoring crowds around the world and promoting their most recent album, Black And White 050505, which gained some of their best reviews in more than a decade.

He says he’s particularly looking forward to the Edinburgh show - the last date of an exhausting world tour. “It’s a magical location. We’ve been lucky enough to play in some unique places, but I’m very fond of Edinburgh. When we first formed there was a shortage of venues in Glasgow, so we did a lot of shows there. “We’ll be filming the show and it’ll look great with the castle lit behind. Mind you, there’s always a chance the elements will play a part in the event - you wouldn’t want to bet on it being dry!” he laughed.

One reason for recording the show for posterity is because the band have their 30th anniversary coming up. “It’s a tricky one,” Jim admitted. “Firstly, we thought ‘Let’s just ignore it’, but then I thought ‘Hang on, why not do something special?’ ” Then the next problem emerged - they aren’t quite sure exactly what to count as their actual anniversary! “It could be taken from when we first formed, or we might wait a couple of years and do it on the anniversary of our first album being released,” Jim explained. “Whatever, I think we’ve proved to ourselves we can carry on and that we’re not finished just yet. One of the reasons we’re bringing the touring to an end this time round is we want to work on new songs.”

Filling a set with material isn’t a problem for a band with a back catalogue like theirs. It’s harder to know what to leave out, as so many of their songs are perfect for big outdoor occasions.

“It’s a great problem to have,” said Jim. “When we started out, there wasn’t the vogue for big outdoor events, particularly in the UK. It’s not every type of music that works when you’re standing in a field with 40,000 people. Even some great artists, like Elvis Costello and Van Morrison, don’t really go down too well there. We started to write songs like Waterfront and build them so they would work in a situation like that.

“I remember when U2 first played Wembley Stadium and we were going to be playing it later. I talked to them and they said they thought a place that size was a bridge too far. But then we got on stage and started doing Waterfront. It worked perfectly and I just thought to myself ‘This is a piece of cake!’” he laughed.

Jim also finds playing big festivals interesting because he gets to meet up with other acts. “Sometimes I’d love to be part of the audience and watch other acts, but doing the shows just leaves me knackered. Basically, at a show like Edinburgh the audience are the stars. We’ve had other acts watch us and be incredibly complimentary. I think it’s because we attack every single gig with absolute relish. The desire we still have sometimes shakes people, especially when there are groups who are considered veterans after two years,” he said proudly.

The bedrock of the band’s success and continued longevity is the creative relationship between Jim and guitarist Charlie Burchill, which is still grounded in deep friendship after so many years. “Sometimes Charlie and I can be driving to a gig sitting beside each other in the back of a car and it’s hard not to be sentimental. Sometimes it’s felt like it’s me and him against the world, even though we have very different lifestyles now,” Jim laughed.

The fact that the band seems to have been reborn of late means the future seems very bright indeed for Jim. “We’ve been touring for almost a year, so we feel on the last lap now. But we crave to write new songs and we feel really energised. Six years ago it was like getting blood out of a stone - nothing was working. In fact, six years ago I would have said we wouldn’t last another six weeks and the most worrying thing was that I felt OK about that. But these things are cyclical - sometimes it’s effortless and sometimes you can’t see the wood for the trees. All I know is that we’ve been blessed so far and everything feels really good at the moment.”

It looks as though Simple Minds’ return to Edinburgh could be a fitting celebration and a launch pad for their fourth decade of music-making.

Kevin Bridges
The Sunday Post
August 6th 2006

All had gone quiet on the Different World single until now.

It appears that more remixes have been commissioned. The Beat Thiefs and Moussa Clarke have been working on the track with the latter working for Absolutely Records.

In the meantime, Greek Radio have added another remix to their playlist and a short sample of Matteo ESSE & Sant Remix can be heard via their website.

So, it looks like the next single will probably be a couple of 12-inches via Absolutely Records.

STV have just broadcast a great interview with Jim. Along with lots of clips of archive promo videos, Verona footage, Jim's bid to purchase Celtic, he's interviewed about the band, his support of Celtic and the forthcoming Edinburgh concert.

The video was broadcast on the 2nd August and was filmed in London on July 22nd.

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Check out tribute band Remind. A cover band of U2, The Sweet, Queen, Talking Heads and, of course, Simple Minds, they have audio files of their versions of Love Song and Don't You (Forget About Me) on their site. (Click on Latlista).