Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. The band is currently a core duo of original members Jim Kerr (vocals) and Charlie Burchill (guitar), augmented by guest musicians. Notable former members include Mick MacNeil (keyboards), Derek Forbes (bass), Brian McGee (drums), Mel Gaynor (drums), and John Giblin (bass).
Initially signed to Arista Records, Simple Minds released their debut album Life in a Day in 1979 to moderate commercial success, while the following two albums, Real to Real Cacophony (1979) and Empires and Dance (1980), achieved critical praise but limited sales. After signing to Virgin Records, their fourth album, Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call (1981), became their first top twenty album in the UK, beginning their rise in mainstream popularity. The following album, New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84) (1982), proved their major breakthrough, reaching the top ten in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden, as well being their first charting album on the Billboard 200 in the US. The album also produced three UK top forty singles in "Promised You a Miracle", "Glittering Prize", and "Someone Somewhere in Summertime".
Their next album, Sparkle in the Rain (1984), featured another hit single with "Waterfront" and continued the band's commercial prominence, debuting at number one in both the UK, where it was certified Platinum, and New Zealand. "Don't You (Forget About Me)", their contribution to the soundtrack of the 1985 film The Breakfast Club, became their breakthrough hit in the US, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The following album, Once Upon a Time (1985), reached number one in the UK and the Netherlands, the top three in Canada and New Zealand, and the top ten in the US. It was certified 3× Platinum in the UK and Gold in the US, and spawned four more hit singles with "Alive and Kicking", "Sanctify Yourself", "All the Things She Said" and "Ghostdancing". Their chart dominance continued with the album Street Fighting Years (1989), with its lead single "Belfast Child" reaching number one in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands. After two more successful albums with Real Life (1991) and Good News from the Next World (1995), the band underwent a commercial decline in the late 1990s. They returned to chart prominence starting in the late 2000s, with albums such as Graffiti Soul (2009), Walk Between Worlds (2018) and Direction of the Heart (2022).
Simple Minds have sold more than 60 million albums worldwide and were the most commercially successful Scottish band of the 1980s. They were awarded the Q Inspiration Award in 2014 for their contribution to the music industry and an Ivor Novello Award in 2016 for Outstanding Song Collection from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors (BASCA). Their other notable recognitions include nominations for both the MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction and MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" in 1985, and a nomination for the Brit Award for British Group in 1986. "Belfast Child" was nominated for the Song of the Year at the 1990 Brit Awards.
History Early years (1977–1978) Simple Minds originated from a cover band called Biba-Rom! formed by school-friends Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill, Tony Donald and Brian McGee, whose members would subsequently make up part of the punk band Johnny & The Self-Abusers, formed in early 1977 on Glasgow's South Side, as the brainchild of Alan Cairnduff. Cairnduff left the organisation of the band to John Milarky, suggesting that he enlist two strangers, singer and lyricist Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill. Kerr and Burchill, who had been acquainted since age eight, roped in their school friends Brian McGee and Tony Donald to play drums and bass respectively. Milarky served as singer, guitarist and saxophonist, and recruited his friend Allan McNeill to be the band's third guitarist. Kerr doubled on keyboards, and Burchill also played violin.
On 11 April 1977, Johnny & The Self-Abusers held their first performance at the Doune Castle pub in Glasgow, following up two weeks later as the opening act for Generation X in Edinburgh. They performed concerts in Glasgow over the ensuing summer, but a split developed in the band, with Milarky and McNeill forming one faction and the other consisting of Kerr, Donald, Burchill and McGee; In November 1977, Johnny & The Self-Abusers released their only single, "Saints and Sinners", on Chiswick Records (which was dismissed as being "rank and file" in a Melody Maker review). The band split on the same day that the single was released, with Milarky and McNeill going on to form The Cuban Heels. Ditching the stage names and the overt punkiness, the remaining members continued together as Simple Minds (naming themselves after a David Bowie lyric from his song "The Jean Genie"), making their very first performance at Glasgow's Satellite City on 17 January 1978.
In January 1978, Simple Minds recruited Duncan Barnwell as a second guitarist (allowing for an optional two-guitar line-up while also enabling Burchill to play violin). Meanwhile, Kerr had abandoned keyboards to concentrate entirely on vocals. In March 1978, Kerr, Burchill, Donald, Barnwell and McGee were joined by the Barra-born keyboard player Mick MacNeil. The band got a residency at the Mars Bar in Glasgow and played various other venues in Scotland and rapidly established a reputation as an exciting live act (usually performing in full makeup). Tony Donald quit in April 1978 and was replaced by Duncan Barnwell's friend Derek Forbes (formerly the bass player with The Subs). In May 1978 Simple Minds recorded their first demo tape, including "Chelsea Girl" and some other tracks that would appear on their debut album.Dave Thomas Simple Minds Glittering Prize Omnibus Press 1985, p.17-23 The group were turned down by record companies, but gained a management deal with Bruce Findlay, owner of the Bruce's Records chain of record shops and the Zoom Records label. Championed by his journalist friend Brian Hogg, Findlay was persuaded to sign Simple Minds to his Zoom label which had a licensing deal with Arista Records. In November 1978, Barnwell was ousted from the band.
From November 1978 through September 1981, Simple Minds would be a tight-knit quintet of Kerr, Burchill, MacNeil, Forbes and McGee. Subsequent line-up changes would shrink and diminish this core band, with only founder members being considered to be full members of the creative and compositional team.
Initial albums (1978–1980) During late 1978 and early 1979, Simple Minds began rehearsing the set of Kerr/Burchill-written songs which appear on their debut album. On 27 March 1979 the band made their first television appearance, performing the songs "Chelsea Girl" and "Life in a Day" on the BBC's The Old Grey Whistle Test. The first Simple Minds album, Life in a Day, was produced by John Leckie and released by Zoom Records in April 1979. The album's title track "Life in a Day" was released as Simple Minds' first single and reached No. 62 in the UK singles chart, with the album reaching No. 30 in the UK Albums Chart. In April/May 1979 they played their first UK tour as supporting act for Magazine, who were a major influence on them at the time.
In June 1979 "Chelsea Girl" was released as the second single from the album, failing to reach the chart, while the band continued to tour the UK on their own. In September 1979 Simple Minds recorded their next album, Real to Real Cacophony, at Rockfield Studios with producer John Leckie. The songs were mostly conceived in the studio and was a significant departure from the pop tunes of Life in a Day. German Krautrock was now the band's main influence, adopting a more experimental electronic sound that drew influences from the motorik, repetitive grooves of bands such as Neu!, Kraftwerk and La Düsseldorf.Sean Albiez, David Pattie Kraftwerk: Music Non-Stop 2011, page 156
The band began their Real to Real Cacophony tour in Germany and also made a short visit to New York in October 1979. Their performance of the songs "Premonition", "Factory" and "Changeling" at Hurrah was filmed for The Old Grey Whistle Test.
Real to Real Cacophony was released in November 1979. While the band got little marketing support from their record company Arista, who did not like the album, it received critical acclaim. The release was followed by their third UK tour of the year and a BBC session for John Peel in December. In January 1980 "Changeling" was released as the only single from Real to Real Cacophony, failing to make an impression on the charts. In March they supported Gary Numan on a couple of gigs, and continued their Real to Real Cacophony tour until June 1980 with dates mainly in Germany, France and the Netherlands.Real to Real Cacophony Tour Dream Giver Redux In June 1980 Simple Minds entered the studio to record their next album, again with producer John Leckie at Rockfield Studios. The band again had a new approach to their music that differed from the previous album, this time aiming for a more repetitive, dance-orientated sound inspired by disco music they had heard in nightclubs while touring Europe.Dave Thomas Simple Minds Glittering Prize Omnibus Press 1985, p.47
Empires and Dance was released in September 1980. Many of the tracks were minimal and featured a significant use of sequencing, further exploring their repetitive Krautrock-influences with electronic dance grooves. McNeil's keyboards and Forbes' bass became the main melodic elements in the band's sound, with Burchill's heavily processed guitar becoming more of a textural element. With this album, Kerr began to experiment with non-narrative lyrics based on observations he had made as the band travelled across Europe on tour. While a modest commercial success, Empires and Dance received enthusiastic response in the British music pressNew Musical Express 1980 Dream Giver Redux Simple Minds had caught the attention of Peter Gabriel, who selected them as the opening act on several dates of his European tour starting in August 1980.Empires and Dance Tour 1980 Dream Giver Redux The tour as Gabriel's support act gave the band the opportunity to play at bigger venues.
Empires and Dance peaked at No. 41 on the UK Albums Chart and dropped out of the chart after three weeks. The band's manager Bruce Findlay later blamed Arista for poor handling of the album and it not being more commercially successful. Initially Arista only released 7,500 copies of the album. Furthermore, Arista did not release a single to promote the album. "I Travel" was not released as a single until October to promote the Empires and Dance tour. The single sold poorly and did not reach the UK chart, but the 12" version became popular in the US club scene and (based on import sales only) entered the Billboard Disco Chart at No. 80 in early 1981. "I Travel" was subsequently reissued twice in the UK, but again failed to reach the singles chart.
Virgin Records deal (1981–1982)
In early 1981, Simple Minds' frustration with poor support and marketing by Arista made them threaten to split up rather than continue working with them. They were released from Arista and instead signed to Virgin Records. After the band had left the label, Arista decided to release "Celebrate" as the second single from Empires and Dance in February 1981 to promote the album, with the earlier single "Changeling" on the b-side to promote Real to Real Cacophony, but this single too sold poorly and failed to chart. The following year, Arista put out a compilation album, Celebration, featuring tracks from the three previous albums which reached No. 45 on the UK albums chart. Following their change of record company, the band demoed new songs and embarked on a club tour in the US and Canada.