Don’t Don’t Don’t Don’t

Well, it might not be the best track they ever wrote but it certainly made them shoot……to fame in the mid-80’s when U2 were also coming into their own after their achievements at Live Aid.  Here’s a simple minded guitarist playing Don’t You (Forget About Me) live in Fuerth on 11 July.
> See Don’t You [...]

Graffiti Soul Review

Graffiti Soul is the new album from Simple Minds, in case you haven t been keeping up with the news, and I have to say its an impressive collection of songs and ideas. It is probably, dare I say it, their best since 1991’s Real Life and shows that the band can bounce back from [...]

“Not my girlfriend….Not my mum either.”

Royal Mail has had to lay on extra transport in the last week to deliver thousands of letters asking:
“Is the woman shown in the YouTube video was Jim Kerr’s current squeeze?”
“Is Jim operating the camera?”
Well, sadly the answer to both of these is no.

Sanctify Yourself,….set your mom free.

Have you always wondered what happens to a vibrant, young, attractive female Simple Minds fan as she grows older, knocks out a couple of kids, starts to look a little old, hubby leaves for a younger more pert model, still ‘quite attractive’ but losing her looks and trapped in the house looking after the kids [...]

Mandela: Jim Pulls Out

Just kidding,…ole Simple Minds will be playing at the Mandela Concert on 27 June this year and it brings a tear to my eye. However, what the band will make of some of the other acts lined up brings into question the usual cross generational barriers. Didn’t it used to be about the music? Isn’t [...]

How to be Charlie Burchill in 10 easy steps

1. Confuse your fans by looking and sounding a little like Gordon Brown [see 'Is Burchill The New Prime Minister?' posted September 2006]. Keep all your hair unlike other guitarists we could mention that you never see without a hat.
2. When playing live, mouth the words to the songs,…..but wait, those arent the same words [...]

How To Be Jim Kerr in 10 Easy Steps

Follow these 10 easy steps and you’ll be Kerring with the best of them in no time.
1. Wear tight leg-ins, boots and frilly shirts with the occassional waistcoat for that “dapper, poetic, philosophical gent type of fellow” vibe. If you need some practice of being in a ’stage’ situation you can get the old hairbrush [...]

Someone Somewhere at Easter

It’s been a while since the last Simple Minded blog….but hopefully its been worth the wait as Christophe Avril and I bring you a new version of Someone Somewhere In Summertime! I always enjoy these collaborations and look forward to more musical endeavours with both Christophe and Simon Hayward in the near future. Feel free [...]

80’s Guitar Sounds Appreciation Society on Facebook

Hi,
I ve set up the 80’s Guitar Sounds Appreciation Society on Facebook – if you click on this link you should find yourself on the group page and if you appreciate the fantastic sounds of Burchill, Edge, Farriss and those other excellent 80’s guitar innovators then add yourself, keep yourself up to date with what [...]